Pennsylvania Turnpike
Encyclopedia
The Pennsylvania Turnpike is a toll highway
system operated by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission
in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
, United States
. The three sections of the turnpike system total 532 miles (856.2 km). The main section extends from Ohio
(west) to New Jersey
(east) and is 359 miles (577.8 km) long. The 110 miles (177 km) Northeast Extension
extends from Plymouth Meeting
in the southeast to Wilkes-Barre and Scranton in the northeast. The various access segments in Western Pennsylvania total 62 miles (99.8 km).
The highway serves most of Pennsylvania's major urban areas. The main east/west section serves the Pittsburgh, Harrisburg
, and Philadelphia areas, while its Northeast Extension serves the Allentown/Bethlehem
and Scranton
/Wilkes-Barre
areas.
This system has an optional payment method called E-ZPass
, where tolls are paid electronically through a transponder
attached to the car either behind its rear-view mirror or to the front bumper.
The Pennsylvania Turnpike is part of the U.S. Interstate Highway System, and is signed with the following route numbers:
Most of the turnpike operates as a ticket system
toll road. A driver receives a paper ticket on entry and pays on exit; the fare is calculated on the entrance and exit points.
If a motorist loses the ticket, the Turnpike charges the highest fare to the exit where the motorist leaves and issues a receipt. If the ticket is later found, the motorist may send the ticket and receipt to the Turnpike Commission for a refund of the excess fare.
Most of the system's access points are simple trumpet interchanges, with a toll barrier located between the interchange and the local connector road. Between 1957 and 1997, the road had three "mainline" barrier plazas, one at Gateway (at the Pennsylvania/Ohio state line), connecting to the Ohio Turnpike
, one at the Delaware River Bridge near Bristol Township
, where the turnpike crosses the Delaware River
and connects with the New Jersey Turnpike
, and one on the Northeastern Extension at Clarks Summit, where it connects with Interstate 81
near Scranton
.
In 1992, the new Mid-County interchange opened, connecting Interstate 476
with the main trunk of the Turnpike. It doubles as a mainline and interchange barrier. In 2002, the Gateway barrier was converted to an all-cash plaza. And, since January 2, 2006, only eastbound motorists are charged—westbound motorists no longer have to pay a toll (similar to the one-way tolls on the Garden State Parkway
). In addition, a new mainline barrier, at Warrendale, was added. With the opening of the new Warrendale barrier, the Turnpike between Gateway and Warrendale is toll-free and gives motorists direct access to the James E. Ross Highway, Interstate 79
, and two local roads. A similar approach was used between the Wyoming Valley interchange and Clarks Summit on the Northeastern Extension, allowing for the construction of the Keyser Avenue interchange, along with a new coin-drop booth north of the exit. This will also be implemented when the Turnpike/Interstate 95
exit is completed in Bristol Township
allowing I-95 to access the Turnpike with a high-speed interchange.
Fares range from as low as $1.00 from one exit to the next, to over $30 for long distance travel. In March 2010, the fare for a two-axle automobile traveling the entire Turnpike eastbound from Gateway to the end of the Turnpike at the Delaware River Bridge into New Jersey, a distance of 357.6 miles (575.5 km), costs $32.30 ($30.17 with E-ZPass), or by traveling from Gateway to the Clarks Summit barrier near the end of the Northeast Extension, a distance of 444.2 miles (714.9 km), costs $38.15 ($35.49 with E-ZPass). A three percent toll increase went into effect on January 3, 2010 at 12:01 a.m. Another toll hike occurred on January 2, 2011, where cash tolls increased 10 percent and E-ZPass tolls increased 3 percent. As part of this toll hike, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission initially planned not to print the toll amount on new tickets in order to save money. As a result of this plan, Pennsylvania Auditor Jack Wagner
questioned if the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission was trying to hide the toll hike. The Turnpike Commission later decided to include the fares on the new tickets.
E-ZPass
is accepted in designated lanes at all toll plazas. The Virginia Drive exit near Fort Washington
and the Philadelphia Park interchange near Bensalem
are accessible only to E-ZPass customers. In addition, the proposed Great Valley interchange near Malvern
is expected to be E-ZPass-only.
The Pennsylvania Turnpike is considering eliminating manned toll booths in favor of all-electronic tolls. In 2011, the Fort Littleton, Willow Hill, and Blue Mountain interchanges are expected to become unmanned, in which either E-ZPass or credit cards will be accepted. Drivers unable to pay by either of these methods will be billed in the mail using license plate technology, with an additional surcharge applied. In addition to E-ZPass, the Turnpike Commission other automated options to pay for tolls such as using a prepaid account that utilizes license plate technology. McCormick Taylor and Wilbur Smith Associates have been hired to conduct a feasibility study on converting the road to all-electronic tolls. If this experiment proves successful, the turnpike extensions, including Pennsylvania Route 43 and Pennsylvania Route 576
, may become cashless as well.
at each mile for its entire length. Motorists may also dial *11 on their mobile phones. First responder services are available to all turnpike customers via the State Farm Safety Patrol program.
Governor Earle signed the Turnpike into law on May 21, 1937, and construction began shortly after, with the first section from the Pittsburgh suburb of Irwin, Pennsylvania
to Carlisle, Pennsylvania
opening in 1940, and from Ohio line to the New Jersey line in 1956. When the first section opened in 1940, it was built to higher design standards and extended over a longer distance than any other limited-access divided highway in the United States, and was the first inter-city expressway comparable to the German Autobahn. Before World War II it was popularly known as the "tunnel highway" because of the seven mountain tunnel
s along its route.
project, and six of its seven original tunnels (all except the Allegheny Mountain
tunnel) were first bored for that railroad. The construction began in the 1880s but was never completed. A combined total of 4.5 miles (7.2 km) of tunnel had been dug through seven mountains.
Proposals to use the grade and tunnels for a toll road were first made in late 1934. The road would bypass the steep grades on Pennsylvania's existing major east–west highways—US 22
(William Penn Highway
) and US 30
(Lincoln Highway
)—and offer a high-speed four lane route free of cross traffic. The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission was created by law on May 21, 1937, and construction began October 27, 1938, with the removal of water from the unfinished tunnels. The 160 miles (257.5 km) roadway took 770,000 tons of sand, 1,200,000 tons of stone, 50,000 tons of steel, and more than 300,000 tons of cement to complete. It was built at a cost of $370,000 per mile ($230,910 per km).
On October 1, 1940, the first section of Turnpike opened, running from US 11
near Carlisle (southwest of Harrisburg) west to US 30
at Irwin
(east of Pittsburgh). As built, most of the road was four lanes, but it narrowed to one lane in each direction for the seven tunnels (the South Pennsylvania had begun work on nine, but two—the Quemahoning Tunnel
and Negro Mountain Tunnel
—were bypassed by the Turnpike). Despite the railroad right-of-way, much of the new Turnpike was built on a new, straighter alignment, as engineering had progressed much since the days of the railroad.
Unlike earlier parkways, mostly in the New York City
area, which were restricted to cars, the Turnpike allowed all traffic. Like the German
Autobahn on which it was loosely based, there was no enforced speed limit on most of the road; some cars could travel at 100 mi/h and traverse the entire 160 miles (257.5 km) original segment in less than two hours. The phenomenon of highway hypnosis
began to afflict motorists on some of the long, straight segments, especially on the 21 miles (33.8 km) section of Turnpike between the Blue Mountain Tunnel
and the eastern terminus at Carlisle.
A speed limit of 70 mi/h for passenger cars was enacted on April 15, 1941, with a speed limit of 50–65 mph (80–105 km/h) for trucks based on weight, and speed limits of 35 mi/h in tunnels and 45 mi/h on bridges. During World War II
, the Turnpike adopted the national speed limit of 35 mi/h. In the 1950s, the speed limit was reduced to 65 mi/h for all vehicles, and again reduced to 55 mi/h in 1974 when the federal government enacted a national speed limit. The speed limit was once again raised to 65 mi/h in 1995, but it did not cover the Delaware River extension or the Northeast Extension. Those two segments were restored to a 65 mph speed limit several years later.
, but with the war's end, the Turnpike Commission resumed construction.
near Philadelphia and Valley Forge, Pennsylvania
. The first phase of that expansion made the highway slightly longer, stretching it to US 15
near Harrisburg
. That section opened on February 1, and the rest of the expansion, east to King of Prussia, opened on November 20, 1950. At that time the old mainline toll booth and interchange at Carlisle was closed, and the Middlesex interchange, at the old east end at US 11
, was reconfigured and renamed as the Carlisle interchange. The original eastern end of the Philadelphia Extension was at what is now the present-day interchange with Interstate 76
and US 202
.
The first piece of the Western Extension, from Irwin to US 22
at Monroeville, east of Pittsburgh, opened August 7, 1951. The remainder opened to traffic on December 26, 1951, taking the highway west almost to the Ohio state line. Traffic was diverted onto the two-lane Burkey Road just west of the western barrier toll for almost three years until a connection with the Ohio Turnpike connection opened. The interchange with Pennsylvania Route 18
at Homewood
was not completed until March 1, 1952. The turnpike connected with Youngstown, Ohio, after the first section of the Ohio Turnpike
opened on December 1, 1954.
at Willow Grove
opened on August 23, 1954 and the intermediate Fort Washington
interchange with PA 309
opened September 20. Extensions to US 1
near Trevose
opened October 27 and to US 13
near Bristol Township
on November 17, 1954. The final piece opened on May 23, 1956 with the completion of the Delaware River – Turnpike Toll Bridge, which connected to a short spur of the New Jersey Turnpike
. The highway, originally designated as Interstate 280 when the Pennsylvania Turnpike between the Ohio state line and Valley Forge was I-80S, received its present number of I-276 in 1964 when I-80S became I-76.
near Scranton, opened in stages from November 23, 1955 to November 7, 1957. This was the last segment of the Turnpike system to be built until the late 1980s. Formerly signed as Pennsylvania Route 9, in 1996 after the expansion of the Lehigh Tunnel
to four lanes, the entire extension became part of Interstate 476 (continuing from the Chester-to-Plymouth Meeting freeway).
were completed by 1994, and the James J. Manderino Highway, a West Virginia-to-Pittsburgh route, (Mon/Fayette Expressway) is about half completed with the last major link to Pittsburgh under design. The first section of the Pittsburgh Southern Beltway
(from the Mon/Fayette Expressway to the Pittsburgh International Airport) has been completed and is open to traffic. Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) for the two remaining sections are in preparation.
—opened on August 29, 1970 across northern Pennsylvania, forming a route that was more direct for New York–Chicago traffic. In 2007, however, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania leased Interstate 80 to the Turnpike Commission. Under this lease agreement, this would have allowed the Turnpike Commission to convert Interstate 80 to a toll highway.
However, on September 11, 2008, the Federal Highway Administration rejected Pennsylvania's application to toll Interstate 80.
