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The Jones Falls Expressway, known to local residents as the "JFX", is a 13-mile (20.8-km) long Freeway that carries Interstate 83 from downtown Baltimore to the northern suburbs. It is the area's true north-south artery, because Interstate 95 runs mostly east-west through much of the city. Its southern terminus is at Fayette Street, and its northern terminus is at the Baltimore Beltway (I-695). An interesting fact is that the JFX does not provide a direct connection to US 40 /Orleans Street, which crosses over it on a viaduct. US 40 can be accessed via the side streets of downtown. Between Exits 3 and 4, there is a 90-degree turn that sometimes requires motorists to slow down just before entering it. The curve is located between the Guilford Avenue and Preston Street overpasses. This could be considered Baltimore's version of Dead Man's Curve in Cleveland, Ohio , although it is never referred to as such, and the curve is much softer, and easier to handle at normal freeway speed, than its Cleveland counterpart. For the majority of its route, the JFX is parallelled by its namesake river, the Jones Falls , on one side, and the Baltimore Light Rail system on the other. Closer to downtown, the light rail line peels off in a different direction, while the Falls flows directly underneath the elevated freeway. Originally, the JFX was to continue through the Southeast Baltimore neighborhood of Fells Point to a junction with I-95, but it was met with the same opposition that killed the I-70 Extension Into The City . As a result, the JFX was truncated at Fayette Street, and President Street was widened to handle the traffic going on and off the freeway. FUTURE In 2005 , a prominent Baltimore city planner unveiled a proposal to tear down the elevated portion of the JFX that leads into downtown. In the JFX's place, President Street would be extended north to Eager Street, where the elevated section ends. City officials have since offered tentative support for the idea, though it is unlikely that any action will be taken until about 2020 , when the current elevated structure will need an overhaul if it is to remain in use. If the downtown JFX were demolished, Baltimore would join San Francisco , Boston and Milwaukee -- all large cities that have removed their downtown elevated freeways. EXIT LIST
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