NPR series explores role of I-95

(Timothy Bell for NPR)

For Washington area drivers, Interstate 95 is often a frustrating way to get from Point A to Point B, whether you're doing the daily drive from home to work or darting up the Eastern Seaboard for a visit to Philly or to see the leaves change in Maine.

NPR is exploring how Interstate 95 has shaped life along the East Coast in a six-part series that begins this weekend and is scheduled to run through Labor Day. The series, "I-95: The Road Most Traveled," "looks at how the nearly 2,000-mile-long stretch of pavement has reshaped entire regions along the East Coast in the past half-century." The series began today on "Weekend Edition."

The first installment explores why the final 12 miles of I-95 are just now being completed. The missing link is a stretch near the border of Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

NPR has also compiled a list of 95 road songs for driving on the stretch where Washingtonians spend so much of their time.

Other topics in the series include the role of I-95 as part of a global transportation network that delivers goods to the United States; how the interstate shaped growth in South Florida; how the highway's traffic has benefited Maine; I-95's role in the migrant economy; and what I-95 may look like in the future. You can listen to the series on the NPR Web site.