, two-thousand Teamsters Union employees of the Pennsylvania Turnpike went on strike
, after contract negotiations failed. As this is usually one of the busiest traffic days in the United States, to keep the turnpike open, tolls were waived for the rest of the day. Starting on November 25, turnpike management personnel collected flat-rate passenger tolls of $2 and commercial tolls of $15 from cash customers on the ticketed system, while E-ZPass customers were charged the lesser of the actual toll or the same flat rates. This was a substantial discount for many travelers, who would normally have paid $19.75 to travel the full length of the main east–west route in a passenger car, and between $29 and $794, depending on vehicle weight class, to cross the state in a commercial vehicle. The strike lasted only seven days, with an agreement reached on November 30. Normal toll collection resumed December 1.
In spite of the Turnpike Commission dubbing the new road "The World's Greatest Highway", the Turnpike was popularly known as the "Tunnel Highway". Postcards and other souvenirs promoted the original stretch's seven tunnels through Pennsylvania's Appalachian Mountains. These tunnels, from east to west, bored through Blue Mountain, Kittattiny Mountain, Tuscarora Mountain, Sideling Hill, Ray's Hill, Allegheny Mountain, and Laurel Hill.
The result was four tunnels being "twinned" through the construction of parallel two-lane tunnels, the three others either bypassed or closed. The Blue, Kittattiny, Tuscarora, and Allegheny Mountain twins were of slightly larger diameter and featured white ceramic tile cladding and improved lighting inside yet maintained identical exterior appearance. Upon completion, the original tunnels were temporarily closed to be brought up to the new interior standards.
The Sideling Hill
, Rays Hill
, and Laurel Hill
tunnels were closed and bypassed. A large scale cut and fill
was employed to divert the highway past the nearly adjacent Sideling Hill and Rays Hill tunnels, while a long rock cut through Laurel Hill was made above the original tunnel.
The three bypassed tunnels are still in existence. The 13 miles (20.9 km) stretch that contained the Sideling Hill and Rays Hill Tunnels are now part of a popular tourist attraction known as the Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike
, most of which was sold to Southern Alleghenies Conservancy
in 2001. The Laurel Hill stretch, which is much shorter at about 2 miles (3.2 km), is still owned by the PTC and trespassing is prohibited.
to avoid confusion with the existing Blue Mountain tunnel on the mainline. (It was to be named for Turnpike Commission chairman Thomas J. Evans, but this was changed when he was convicted for conspiracy to defraud the Turnpike Commission of $19 million on July 25, 1967.)
The Lehigh Tunnel was originally a two-lane tunnel, like the highway's original seven tunnels but it was twinned in the early 1990s. The new Lehigh Tunnel is the only tunnel built by the Turnpike Commission using the New Austrian Tunnelling method
. With this method, tunnels are built using a special machine resembling a large electric razor blade, guided by lasers. The tunneled area is reinforced with shotcrete
, a slurry mixture, as it is bored, eliminating the need for wooden supports. Because of the new construction, the new tube, which is round, contrasts sharply with the original rectangular tube, which was carved by the older dynamite blasting method.
The Allegheny Mountain Tunnel
, currently the longest active tunnel complex on the entire Turnpike system (only the bypassed Sideling Hill Tunnel was longer), and the only one of the original seven mainline tunnels not to have been originally bored for the aborted South Pennsylvania Railroad project, is currently the turnpike's most problematic tunnel. In 1996, the turnpike commission began a study on how to address this tunnel, which was deteriorating and had a low traffic capacity. The study recommended that a bypass (known as the "Brown Cut") be blasted through the adjacent mountain, but a high price tag and opposition from landowners and environmental groups shelved this project. The commission is currently realigning the approach roads to the tunnel while examining more acceptable ways to address the capacity and age-related issues of the tunnels.
. The proposed network included the following:
Although the extensions were dropped, the commission also looked into a major expansion project in the early 1970s in which the east–west mainline would be expanded into a "dual-dual" eight-lane highway similar to that of the New Jersey Turnpike
between Monroe Township
(near Jamesburg
) and Newark
. With the dual-dual configuration, the inner two lanes would be car-only lanes while the outer lanes would be for trucks, buses, and trailers.
The dual-dual would have required major realignments, similar to that of the Sideling Hill relocation, but most of the original infrastructure would have remained intact in most places. This plan was dropped by 1976, but since 1980, most of the original plan was implemented on a smaller scale. Truck climbing lanes were built on the Allegheny Ridge and Sideling Hill, and the roadway was expanded to six lanes between the Valley Forge and Bensalem exits. The six-lane configuration was planned or in the process of being constructed between the proposed Great Valley Slip Ramp and Valley Forge, between Bensalem and the New Jersey Turnpike, and on the Northeast Extension between Mid-County and Lansdale.
The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission is currently reconfiguring and expanding the Turnpike to meet modern traffic needs. Parts of the original Irwin-Carlisle section are being rebuilt with new roadbeds (using the original concrete and later macadam paving), and long-duration "Superpave" macadam asphalt (similar to a process used on I-95 in Delaware between U.S. Route 202
and the Pennsylvania State Line in 2000), new interchanges, and overpasses, the latter two being done well in advance of any major upgrade projects.
A project to expand the highway from four to six lanes between Norristown and Valley Forge is now complete, making all the turnpike between the Valley Forge and Bensalem (formerly Philadelphia) interchanges six lanes. Completing the entire I-95/Turnpike exit (and building the second Turnpike Connector Bridge) will make all the Delaware River Extension six lanes.
A similar six-lane expansion began in 2008 for the Northeast Extension, between its junction in Plymouth Meeting
to the Lansdale
interchange in Kulpsville
; another expansion is planned on the mainline turnpike between Valley Forge and the Downingtown interchange, the westernmost of the turnpike's Philadelphia suburban interchanges. Some of the bridges between Valley Forge and Downingtown have already been widened.
Other projects include building unmanned "slip ramps" between existing interchanges. One has been built (for E-Z Pass tagholders only) near Fort Washington (Virginia Drive). On November 22, 2010, a second slip ramp opened at Pennsylvania Route 132
in Bensalem Township
. This slip ramp, which cost $7.4 million, has access to and from the eastbound direction of the Pennsylvania Turnpike and was built to provide improved access to the Parx Casino.
On Memorial Day
weekend 2005, the Pennsylvania Turnpike system became the first highway system in Pennsylvania to have a 65 mi/h speed limit on the entire length (except for the tunnels themselves, and the winding 5.5-mile (9 km) eastern approach to the Allegheny Mountain Tunnel
) of both the mainline turnpike and the Northeast Extension. This is the first time since the mandated 55 mph (88 km/h) speed limit was implemented in 1974 that a motorist can cross the entire Commonwealth of Pennsylvania at 65 mph (105 km/h) without having to travel at lower speeds for extended periods.
The PA Turnpike Commission is currently seeking approval to add Interstate 80
to the turnpike system and thus apply a toll to the highway.
, Chester County
to serve the Great Valley Corporate Center
near Malvern
, and Lafayette Street & U.S. 202
near milemarker 331 near Bridgeport
and Norristown
in Montgomery County
. In August 2010, it was announced that the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission would approve constructing the slip ramp at PA 29. Construction on the ramp, which is estimated to cost $60 million, began in March 2011 and is expected to be finished in the later part of 2012. The Norristown slip ramp is intended to help revitalize the downtown area of Norristown, is expected to cost $160 million, and will call for an extension of Lafayette Street to the new interchange. Montgomery County officials have proposed a surcharge for the new exit in order to help pay for the project. The turnpike commission is also considering slip ramps near the New Stanton area as a part of the ongoing total reconstruction process going on between MP67 (IRWIN) and MP75 (New Stanton) and in Carbon County
on the Northeast Extension to provide access to PA Route 903 for Poconos traffic between the Mahoning Valley (74) and Pocono (95) interchanges. Construction on the PA 903 slip ramp began in 2008 with completion expected in the later part of 2013.
and the Pennsylvania Turnpike now cross each other without an interchange. This is related to (but not because of) a gap in Interstate 95 in New Jersey
, where local opposition groups managed to stop construction of the Somerset Freeway through the area. Earlier laws, since lifted, only allowed federal funds to be used to build connections to toll roads "to a point where such project will have some use irrespective of its use for such toll road, bridge, or tunnel", hence the lack of direct connections between the PA Turnpike and major north–south Interstates until the 1990s. Heading northbound from Pennsylvania into Ewing Township
(by Trenton, New Jersey
), Interstate 95 abruptly ends at its intersection with U.S. 1
. From there, the highway is then signed as Interstate 295
, and turns south. To continue on Interstate 95 northbound, one must travel south on Interstate 295
then east on Interstate 195
(or use a non-freeway section of U.S. 1) in order to reach the northern section of the New Jersey Turnpike
, which is signed as Interstate 95.
A project is currently planned to install a high speed interchange between the two highways. In addition to the new interchange, the PTC will expand the existing four-lane road to six lanes east of the Bensalem
interchange (U.S. 1
), build a new facility at milepost 353 to collect toll tickets, and convert the present Delaware River Bridge toll barrier, which currently collects tickets, to a westbound-only exact-change and high-speed E-ZPass facility. In addition, both the PTC and the New Jersey Turnpike Authority
will build a twin parallel bridge over the Delaware River, with the NJTPA itself expanding the mainline Turnpike itself from its current six lanes to a dual-dual configuration like that found north of Monroe
. This project will complete I-95 from Miami, Florida
to Houlton, Maine
. Construction on the project is expected to start in later 2010, with the replacement of two bridges over the Pennsylvania Turnpike, and will cost approximately $500 million. Construction on the interchange itself will begin in 2013 with completion in 2017.
and former Pennsylvania House Speaker John Perzel separately raised the idea of a long-term lease of the turnpike to a private group as a means of raising money to improve other infrastructure within the state, following examples of similar toll road lease arrangements in Illinois
, Indiana
, Texas
, and Virginia
. Although no plans are immediately in place, Rendell and Perzel have speculated that a lease of the system could bring anywhere from $2.5 to $30 billion to the state.
This idea faced criticism from the legislature, and instead a plan was created to lease Interstate 80
to the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission and place tolls on it to fund transportation. However, this plan faced opposition from many people in Northern Pennsylvania who feared tolls on I-80 would hurt the economy of the region, which led Rendell to revive the plan of leasing the Pennsylvania Turnpike. In October 2007, 34 companies submitted 14 proposals to leasing the turnpike. On May 19, 2008, the Spanish firm Abertis Infraestructuras, SA and Citi Infrastructure Investors
of New York City submitted a record $12.8 billion proposal to lease the turnpike. It still faces approval by the state legislature.
The PTC awarded HMSHost a 30-year contract for all of the service plazas
in 2006. As part of the deal, the plazas will be torn down and rebuilt from the ground up, starting with the Oakmont
Service Plaza near Pittsburgh, which would reopen in time for the 2007 U.S. Open Golf Championship at Oakmont Country Club
. Most of the plazas had been standing since the Turnpike opened in 1940 and had not been remodeled since Howard Johnson's
left the Turnpike in the 1980s. As of 2011, the Oakmont Plum, North Somerset
, Sideling Hill
, New Stanton
, Bowmansville
, Lawn, and King of Prussia
plazas along the mainline and the Allentown
and Hickory Run plazas along the Northeast Extension have been rebuilt.
The Oakmont Plum Service Plaza was rebuilt between September 2006 and May 2007. Between September 2007 and May 2008, the Allentown, Sideling Hill, and North Somerset plazas were rebuilt. The New Stanton Service Plaza was rebuilt from September 2008 to May 2009. The King of Prussia and Hickory Run plazas closed for reconstruction in January 2009, with King of Prussia opening in May 2010 and the Hickory Run opening in November 2010. The Lawn and Bowmansville Service Plazas were rebuilt between September 2010 and May 2011. The Plainfield, Blue Mountain, and South Somerset plazas closed in September 2011, and are expected to reopen in May 2012. The North Midway, South Midway, and Peter J. Camiel plazas are expected to be rebuilt between September 2012 and May 2013, and the Highspire and Valley Forge plazas between September 2013 and May 2014.
Before the agreement, HMSHost had the bulk of the plazas, while McDonald's
had five and Arby's
had the plaza at Oakmont. Philadelphia-based Sunoco
remains the fuel supplier along the Turnpike.
The deal led to the closing of four of the 21 plazas. The south Neshaminy Service Plaza near Philadelphia was closed and razed as part of the Philadelphia Park Raceway casino slip ramp project, while the Hempfield
service plaza was closed due to its close proximity to the New Stanton exit and the PTC's needing to widen the roadway for the exit. The Zelienople
Service Plaza closed on November 15, 2008 due to lack of business, since it was located on what is now the "free" stretch of the Turnpike from the Ohio
state line to Cranberry Township
, thus allowing motorists to easily leave and re-enter this section of the Turnpike without having to travel through a toll plaza. Most recently, the North Neshaminy Service Plaza, which sat right across from the South Neshaminy Service Plaza, was closed on May 12, 2010, and demolished due to the I-95 project.
s were numbered in sequence along the entire turnpike. On that day, mile-based exit numbers were added, and the old numbers were moved onto smaller "old exit" tabs. This was done at the same time the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation
(PennDOT) did a similar upgrade on all of the state's Interstate Highways.
For exits on the Northeast Extension, see Interstate 476.
Toll road
A toll road is a privately or publicly built road for which a driver pays a toll for use. Structures for which tolls are charged include toll bridges and toll tunnels. Non-toll roads are financed using other sources of revenue, most typically fuel tax or general tax funds...
system operated by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission
Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission
The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission was created in 1937 to construct, finance, operate and maintain the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The commission consists of five members. Four members are appointed by the Governor of Pennsylvania. The fifth member is the Pennsylvania Secretary of Transportation.In...
in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The three sections of the turnpike system total 532 miles (856.2 km). The main section extends from Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
(west) to New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
(east) and is 359 miles (577.8 km) long. The 110 miles (177 km) Northeast Extension
Interstate 476
Interstate 476 is a auxiliary Interstate Highway in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania designated between Interstate 95 near Chester and Interstate 81 near Scranton, serving as the primary north–south Interstate corridor through eastern Pennsylvania....
extends from Plymouth Meeting
Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania
Plymouth Meeting is a census-designated place in the Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the northern terminus of the "Blue Route" and the southern terminus of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Northeast Extension . The population was 6,177 at the 2010 census...
in the southeast to Wilkes-Barre and Scranton in the northeast. The various access segments in Western Pennsylvania total 62 miles (99.8 km).
The highway serves most of Pennsylvania's major urban areas. The main east/west section serves the Pittsburgh, Harrisburg
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...
, and Philadelphia areas, while its Northeast Extension serves the Allentown/Bethlehem
Lehigh Valley
The Lehigh Valley, known officially by the United States Census Bureau as the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ metropolitan area and referred to locally as The Valley and A-B-E, is a metropolitan region consisting of Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, and Carbon counties in eastern Pennsylvania and...
and Scranton
Scranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton is a city in the northeastern part of Pennsylvania, United States. It is the county seat of Lackawanna County and the largest principal city in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area. Scranton had a population of 76,089 in 2010, according to the U.S...
/Wilkes-Barre
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Wilkes-Barre is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, the county seat of Luzerne County. It is at the center of the Wyoming Valley area and is one of the principal cities in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area, which had a population of 563,631 as of the 2010 Census...
areas.
This system has an optional payment method called E-ZPass
E-ZPass
E-ZPass is an electronic toll-collection system used on most tolled roads, bridges, and tunnels in the northeastern US, south to Virginia and West Virginia, and west to Illinois. Currently, there are 25 agencies spread across 14 states that make up the . All member agencies use the same technology,...
, where tolls are paid electronically through a transponder
Transponder
In telecommunication, the term transponder has the following meanings:...
attached to the car either behind its rear-view mirror or to the front bumper.
Route numbers
- Interstate 76Interstate 76 (east)Interstate 76 is an Interstate Highway in the United States, running 435 miles from an interchange with Interstate 71 west of Akron, Ohio, east to Interstate 295 near Camden, New Jersey....
. Interstate 76 comprises the majority of the system, starting at the turnpike's western terminus at the Ohio state line, and continuing to the Valley Forge exit, where Interstate 76 leaves the turnpike. - Interstate 70Interstate 70Interstate 70 is an Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from Interstate 15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a Park and Ride near Baltimore, Maryland. It was the first Interstate Highway project in the United States. I-70 approximately traces the path of U.S. Route 40 east of the Rocky...
joins the turnpike at New Stanton, Exit 75, and runs concurrently with Interstate 76 until leaving the turnpike at Breezewood, Exit 161 (the only other tolled section of I-70 is on the Kansas TurnpikeKansas TurnpikeThe Kansas Turnpike is a freeway-standard toll road that lies entirely within the U.S. state of Kansas. It runs in a general southwest-northeast direction from the Oklahoma border, and passes through several major Kansas cities, including Wichita, Topeka, Lawrence and Kansas City...
). This section is internally known as State Route 7076. - Interstate 276. Interstate 76 leaves the turnpike mainline at Valley Forge/Philadelphia, Exit 326, where it begins to follow the Schuylkill ExpresswaySchuylkill ExpresswayThe Schuylkill Expressway , locally known as the Schuylkill, is a freeway through southwestern Montgomery County and the city of Philadelphia, and the easternmost segment of Interstate 76 in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania...
. At that point, the turnpike becomes Interstate 276 for 32.65 mi (52.54 km) until it meets with a spur of the New Jersey Turnpike at the Delaware River, at the turnpike's eastern end. Some maps have the I-276 shield on the New Jersey Turnpike extension. This section is internally known as State Route 7276. - Interstate 376Interstate 376Interstate 376 is a major auxiliary route of the Interstate Highway System in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, located entirely within the Allegheny Plateau. It runs from I-80 near Sharon south and east to a junction with the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Monroeville, after having crossed the Turnpike...
. Interstate 376 is a recent addition to the Pennsylvania Turnpike system, known as the James E. Ross Highway, formerly signed as Pennsylvania Route 60Pennsylvania Route 60Pennsylvania Route 60 is a state highway located in the western suburbs of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Although the route follows a mostly east–west alignment, it is signed as a north–south highway. The southern terminus of the route is at a pseudo-interchange with U.S...
. - Interstate 476Interstate 476Interstate 476 is a auxiliary Interstate Highway in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania designated between Interstate 95 near Chester and Interstate 81 near Scranton, serving as the primary north–south Interstate corridor through eastern Pennsylvania....
. The Northeast Extension, which meets the turnpike mainline at milepost 333.5 (the interchange is designated as Exit-20, the milepost marker for I-476), is signed as part of Interstate 476. This section was originally signed as Pennsylvania Route 9 before redesignation in the 1990s. This section is internally known as State Route 7476. - Interstate 95Interstate 95 in PennsylvaniaInterstate 95 is an Interstate highway running from Miami, Florida north to Houlton, Maine. In the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, the route is known by many as the Delaware Expressway, but is officially named The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Highway. and locally known as "95"...
. The turnpike mainline currently crosses Interstate 95; however, there is no direct connection between the two routes. Once the Pennsylvania Turnpike/Interstate 95 Interchange ProjectPennsylvania Turnpike/Interstate 95 Interchange ProjectThe Pennsylvania Turnpike/Interstate 95 Interchange Project is a project to build an interchange where Interstate 95 crosses the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Bristol Township, Pennsylvania. This will fill the gap that exists on I-95 through New Jersey due to the cancellation of the Somerset Freeway....
northeast of Philadelphia is completed, which will add a direct connection, the section of the turnpike east of that interchange (now Interstate 276) will be redesignated Interstate 95.
Toll system
Ticket system
A ticket system toll road A ticket system toll road A ticket system toll road (also known as closed toll collection system, as opposed to a flat-rate toll road, is utilized by some state toll road or highway agencies that allows a motorist to pay a toll rate based on the number of miles traveled...
toll road. A driver receives a paper ticket on entry and pays on exit; the fare is calculated on the entrance and exit points.
If a motorist loses the ticket, the Turnpike charges the highest fare to the exit where the motorist leaves and issues a receipt. If the ticket is later found, the motorist may send the ticket and receipt to the Turnpike Commission for a refund of the excess fare.
Most of the system's access points are simple trumpet interchanges, with a toll barrier located between the interchange and the local connector road. Between 1957 and 1997, the road had three "mainline" barrier plazas, one at Gateway (at the Pennsylvania/Ohio state line), connecting to the Ohio Turnpike
Ohio Turnpike
The Ohio Turnpike, officially the James W. Shocknessy Ohio Turnpike, is a -long, limited-access toll highway in the U.S. state of Ohio, serving as a primary corridor to Chicago and Pittsburgh...
, one at the Delaware River Bridge near Bristol Township
Bristol Township, Pennsylvania
Bristol Township is a township in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 54,582 at the 2010 census, making it the 13th largest municipality in the state. Bristol Township, along with Bristol Borough, is a cultural hub for Lower Bucks County, hosting celebrations of African...
, where the turnpike crosses the Delaware River
Delaware River
The Delaware River is a major river on the Atlantic coast of the United States.A Dutch expedition led by Henry Hudson in 1609 first mapped the river. The river was christened the South River in the New Netherland colony that followed, in contrast to the North River, as the Hudson River was then...
and connects with the New Jersey Turnpike
New Jersey Turnpike
The New Jersey Turnpike is a toll road in New Jersey, maintained by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority. According to the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association, the Turnpike is the nation's sixth-busiest toll road and is among one of the most heavily traveled highways in the United...
, and one on the Northeastern Extension at Clarks Summit, where it connects with Interstate 81
Interstate 81
Interstate 81 is an Interstate Highway in the eastern part of the United States. Its southern terminus is at Interstate 40 in Dandridge, Tennessee; its northern terminus is on Wellesley Island at the Canadian border, where the Thousand Islands Bridge connects it to Highway 401, the main freeway...
near Scranton
Scranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton is a city in the northeastern part of Pennsylvania, United States. It is the county seat of Lackawanna County and the largest principal city in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area. Scranton had a population of 76,089 in 2010, according to the U.S...
.
In 1992, the new Mid-County interchange opened, connecting Interstate 476
Interstate 476
Interstate 476 is a auxiliary Interstate Highway in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania designated between Interstate 95 near Chester and Interstate 81 near Scranton, serving as the primary north–south Interstate corridor through eastern Pennsylvania....
with the main trunk of the Turnpike. It doubles as a mainline and interchange barrier. In 2002, the Gateway barrier was converted to an all-cash plaza. And, since January 2, 2006, only eastbound motorists are charged—westbound motorists no longer have to pay a toll (similar to the one-way tolls on the Garden State Parkway
Garden State Parkway
The Garden State Parkway is a 172.4-mile limited-access toll parkway that stretches the length of New Jersey from the New York line at Montvale, New Jersey, to Cape May at New Jersey's southernmost tip. Its name refers to New Jersey's nickname, the "Garden State." Most New Jersey residents refer...
). In addition, a new mainline barrier, at Warrendale, was added. With the opening of the new Warrendale barrier, the Turnpike between Gateway and Warrendale is toll-free and gives motorists direct access to the James E. Ross Highway, Interstate 79
Interstate 79
Interstate 79 is an Interstate Highway in the eastern United States, designated from Interstate 77 in Charleston, West Virginia to Pennsylvania Route 5 and Pennsylvania Route 290 in Erie, Pennsylvania...
, and two local roads. A similar approach was used between the Wyoming Valley interchange and Clarks Summit on the Northeastern Extension, allowing for the construction of the Keyser Avenue interchange, along with a new coin-drop booth north of the exit. This will also be implemented when the Turnpike/Interstate 95
Interstate 95 in Pennsylvania
Interstate 95 is an Interstate highway running from Miami, Florida north to Houlton, Maine. In the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, the route is known by many as the Delaware Expressway, but is officially named The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Highway. and locally known as "95"...
exit is completed in Bristol Township
Bristol Township, Pennsylvania
Bristol Township is a township in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 54,582 at the 2010 census, making it the 13th largest municipality in the state. Bristol Township, along with Bristol Borough, is a cultural hub for Lower Bucks County, hosting celebrations of African...
allowing I-95 to access the Turnpike with a high-speed interchange.
Fares range from as low as $1.00 from one exit to the next, to over $30 for long distance travel. In March 2010, the fare for a two-axle automobile traveling the entire Turnpike eastbound from Gateway to the end of the Turnpike at the Delaware River Bridge into New Jersey, a distance of 357.6 miles (575.5 km), costs $32.30 ($30.17 with E-ZPass), or by traveling from Gateway to the Clarks Summit barrier near the end of the Northeast Extension, a distance of 444.2 miles (714.9 km), costs $38.15 ($35.49 with E-ZPass). A three percent toll increase went into effect on January 3, 2010 at 12:01 a.m. Another toll hike occurred on January 2, 2011, where cash tolls increased 10 percent and E-ZPass tolls increased 3 percent. As part of this toll hike, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission initially planned not to print the toll amount on new tickets in order to save money. As a result of this plan, Pennsylvania Auditor Jack Wagner
Jack Wagner (politician)
Jack E. Wagner is the current auditor general of Pennsylvania. The statewide elected office is charged with serving as the commonwealth’s independent fiscal monitor...
questioned if the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission was trying to hide the toll hike. The Turnpike Commission later decided to include the fares on the new tickets.
E-ZPass
E-ZPass
E-ZPass is an electronic toll-collection system used on most tolled roads, bridges, and tunnels in the northeastern US, south to Virginia and West Virginia, and west to Illinois. Currently, there are 25 agencies spread across 14 states that make up the . All member agencies use the same technology,...
is accepted in designated lanes at all toll plazas. The Virginia Drive exit near Fort Washington
Fort Washington, Pennsylvania
Fort Washington is an unincorporated census-designated place and suburb of Philadelphia in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 5,446 at the 2010 census.-Prior to the Revolutionary War:...
and the Philadelphia Park interchange near Bensalem
Bensalem Township, Pennsylvania
Bensalem Township is a township in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States which borders the northeast section of Philadelphia. The township is composed of many communities, including Bensalem, Trevose, Oakford, Cornwells Heights, Eddington, and Andalusia...
are accessible only to E-ZPass customers. In addition, the proposed Great Valley interchange near Malvern
Malvern, Pennsylvania
Malvern is a borough in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,998 at the 2010 census. The main road through the borough is King Street, although the borough is also bordered by Paoli Pike on the south, and is near US 30 on the north. The primary cross street is Warren...
is expected to be E-ZPass-only.
The Pennsylvania Turnpike is considering eliminating manned toll booths in favor of all-electronic tolls. In 2011, the Fort Littleton, Willow Hill, and Blue Mountain interchanges are expected to become unmanned, in which either E-ZPass or credit cards will be accepted. Drivers unable to pay by either of these methods will be billed in the mail using license plate technology, with an additional surcharge applied. In addition to E-ZPass, the Turnpike Commission other automated options to pay for tolls such as using a prepaid account that utilizes license plate technology. McCormick Taylor and Wilbur Smith Associates have been hired to conduct a feasibility study on converting the road to all-electronic tolls. If this experiment proves successful, the turnpike extensions, including Pennsylvania Route 43 and Pennsylvania Route 576
Pennsylvania Route 576
Pennsylvania Route 576, the Southern Beltway, is a partially completed highway in the southern suburbs of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States...
, may become cashless as well.
Emergency assistance
The turnpike has a callboxCallbox
A call box or callbox is a box containing a special-purpose direct line telephone or other telecommunications device, which has been used by various industries and institutions as a way for employees or clients at a remote location to contact a central dispatch office.- Police and taxicab...
at each mile for its entire length. Motorists may also dial *11 on their mobile phones. First responder services are available to all turnpike customers via the State Farm Safety Patrol program.
History
Irwin, Pennsylvania
Irwin is a borough in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, southeast of Pittsburgh. Some of the most extensive bituminous coal deposits in the State are located here. In the past, iron foundries, flour mills, car shops, facing and planing mills, electrical goods, and mirror factories provided...
to Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Carlisle is a borough in and the county seat of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The name is traditionally pronounced with emphasis on the second syllable. Carlisle is located within the Cumberland Valley, a highly productive agricultural region. As of the 2010 census, the borough...
opening in 1940, and from Ohio line to the New Jersey line in 1956. When the first section opened in 1940, it was built to higher design standards and extended over a longer distance than any other limited-access divided highway in the United States, and was the first inter-city expressway comparable to the German Autobahn. Before World War II it was popularly known as the "tunnel highway" because of the seven mountain tunnel
Tunnel
A tunnel is an underground passageway, completely enclosed except for openings for egress, commonly at each end.A tunnel may be for foot or vehicular road traffic, for rail traffic, or for a canal. Some tunnels are aqueducts to supply water for consumption or for hydroelectric stations or are sewers...
s along its route.
First section
The turnpike was partly constructed on an unused railroad grade intended for the aborted South Pennsylvania RailroadSouth Pennsylvania Railroad
The South Pennsylvania Railroad is the name given to two proposed but never completed Pennsylvania railroads in the nineteenth-century. Parts of the right of way for the second South Pennsylvania Railroad were reused for the Pennsylvania Turnpike....
project, and six of its seven original tunnels (all except the Allegheny Mountain
Allegheny Mountains
The Allegheny Mountain Range , also spelled Alleghany, Allegany and, informally, the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the eastern United States and Canada...
tunnel) were first bored for that railroad. The construction began in the 1880s but was never completed. A combined total of 4.5 miles (7.2 km) of tunnel had been dug through seven mountains.
U.S. Route 22 in Pennsylvania
U.S. Route 22 is an east–west route stretching from Cincinnati, Ohio in the west to Newark, New Jersey in the east. In Pennsylvania, the route runs for between the West Virginia state line at Washington County, where it is a limited-access expressway-grade route through the western suburbs...
(William Penn Highway
William Penn Highway
The William Penn Highway was an auto trail in the United States, generally running from Pittsburgh east to New York City. It served as the eastern end of the Pikes Peak Ocean-to-Ocean Highway. The William Penn Highway Association of Pennsylvania was organized March 27, 1916 to promote a road...
) and US 30
U.S. Route 30 in Pennsylvania
In the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, U.S. Route 30 runs east–west across the southern part of the state, passing through Pittsburgh and Philadelphia on its way from the West Virginia state line east to the Benjamin Franklin Bridge over the Delaware River into New Jersey...
(Lincoln Highway
Lincoln Highway
The Lincoln Highway was the first road across the United States of America.Conceived and promoted by entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, the Lincoln Highway spanned coast-to-coast from Times Square in New York City to Lincoln Park in San Francisco, originally through 13 states: New York, New Jersey,...
)—and offer a high-speed four lane route free of cross traffic. The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission was created by law on May 21, 1937, and construction began October 27, 1938, with the removal of water from the unfinished tunnels. The 160 miles (257.5 km) roadway took 770,000 tons of sand, 1,200,000 tons of stone, 50,000 tons of steel, and more than 300,000 tons of cement to complete. It was built at a cost of $370,000 per mile ($230,910 per km).
On October 1, 1940, the first section of Turnpike opened, running from US 11
U.S. Route 11 in Pennsylvania
U.S. Route 11 roughly parallels Interstate 81 in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It serves Harrisburg and Scranton. Between those two cities, US 11 follows the Susquehanna River, while I-81 follows a shorter route over the mountains.-Route description:...
near Carlisle (southwest of Harrisburg) west to US 30
U.S. Route 30 in Pennsylvania
In the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, U.S. Route 30 runs east–west across the southern part of the state, passing through Pittsburgh and Philadelphia on its way from the West Virginia state line east to the Benjamin Franklin Bridge over the Delaware River into New Jersey...
at Irwin
Irwin, Pennsylvania
Irwin is a borough in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, southeast of Pittsburgh. Some of the most extensive bituminous coal deposits in the State are located here. In the past, iron foundries, flour mills, car shops, facing and planing mills, electrical goods, and mirror factories provided...
(east of Pittsburgh). As built, most of the road was four lanes, but it narrowed to one lane in each direction for the seven tunnels (the South Pennsylvania had begun work on nine, but two—the Quemahoning Tunnel
Quemahoning Tunnel
The Quemahoning Tunnel is a tunnel that was constructed by the New York Central Railroad for use on the stillborn South Pennsylvania Railroad. The tunnel is located in Somerset County, Pennsylvania near the 106.3 milemarker of the Pennsylvania Turnpike....
and Negro Mountain Tunnel
Negro Mountain Tunnel
The Negro Mountain Tunnel is a tunnel located in Negro Mountain in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. It was built by New York Central Railroad as part of the stillborn South Pennsylvania Railroad, which over time became known as "Vanderbilt's Folly"...
—were bypassed by the Turnpike). Despite the railroad right-of-way, much of the new Turnpike was built on a new, straighter alignment, as engineering had progressed much since the days of the railroad.
Unlike earlier parkways, mostly in the New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
area, which were restricted to cars, the Turnpike allowed all traffic. Like the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Autobahn on which it was loosely based, there was no enforced speed limit on most of the road; some cars could travel at 100 mi/h and traverse the entire 160 miles (257.5 km) original segment in less than two hours. The phenomenon of highway hypnosis
Highway hypnosis
Highway hypnosis, also popularly known as driving without attention mode or white line fever, is a mental state in which a person can drive a truck or automobile great distances, responding to external events in the expected manner with no recollection of having consciously done so...
began to afflict motorists on some of the long, straight segments, especially on the 21 miles (33.8 km) section of Turnpike between the Blue Mountain Tunnel
Blue Mountain Tunnel
The Blue Mountain Tunnel is one of two tunnels through Blue Mountain in Pennsylvania, located west of Newburg. It is one of seven tunnels completed for the Pennsylvania Turnpike mainline, and at in length, is the shortest of the four still in use today. The Blue Mountain Tunnel is to the east...
and the eastern terminus at Carlisle.
A speed limit of 70 mi/h for passenger cars was enacted on April 15, 1941, with a speed limit of 50–65 mph (80–105 km/h) for trucks based on weight, and speed limits of 35 mi/h in tunnels and 45 mi/h on bridges. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the Turnpike adopted the national speed limit of 35 mi/h. In the 1950s, the speed limit was reduced to 65 mi/h for all vehicles, and again reduced to 55 mi/h in 1974 when the federal government enacted a national speed limit. The speed limit was once again raised to 65 mi/h in 1995, but it did not cover the Delaware River extension or the Northeast Extension. Those two segments were restored to a 65 mph speed limit several years later.
Expansion
With the success of the original 160 miles (257.5 km) segment, the Turnpike Commission planned to expand the original turnpike to a high-speed cross-state route, connecting Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. This was shelved with the onset of World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, but with the war's end, the Turnpike Commission resumed construction.
Philadelphia Extension
The Philadelphia Extension extended the turnpike east to King of PrussiaKing of Prussia, Pennsylvania
King of Prussia is a census-designated place in Upper Merion Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 19,936. The community took its name in the 18th century from a local tavern named the King of Prussia Inn, which was named after...
near Philadelphia and Valley Forge, Pennsylvania
Valley Forge, Pennsylvania
The Village of Valley Forge is an unincorporated settlement located on the west side of Valley Forge National Historical Park at the confluence of Valley Creek and the Schuylkill River in Pennsylvania, United States. The remaining village is in Schuylkill Township of Chester County, but once...
. The first phase of that expansion made the highway slightly longer, stretching it to US 15
U.S. Route 15 in Pennsylvania
U.S. Route 15 is a north-south U.S. Highway in Pennsylvania.-Route description:US 15 enters Pennsylvania south of Gettysburg, Adams County. The route heads to the north toward Harrisburg. It joins with U.S. 11 going along the west shore of the Susquehanna River until they split across the river...
near Harrisburg
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...
. That section opened on February 1, and the rest of the expansion, east to King of Prussia, opened on November 20, 1950. At that time the old mainline toll booth and interchange at Carlisle was closed, and the Middlesex interchange, at the old east end at US 11
U.S. Route 11 in Pennsylvania
U.S. Route 11 roughly parallels Interstate 81 in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It serves Harrisburg and Scranton. Between those two cities, US 11 follows the Susquehanna River, while I-81 follows a shorter route over the mountains.-Route description:...
, was reconfigured and renamed as the Carlisle interchange. The original eastern end of the Philadelphia Extension was at what is now the present-day interchange with Interstate 76
Interstate 76 (east)
Interstate 76 is an Interstate Highway in the United States, running 435 miles from an interchange with Interstate 71 west of Akron, Ohio, east to Interstate 295 near Camden, New Jersey....
and US 202
U.S. Route 202 in Pennsylvania
U.S. Route 202 runs through the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, passing through the northern and western suburbs of Philadelphia. It follows in a general southwest to northeast direction through the state, passing through West Chester, King of Prussia, Norristown,...
.
Western Extension
U.S. Route 22 in Pennsylvania
U.S. Route 22 is an east–west route stretching from Cincinnati, Ohio in the west to Newark, New Jersey in the east. In Pennsylvania, the route runs for between the West Virginia state line at Washington County, where it is a limited-access expressway-grade route through the western suburbs...
at Monroeville, east of Pittsburgh, opened August 7, 1951. The remainder opened to traffic on December 26, 1951, taking the highway west almost to the Ohio state line. Traffic was diverted onto the two-lane Burkey Road just west of the western barrier toll for almost three years until a connection with the Ohio Turnpike connection opened. The interchange with Pennsylvania Route 18
Pennsylvania Route 18
Pennsylvania Route 18 is a major north–south highway in Western Pennsylvania whose southern terminus is at the West Virginia state line in Greene County, Pennsylvania near the village of Garrison, while the northern terminus is at PA Route 5 in Lake City, Pennsylvania...
at Homewood
Homewood, Pennsylvania
Homewood is a borough in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 147 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Homewood is located at ....
was not completed until March 1, 1952. The turnpike connected with Youngstown, Ohio, after the first section of the Ohio Turnpike
Ohio Turnpike
The Ohio Turnpike, officially the James W. Shocknessy Ohio Turnpike, is a -long, limited-access toll highway in the U.S. state of Ohio, serving as a primary corridor to Chicago and Pittsburgh...
opened on December 1, 1954.
Delaware River Extension
The Delaware River Extension to Pennsylvania Route 611Pennsylvania Route 611
Pennsylvania Route 611 is a major state highway in Pennsylvania, United States, running from Interstate 95 south of downtown Philadelphia north to Interstate 380 in Coolbaugh Township, Pennsylvania in The Poconos....
at Willow Grove
Willow Grove, Pennsylvania
Willow Grove is a census-designated place in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. A community in Philadelphia's northern suburbs, the population was 15,726 at the 2010 census. It is located in Abington Township and Upper Moreland Township...
opened on August 23, 1954 and the intermediate Fort Washington
Fort Washington, Pennsylvania
Fort Washington is an unincorporated census-designated place and suburb of Philadelphia in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 5,446 at the 2010 census.-Prior to the Revolutionary War:...
interchange with PA 309
Pennsylvania Route 309
Pennsylvania Route 309 is a major highway which runs for 134 miles through Pennsylvania in the United States. It connects Philadelphia and its northern suburbs to Allentown, Hazleton, and Wilkes-Barre. A limited-access highway portion of PA 309 in the Wilkes-Barre area is known as the North...
opened September 20. Extensions to US 1
U.S. Route 1 in Pennsylvania
U.S. Route 1 is a major north–south U.S. Highway, extending from the Florida Keys in the south to the Canadian border in the north. In the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, US 1 runs for from the Maryland state line near Oxford to the New Jersey state line near Trenton.-Maryland to Interstate...
near Trevose
Trevose, Pennsylvania
Trevose is a neighborhood of Bensalem and Lower Southampton in Pennsylvania, which is north of and borders northeastern Philadelphia. It shares a zip code with Feasterville-Trevose. It is not a municipality. U.S. 1 runs through the town as well as the Pennsylvania Turnpike, but Trevose's main road...
opened October 27 and to US 13
U.S. Route 13 in Pennsylvania
U.S. Route 13 passes through the Philadelphia metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The route enters the state from Delaware in Marcus Hook, Delaware County. It continues in a northeasterly direction through Delaware County, passes through Philadelphia, and continues into Bucks...
near Bristol Township
Bristol Township, Pennsylvania
Bristol Township is a township in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 54,582 at the 2010 census, making it the 13th largest municipality in the state. Bristol Township, along with Bristol Borough, is a cultural hub for Lower Bucks County, hosting celebrations of African...
on November 17, 1954. The final piece opened on May 23, 1956 with the completion of the Delaware River – Turnpike Toll Bridge, which connected to a short spur of the New Jersey Turnpike
New Jersey Turnpike
The New Jersey Turnpike is a toll road in New Jersey, maintained by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority. According to the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association, the Turnpike is the nation's sixth-busiest toll road and is among one of the most heavily traveled highways in the United...
. The highway, originally designated as Interstate 280 when the Pennsylvania Turnpike between the Ohio state line and Valley Forge was I-80S, received its present number of I-276 in 1964 when I-80S became I-76.
Northeast Extension
The Northeast Extension, from the Mid-County Interchange northwest of Philadelphia north to Interstate 81Interstate 81 in Pennsylvania
Interstate 81 is an long north–south Interstate Highway, stretching from Dandridge, Tennessee to Fisher's Landing, New York at the US/Canadian border...
near Scranton, opened in stages from November 23, 1955 to November 7, 1957. This was the last segment of the Turnpike system to be built until the late 1980s. Formerly signed as Pennsylvania Route 9, in 1996 after the expansion of the Lehigh Tunnel
Lehigh Tunnel
The Lehigh Tunnel is a pair of road tunnels that carries the Pennsylvania Turnpike Northeast Extension under the Blue Mountain north from Interstate 78 to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area between mileposts 70.7 to 71.5. The tunnel was called the Lehigh Tunnel to avoid confusion with the existing...
to four lanes, the entire extension became part of Interstate 476 (continuing from the Chester-to-Plymouth Meeting freeway).
Western expansions
Western extensions which mostly serve the Pittsburgh area were constructed from the 1990s and work on them continues to this day. The James E. Ross Highway and the Amos K. Hutchinson BypassPennsylvania Route 66
Pennsylvania Route 66 is a long state highway in Western Pennsylvania. Its northern terminus is at U.S. Route 6 in Kane. Its southern terminus is at US 119 near New Stanton. West of Greensburg, PA 66 becomes the tolled Amos K. Hutchinson Bypass, a part of the Pennsylvania Turnpike System. The...
were completed by 1994, and the James J. Manderino Highway, a West Virginia-to-Pittsburgh route, (Mon/Fayette Expressway) is about half completed with the last major link to Pittsburgh under design. The first section of the Pittsburgh Southern Beltway
Pennsylvania Route 576
Pennsylvania Route 576, the Southern Beltway, is a partially completed highway in the southern suburbs of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States...
(from the Mon/Fayette Expressway to the Pittsburgh International Airport) has been completed and is open to traffic. Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) for the two remaining sections are in preparation.
Competing highways
The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission originally proposed a statewide system of additional toll highways, but these plans were rendered unnecessary with the inception of the U.S. Interstate Highway system in 1956. A toll-free east–west competitor—Interstate 80Interstate 80 in Pennsylvania
The transcontinental Interstate 80 is designated across northern Pennsylvania as the Keystone Shortway, officially the Z.H. Confair Memorial Highway. This route was built mainly along a completely new alignment, not paralleling any earlier U.S. Routes, as a shortcut to the tolled Pennsylvania...
—opened on August 29, 1970 across northern Pennsylvania, forming a route that was more direct for New York–Chicago traffic. In 2007, however, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania leased Interstate 80 to the Turnpike Commission. Under this lease agreement, this would have allowed the Turnpike Commission to convert Interstate 80 to a toll highway.
However, on September 11, 2008, the Federal Highway Administration rejected Pennsylvania's application to toll Interstate 80.
2004 Teamsters strike
On November 24, 2004, the day before ThanksgivingThanksgiving
Thanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. In Canada, Thanksgiving falls on the same day as Columbus Day in the...
, two-thousand Teamsters Union employees of the Pennsylvania Turnpike went on strike
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
, after contract negotiations failed. As this is usually one of the busiest traffic days in the United States, to keep the turnpike open, tolls were waived for the rest of the day. Starting on November 25, turnpike management personnel collected flat-rate passenger tolls of $2 and commercial tolls of $15 from cash customers on the ticketed system, while E-ZPass customers were charged the lesser of the actual toll or the same flat rates. This was a substantial discount for many travelers, who would normally have paid $19.75 to travel the full length of the main east–west route in a passenger car, and between $29 and $794, depending on vehicle weight class, to cross the state in a commercial vehicle. The strike lasted only seven days, with an agreement reached on November 30. Normal toll collection resumed December 1.
The "Tunnel Highway"
Modernization
While the Turnpike was built as a four-lane, limited-access freeway with a median varying between 4 and 10 ft (1.2 and 3 ) (the norm), the seven tunnels each had only two undivided travel lanes. By the 1960s, this constriction was creating long delays at each tunnel. To alleviate the overcrowding, the Turnpike Commission studied ways either to expand or to bypass each tunnel.The result was four tunnels being "twinned" through the construction of parallel two-lane tunnels, the three others either bypassed or closed. The Blue, Kittattiny, Tuscarora, and Allegheny Mountain twins were of slightly larger diameter and featured white ceramic tile cladding and improved lighting inside yet maintained identical exterior appearance. Upon completion, the original tunnels were temporarily closed to be brought up to the new interior standards.
The Sideling Hill
Sideling Hill Tunnel
Sideling Hill Tunnel is one of three original Pennsylvania Turnpike tunnels abandoned after two massive realignment projects. The others are nearby Rays Hill Tunnel, and further west, the Laurel Hill Tunnel. It was less expensive to realign the Turnpike than to bore a second tube for four lane...
, Rays Hill
Rays Hill Tunnel
Rays Hill Tunnel is one of three original Pennsylvania Turnpike tunnels which were abandoned after two massive realignment projects. The others included the Sideling Hill Tunnel, and further west, the Laurel Hill Tunnel. The reason for abandonment was because it was thought to be less expensive...
, and Laurel Hill
Laurel Hill Tunnel
Laurel Hill Tunnel is one of three original Pennsylvania Turnpike tunnels which were abandoned after two massive realignment projects.The Laurel Hill Tunnel was bored under the border between Westmoreland and Somerset Counties...
tunnels were closed and bypassed. A large scale cut and fill
Cut and fill
In earthmoving, cut and fill is the process of constructing a railway, road or canal whereby the amount of material from cuts roughly matches the amount of fill needed to make nearby embankments, so minimizing the amount of construction labor...
was employed to divert the highway past the nearly adjacent Sideling Hill and Rays Hill tunnels, while a long rock cut through Laurel Hill was made above the original tunnel.
The three bypassed tunnels are still in existence. The 13 miles (20.9 km) stretch that contained the Sideling Hill and Rays Hill Tunnels are now part of a popular tourist attraction known as the Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike
Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike
The Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike is the common name of a 13 mile stretch of the Pennsylvania Turnpike that was bypassed in 1968 when a modern stretch opened to ease traffic congestion in the tunnels. In this case, the Sideling Hill Tunnel and Rays Hill Tunnel were bypassed, as was one of the...
, most of which was sold to Southern Alleghenies Conservancy
Southern Alleghenies Conservancy
Southern Alleghenies Conservancy is a non-profit nature group preserving the environment in South Western and South Central Pennsylvania, covering Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Fulton, Huntingdon, and Somerset counties.-Current projects:...
in 2001. The Laurel Hill stretch, which is much shorter at about 2 miles (3.2 km), is still owned by the PTC and trespassing is prohibited.
Lehigh Tunnel
The Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike contains the Lehigh Tunnel, a 4461 feet (1,359.7 m) tunnel through Blue Mountain. The tunnel was named Lehigh TunnelLehigh Tunnel
The Lehigh Tunnel is a pair of road tunnels that carries the Pennsylvania Turnpike Northeast Extension under the Blue Mountain north from Interstate 78 to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area between mileposts 70.7 to 71.5. The tunnel was called the Lehigh Tunnel to avoid confusion with the existing...
to avoid confusion with the existing Blue Mountain tunnel on the mainline. (It was to be named for Turnpike Commission chairman Thomas J. Evans, but this was changed when he was convicted for conspiracy to defraud the Turnpike Commission of $19 million on July 25, 1967.)
The Lehigh Tunnel was originally a two-lane tunnel, like the highway's original seven tunnels but it was twinned in the early 1990s. The new Lehigh Tunnel is the only tunnel built by the Turnpike Commission using the New Austrian Tunnelling method
New Austrian Tunnelling method
The New Austrian Tunnelling method was developed between 1957 and 1965 in Austria. It was given its name in Salzburg in 1962 to distinguish it from old Austrian tunnelling approach. The main contributors to the development of NATM were Ladislaus von Rabcewicz, Leopold Müller and Franz Pacher...
. With this method, tunnels are built using a special machine resembling a large electric razor blade, guided by lasers. The tunneled area is reinforced with shotcrete
Shotcrete
Shotcrete is concrete conveyed through a hose and pneumatically projected at high velocity onto a surface, as a construction technique....
, a slurry mixture, as it is bored, eliminating the need for wooden supports. Because of the new construction, the new tube, which is round, contrasts sharply with the original rectangular tube, which was carved by the older dynamite blasting method.
Allegheny Tunnel modernization
Allegheny Mountain Tunnel
The Allegheny Mountain Tunnel is a vehicular tunnel carrying the Pennsylvania Turnpike through the Allegheny Mountains. At this point, the Turnpike carries Interstates 70 and 76. The original Allegheny Mountain Tunnel was built in the late 19th century for the South Pennsylvania Railroad, which was...
, currently the longest active tunnel complex on the entire Turnpike system (only the bypassed Sideling Hill Tunnel was longer), and the only one of the original seven mainline tunnels not to have been originally bored for the aborted South Pennsylvania Railroad project, is currently the turnpike's most problematic tunnel. In 1996, the turnpike commission began a study on how to address this tunnel, which was deteriorating and had a low traffic capacity. The study recommended that a bypass (known as the "Brown Cut") be blasted through the adjacent mountain, but a high price tag and opposition from landowners and environmental groups shelved this project. The commission is currently realigning the approach roads to the tunnel while examining more acceptable ways to address the capacity and age-related issues of the tunnels.
Aborted extensions and expansions
Soon after the mainline was built, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission proposed a number of extensions as part of a 1,000 mile (1,600 km) Turnpike network. These plans were dropped in the mid-1950s in favor of the Interstate Highway SystemInterstate Highway System
The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, , is a network of limited-access roads including freeways, highways, and expressways forming part of the National Highway System of the United States of America...
. The proposed network included the following:
- Chester Extension—now Interstate 476Interstate 476Interstate 476 is a auxiliary Interstate Highway in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania designated between Interstate 95 near Chester and Interstate 81 near Scranton, serving as the primary north–south Interstate corridor through eastern Pennsylvania....
between Chester and the Northeast Extension - Northwest Extension—now Interstate 79Interstate 79Interstate 79 is an Interstate Highway in the eastern United States, designated from Interstate 77 in Charleston, West Virginia to Pennsylvania Route 5 and Pennsylvania Route 290 in Erie, Pennsylvania...
, this would connect with I-90 (the road that becomes the New York State ThruwayNew York State ThruwayThe New York State Thruway is a system of limited-access highways located within the state of New York in the United States. The system, known officially as the Governor Thomas E. Dewey Thruway for former New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey, is operated by the New York State Thruway Authority and...
) near ErieErie, PennsylvaniaErie is a city located in northwestern Pennsylvania in the United States. Named for the lake and the Native American tribe that resided along its southern shore, Erie is the state's fourth-largest city , with a population of 102,000...
. - Southwest Extension—now Interstate 79Interstate 79Interstate 79 is an Interstate Highway in the eastern United States, designated from Interstate 77 in Charleston, West Virginia to Pennsylvania Route 5 and Pennsylvania Route 290 in Erie, Pennsylvania...
, this would be a continuation of the Northwest Extension to West Virginia. - Gettysburg Extension—now the U.S. Route 15U.S. Route 15U.S. Route 15 is a -long United States highway, designated along South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York. The route is signed north–south, from U.S. Route 17 Alternate in Walterboro, South Carolina to Interstate 86 and NY 17 in Painted Post, New York.US...
Gettysburg Bypass - Northeastern Extension (Clarks Summit to New York State Line)—now Interstate 81Interstate 81Interstate 81 is an Interstate Highway in the eastern part of the United States. Its southern terminus is at Interstate 40 in Dandridge, Tennessee; its northern terminus is on Wellesley Island at the Canadian border, where the Thousand Islands Bridge connects it to Highway 401, the main freeway...
. This would also connect with the New York State Thruway in SyracuseSyracuse, New YorkSyracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
. - Philadelphia Loop Connection—now Interstate 95Interstate 95 in PennsylvaniaInterstate 95 is an Interstate highway running from Miami, Florida north to Houlton, Maine. In the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, the route is known by many as the Delaware Expressway, but is officially named The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Highway. and locally known as "95"...
between Interstate 76Interstate 76 (east)Interstate 76 is an Interstate Highway in the United States, running 435 miles from an interchange with Interstate 71 west of Akron, Ohio, east to Interstate 295 near Camden, New Jersey....
at the Walt Whitman BridgeWalt Whitman BridgeThe Walt Whitman Bridge is a green-colored single-level suspension bridge spanning the Delaware River from Philadelphia to Gloucester City, New Jersey. Named after the poet Walt Whitman, who resided in nearby Camden toward the end of his life, the Walt Whitman Bridge is one of the larger bridges...
and Interstate 276 - Sharon Lateral Connection—now Interstate 80Interstate 80Interstate 80 is the second-longest Interstate Highway in the United States, following Interstate 90. It is a transcontinental artery running from downtown San Francisco, California to Teaneck, New Jersey in the New York City Metropolitan Area...
Although the extensions were dropped, the commission also looked into a major expansion project in the early 1970s in which the east–west mainline would be expanded into a "dual-dual" eight-lane highway similar to that of the New Jersey Turnpike
New Jersey Turnpike
The New Jersey Turnpike is a toll road in New Jersey, maintained by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority. According to the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association, the Turnpike is the nation's sixth-busiest toll road and is among one of the most heavily traveled highways in the United...
between Monroe Township
Monroe Township, Middlesex County, New Jersey
Monroe Township is a Township in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township population was 27,999. Monroe was incorporated as a township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 9, 1838, from portions of South Amboy Township, based on the...
(near Jamesburg
Jamesburg, New Jersey
Jamesburg is a Borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 6,025.Jamesburg was formed as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 19, 1887, when it was created from portions of Monroe Township, based on...
) and Newark
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
. With the dual-dual configuration, the inner two lanes would be car-only lanes while the outer lanes would be for trucks, buses, and trailers.
The dual-dual would have required major realignments, similar to that of the Sideling Hill relocation, but most of the original infrastructure would have remained intact in most places. This plan was dropped by 1976, but since 1980, most of the original plan was implemented on a smaller scale. Truck climbing lanes were built on the Allegheny Ridge and Sideling Hill, and the roadway was expanded to six lanes between the Valley Forge and Bensalem exits. The six-lane configuration was planned or in the process of being constructed between the proposed Great Valley Slip Ramp and Valley Forge, between Bensalem and the New Jersey Turnpike, and on the Northeast Extension between Mid-County and Lansdale.
Current events
Today, the Turnpike is controlled by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, handles over 172 million vehicles a year, and employs nearly 2,200 people.The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission is currently reconfiguring and expanding the Turnpike to meet modern traffic needs. Parts of the original Irwin-Carlisle section are being rebuilt with new roadbeds (using the original concrete and later macadam paving), and long-duration "Superpave" macadam asphalt (similar to a process used on I-95 in Delaware between U.S. Route 202
U.S. Route 202 in Delaware
U.S. Route 202 runs through northern New Castle County in the U.S. state of Delaware. It heads from a cloverleaf interchange with U.S. Route 13 and U.S...
and the Pennsylvania State Line in 2000), new interchanges, and overpasses, the latter two being done well in advance of any major upgrade projects.
A project to expand the highway from four to six lanes between Norristown and Valley Forge is now complete, making all the turnpike between the Valley Forge and Bensalem (formerly Philadelphia) interchanges six lanes. Completing the entire I-95/Turnpike exit (and building the second Turnpike Connector Bridge) will make all the Delaware River Extension six lanes.
A similar six-lane expansion began in 2008 for the Northeast Extension, between its junction in Plymouth Meeting
Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania
Plymouth Meeting is a census-designated place in the Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the northern terminus of the "Blue Route" and the southern terminus of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Northeast Extension . The population was 6,177 at the 2010 census...
to the Lansdale
Lansdale, Pennsylvania
Lansdale is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, 28 miles northwest of Philadelphia. Early in the 20th century, its industries included agricultural implement works, a canning factory, foundries, brickyards, a silk mill, and manufacturers of cigars, stoves, shirts, rope, iron drain pipe,...
interchange in Kulpsville
Kulpsville, Pennsylvania
Kulpsville is a census-designated place in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 8,194 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Kulpsville is located at ....
; another expansion is planned on the mainline turnpike between Valley Forge and the Downingtown interchange, the westernmost of the turnpike's Philadelphia suburban interchanges. Some of the bridges between Valley Forge and Downingtown have already been widened.
Pennsylvania Route 132
Pennsylvania Route 132 is a state highway in southeast Pennsylvania. It runs northwest to southeast through Bucks County in suburban Philadelphia from PA 611 in Warrington Township to Interstate 95 in Bensalem Township. It is a commercial route lined with shopping centers throughout much of its...
in Bensalem Township
Bensalem Township, Pennsylvania
Bensalem Township is a township in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States which borders the northeast section of Philadelphia. The township is composed of many communities, including Bensalem, Trevose, Oakford, Cornwells Heights, Eddington, and Andalusia...
. This slip ramp, which cost $7.4 million, has access to and from the eastbound direction of the Pennsylvania Turnpike and was built to provide improved access to the Parx Casino.
On Memorial Day
Memorial Day
Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the fallen Union soldiers of the Civil War...
weekend 2005, the Pennsylvania Turnpike system became the first highway system in Pennsylvania to have a 65 mi/h speed limit on the entire length (except for the tunnels themselves, and the winding 5.5-mile (9 km) eastern approach to the Allegheny Mountain Tunnel
Allegheny Mountain Tunnel
The Allegheny Mountain Tunnel is a vehicular tunnel carrying the Pennsylvania Turnpike through the Allegheny Mountains. At this point, the Turnpike carries Interstates 70 and 76. The original Allegheny Mountain Tunnel was built in the late 19th century for the South Pennsylvania Railroad, which was...
) of both the mainline turnpike and the Northeast Extension. This is the first time since the mandated 55 mph (88 km/h) speed limit was implemented in 1974 that a motorist can cross the entire Commonwealth of Pennsylvania at 65 mph (105 km/h) without having to travel at lower speeds for extended periods.
The PA Turnpike Commission is currently seeking approval to add Interstate 80
Interstate 80 in Pennsylvania
The transcontinental Interstate 80 is designated across northern Pennsylvania as the Keystone Shortway, officially the Z.H. Confair Memorial Highway. This route was built mainly along a completely new alignment, not paralleling any earlier U.S. Routes, as a shortcut to the tolled Pennsylvania...
to the turnpike system and thus apply a toll to the highway.
Future slip ramp locations
The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission is considering several E-ZPass only slip ramps along the Pennsylvania Turnpike. These locations include PA Route 29 near milemarker 319 in East Whiteland TownshipEast Whiteland Township, Pennsylvania
East Whiteland Township is a township in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 10,650 at the 2010 census.-History:...
, Chester County
Chester County, Pennsylvania
-State parks:*French Creek State Park*Marsh Creek State Park*White Clay Creek Preserve-Demographics:As of the 2010 census, the county was 85.5% White, 6.1% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American or Alaskan Native, 3.9% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian, 1.8% were two or more races, and 2.4% were...
to serve the Great Valley Corporate Center
Great Valley Corporate Center
Great Valley Corporate Center is a business park community in Malvern and East Whiteland, Pennsylvania, located off U.S. Route 202. Great Valley Corporate Center is about for offices and Research and Development ....
near Malvern
Malvern, Pennsylvania
Malvern is a borough in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,998 at the 2010 census. The main road through the borough is King Street, although the borough is also bordered by Paoli Pike on the south, and is near US 30 on the north. The primary cross street is Warren...
, and Lafayette Street & U.S. 202
U.S. Route 202
U.S. Route 202 is a highway stretching from Delaware to Maine, also passing through the states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire....
near milemarker 331 near Bridgeport
Bridgeport, Pennsylvania
Bridgeport is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, 18 miles north of Philadelphia on the Schuylkill River. The old-time industries were paper, flour, cotton, and woolen mills, steel works, brickyards, etc. Bridgeport is six miles east of Valley Forge, Pennsylvania...
and Norristown
Norristown, Pennsylvania
Norristown is a municipality in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, northwest of the city limits of Philadelphia, on the Schuylkill River. The population was 34,324 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Montgomery County...
in Montgomery County
Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
Montgomery County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of 2010, the population was 799,874, making it the third most populous county in Pennsylvania . The county seat is Norristown.The county was created on September 10, 1784, out of land originally part...
. In August 2010, it was announced that the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission would approve constructing the slip ramp at PA 29. Construction on the ramp, which is estimated to cost $60 million, began in March 2011 and is expected to be finished in the later part of 2012. The Norristown slip ramp is intended to help revitalize the downtown area of Norristown, is expected to cost $160 million, and will call for an extension of Lafayette Street to the new interchange. Montgomery County officials have proposed a surcharge for the new exit in order to help pay for the project. The turnpike commission is also considering slip ramps near the New Stanton area as a part of the ongoing total reconstruction process going on between MP67 (IRWIN) and MP75 (New Stanton) and in Carbon County
Carbon County, Pennsylvania
As of the census of 2000, there were 58,802 people, 23,701 households, and 16,424 families residing in the county. The population density was 154 people per square mile . There were 30,492 housing units at an average density of 80 per square mile...
on the Northeast Extension to provide access to PA Route 903 for Poconos traffic between the Mahoning Valley (74) and Pocono (95) interchanges. Construction on the PA 903 slip ramp began in 2008 with completion expected in the later part of 2013.
Interchange with Interstate 95 project
Interstate 95Interstate 95 in Pennsylvania
Interstate 95 is an Interstate highway running from Miami, Florida north to Houlton, Maine. In the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, the route is known by many as the Delaware Expressway, but is officially named The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Highway. and locally known as "95"...
and the Pennsylvania Turnpike now cross each other without an interchange. This is related to (but not because of) a gap in Interstate 95 in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, where local opposition groups managed to stop construction of the Somerset Freeway through the area. Earlier laws, since lifted, only allowed federal funds to be used to build connections to toll roads "to a point where such project will have some use irrespective of its use for such toll road, bridge, or tunnel", hence the lack of direct connections between the PA Turnpike and major north–south Interstates until the 1990s. Heading northbound from Pennsylvania into Ewing Township
Ewing Township, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the 2010 Census, there were 35,790 people, 13,171 households, and 7,980 families residing in the township. There were 13,926 housing units. The racial makeup of the township was 63.1% White, 27.6% African American, 0.3% Native American, 4.3% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 2.2%...
(by Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton is the capital of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Trenton had a population of 84,913...
), Interstate 95 abruptly ends at its intersection with U.S. 1
U.S. Route 1 in New Jersey
U.S. Route 1 is a United States highway which parallels the East Coast of the United States, running from Key West, Florida in the south to Fort Kent, Maine at the Canadian border in the north. Of the entire length of the route, of it runs through New Jersey...
. From there, the highway is then signed as Interstate 295
Interstate 295 (Delaware-New Jersey)
Interstate 295 in New Jersey and Delaware is an auxiliary Interstate Highway, designated as a bypass around Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The route begins at a junction with Interstate 95 south of Wilmington, Delaware, and runs to another junction with I-95 north of Trenton, New Jersey...
, and turns south. To continue on Interstate 95 northbound, one must travel south on Interstate 295
Interstate 295 (Delaware-New Jersey)
Interstate 295 in New Jersey and Delaware is an auxiliary Interstate Highway, designated as a bypass around Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The route begins at a junction with Interstate 95 south of Wilmington, Delaware, and runs to another junction with I-95 north of Trenton, New Jersey...
then east on Interstate 195
Interstate 195 (New Jersey)
Interstate 195 is an auxiliary route of the Interstate Highway System located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Its western end is at I-295 and Route 29 just south of Trenton, New Jersey in Hamilton Township, Mercer County while its eastern end is at the Garden State Parkway, Route 34 and Route...
(or use a non-freeway section of U.S. 1) in order to reach the northern section of the New Jersey Turnpike
New Jersey Turnpike
The New Jersey Turnpike is a toll road in New Jersey, maintained by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority. According to the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association, the Turnpike is the nation's sixth-busiest toll road and is among one of the most heavily traveled highways in the United...
, which is signed as Interstate 95.
A project is currently planned to install a high speed interchange between the two highways. In addition to the new interchange, the PTC will expand the existing four-lane road to six lanes east of the Bensalem
Bensalem Township, Pennsylvania
Bensalem Township is a township in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States which borders the northeast section of Philadelphia. The township is composed of many communities, including Bensalem, Trevose, Oakford, Cornwells Heights, Eddington, and Andalusia...
interchange (U.S. 1
U.S. Route 1 in Pennsylvania
U.S. Route 1 is a major north–south U.S. Highway, extending from the Florida Keys in the south to the Canadian border in the north. In the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, US 1 runs for from the Maryland state line near Oxford to the New Jersey state line near Trenton.-Maryland to Interstate...
), build a new facility at milepost 353 to collect toll tickets, and convert the present Delaware River Bridge toll barrier, which currently collects tickets, to a westbound-only exact-change and high-speed E-ZPass facility. In addition, both the PTC and the New Jersey Turnpike Authority
New Jersey Turnpike
The New Jersey Turnpike is a toll road in New Jersey, maintained by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority. According to the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association, the Turnpike is the nation's sixth-busiest toll road and is among one of the most heavily traveled highways in the United...
will build a twin parallel bridge over the Delaware River, with the NJTPA itself expanding the mainline Turnpike itself from its current six lanes to a dual-dual configuration like that found north of Monroe
Monroe Township, Middlesex County, New Jersey
Monroe Township is a Township in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township population was 27,999. Monroe was incorporated as a township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 9, 1838, from portions of South Amboy Township, based on the...
. This project will complete I-95 from Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
to Houlton, Maine
Houlton, Maine
Houlton is a town in Aroostook County, Maine, on the United States – Canada border, located at . As of the 2010 census, the town population was 6,123. It is perhaps best known as being at the northern terminus of Interstate 95 and for being the birthplace of Samantha Smith...
. Construction on the project is expected to start in later 2010, with the replacement of two bridges over the Pennsylvania Turnpike, and will cost approximately $500 million. Construction on the interchange itself will begin in 2013 with completion in 2017.
Privatization
In November 2006, Pennsylvania Governor Ed RendellEd Rendell
Edward Gene "Ed" Rendell is an American politician who served as the 45th Governor of Pennsylvania. Rendell, a member of the Democratic Party, was elected Governor of Pennsylvania in 2002, and his term of office began January 21, 2003...
and former Pennsylvania House Speaker John Perzel separately raised the idea of a long-term lease of the turnpike to a private group as a means of raising money to improve other infrastructure within the state, following examples of similar toll road lease arrangements in Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, and Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. Although no plans are immediately in place, Rendell and Perzel have speculated that a lease of the system could bring anywhere from $2.5 to $30 billion to the state.
This idea faced criticism from the legislature, and instead a plan was created to lease Interstate 80
Interstate 80 in Pennsylvania
The transcontinental Interstate 80 is designated across northern Pennsylvania as the Keystone Shortway, officially the Z.H. Confair Memorial Highway. This route was built mainly along a completely new alignment, not paralleling any earlier U.S. Routes, as a shortcut to the tolled Pennsylvania...
to the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission and place tolls on it to fund transportation. However, this plan faced opposition from many people in Northern Pennsylvania who feared tolls on I-80 would hurt the economy of the region, which led Rendell to revive the plan of leasing the Pennsylvania Turnpike. In October 2007, 34 companies submitted 14 proposals to leasing the turnpike. On May 19, 2008, the Spanish firm Abertis Infraestructuras, SA and Citi Infrastructure Investors
Citigroup
Citigroup Inc. or Citi is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Citigroup was formed from one of the world's largest mergers in history by combining the banking giant Citicorp and financial conglomerate...
of New York City submitted a record $12.8 billion proposal to lease the turnpike. It still faces approval by the state legislature.
Service plaza updates
Rest area
A rest area, travel plaza, rest stop, or service area is a public facility, located next to a large thoroughfare such as a highway, expressway, or freeway at which drivers and passengers can rest, eat, or refuel without exiting on to secondary roads...
in 2006. As part of the deal, the plazas will be torn down and rebuilt from the ground up, starting with the Oakmont
Oakmont, Pennsylvania
Oakmont is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, USA. It is a Pittsburgh suburb and part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. The population was 6,303 at the 2010 census....
Service Plaza near Pittsburgh, which would reopen in time for the 2007 U.S. Open Golf Championship at Oakmont Country Club
Oakmont Country Club
Oakmont Country Club is a country club and the "oldest top-ranked golf course in the U. S.", in the Pittsburgh suburbs of Plum and Oakmont, Pennsylvania, USA. The Pennsylvania Turnpike separates the eastern seven holes from the rest of the course....
. Most of the plazas had been standing since the Turnpike opened in 1940 and had not been remodeled since Howard Johnson's
Howard Johnson's
Howard Johnson's is a chain of hotels and restaurants, located primarily throughout the United States and Canada. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Howard Johnson's was the largest restaurant chain in the United States, with over 1,000 restaurants...
left the Turnpike in the 1980s. As of 2011, the Oakmont Plum, North Somerset
Somerset, Pennsylvania
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 6,762 people, 3,035 households, and 1,717 families residing in the borough. The population density was 2,466.0 people per square mile . There were 3,313 housing units at an average density of 1,208.2 per square mile...
, Sideling Hill
Sideling Hill
Sideling Hill is a long, steep, narrow mountain ridge in the Ridge-and-Valley physiographic province of the Appalachian Mountains, located in Washington County in western Maryland and adjacent West Virginia and Pennsylvania, USA...
, New Stanton
New Stanton, Pennsylvania
New Stanton is a borough in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,906 at the 2000 census. New Stanton is often used as a control city in western parts of Pennsylvania, as I-70 joins the Pennsylvania Turnpike eastbound towards Breezewood, Pennsylvania in New...
, Bowmansville
Bowmansville, Pennsylvania
Bowmansville, Pennsylvania is an unincorporated community located in Brecknock Township in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania....
, Lawn, and King of Prussia
King of Prussia, Pennsylvania
King of Prussia is a census-designated place in Upper Merion Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 19,936. The community took its name in the 18th century from a local tavern named the King of Prussia Inn, which was named after...
plazas along the mainline and the Allentown
Allentown, Pennsylvania
Allentown is a city located in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is Pennsylvania's third most populous city, after Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and the 215th largest city in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 118,032 and is currently...
and Hickory Run plazas along the Northeast Extension have been rebuilt.
The Oakmont Plum Service Plaza was rebuilt between September 2006 and May 2007. Between September 2007 and May 2008, the Allentown, Sideling Hill, and North Somerset plazas were rebuilt. The New Stanton Service Plaza was rebuilt from September 2008 to May 2009. The King of Prussia and Hickory Run plazas closed for reconstruction in January 2009, with King of Prussia opening in May 2010 and the Hickory Run opening in November 2010. The Lawn and Bowmansville Service Plazas were rebuilt between September 2010 and May 2011. The Plainfield, Blue Mountain, and South Somerset plazas closed in September 2011, and are expected to reopen in May 2012. The North Midway, South Midway, and Peter J. Camiel plazas are expected to be rebuilt between September 2012 and May 2013, and the Highspire and Valley Forge plazas between September 2013 and May 2014.
Before the agreement, HMSHost had the bulk of the plazas, while McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
had five and Arby's
Arby's
Arby's is a fast food restaurant chain in the United States and Canada. Roark Capital Group owns 81.5% of the company, with Wendy's Company owning the other 18.5%. It is primarily known for selling roast beef sandwiches and curly fries. The Arby's menu also includes chicken sandwiches, appetizers,...
had the plaza at Oakmont. Philadelphia-based Sunoco
Sunoco
Sunoco Inc. is an American petroleum and petrochemical manufacturer headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, formerly known as Sun Company Inc. and Sun Oil Co. ....
remains the fuel supplier along the Turnpike.
The deal led to the closing of four of the 21 plazas. The south Neshaminy Service Plaza near Philadelphia was closed and razed as part of the Philadelphia Park Raceway casino slip ramp project, while the Hempfield
Hempfield Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania
Hempfield Township is a township in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 43,241 at the 2010 census, making it the largest suburb in the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Area by population.- Geography :...
service plaza was closed due to its close proximity to the New Stanton exit and the PTC's needing to widen the roadway for the exit. The Zelienople
Zelienople, Pennsylvania
Zelienople is a borough in Butler County, Pennsylvania, north of Pittsburgh. The population was 4,123 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of , of which 98% is land and 1.35% is water....
Service Plaza closed on November 15, 2008 due to lack of business, since it was located on what is now the "free" stretch of the Turnpike from the Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
state line to Cranberry Township
Cranberry Township, Butler County, Pennsylvania
Cranberry Township is a township in Butler County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is classified as a Second Class Township and follows the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Second Class Township Code. The population was 28,098 as of the 2010 census....
, thus allowing motorists to easily leave and re-enter this section of the Turnpike without having to travel through a toll plaza. Most recently, the North Neshaminy Service Plaza, which sat right across from the South Neshaminy Service Plaza, was closed on May 12, 2010, and demolished due to the I-95 project.
Radio broadcasts
The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission broadcasts current roadway, traffic, and weather conditions via "Highway Advisory Radio" transmitters at each exit. The broadcasts are available on AM 1640 and can be heard approximately two miles away from each exit.Exit list
Previous to the 1950s, the sequential numbering along the original section was redone. Until October 25, 2000, exit numberExit number
An exit number is a number assigned to a road junction, usually an exit from a freeway. It is usually marked on the same sign as the destinations of the exit, as well as a sign in the gore....
s were numbered in sequence along the entire turnpike. On that day, mile-based exit numbers were added, and the old numbers were moved onto smaller "old exit" tabs. This was done at the same time the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation oversees transportation issues in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The administrator of PennDOT is the Pennsylvania Secretary of Transportation, currently Barry Schoch Presently, PennDOT supports over of state roads and highways, about 25,000...
(PennDOT) did a similar upgrade on all of the state's Interstate Highways.
For exits on the Northeast Extension, see Interstate 476.
See also
- Abandoned Pennsylvania TurnpikeAbandoned Pennsylvania TurnpikeThe Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike is the common name of a 13 mile stretch of the Pennsylvania Turnpike that was bypassed in 1968 when a modern stretch opened to ease traffic congestion in the tunnels. In this case, the Sideling Hill Tunnel and Rays Hill Tunnel were bypassed, as was one of the...
- Joseph G. BrimmeierJoseph G. BrimmeierJoseph G. Brimmeier is the Chief Executive Officer of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission.Brimmeier attended Pittsburgh's North Catholic High School...
- List of Pennsylvania state agencies
- List of toll roads
- Rumble stripRumble stripRumble strips, also known as sleeper lines, are a road safety feature that alert inattentive drivers to potential danger by causing a tactile vibration and audible rumbling, transmitted through the wheels into the car body...
Further reading
- Cupper, Dan, The Pennsylvania Turnpike: A History, Lebanon, PA: Applied Arts Publishers, 1990, 48pp, ISBN 0911410901