Pennsylvania

[NE2]

Does anyone know anything about potential traffic route numbers in the 1930s for every legislative route added during the Depression? They show up on most of the 1940 census maps, for example http://catalog.archives.gov/id/5838518 ; this one is special because somehow PA 438 west of Ligonier found its way onto the 1941 county map (and so did PA 173 to the east):

[roadman65]

What is up with US 222 in Lancaster? Why does it not continue along Queen Street in Downtown? I noticed it turns NE on Church Street and then north four blocks east. Thus along PA 462 you have quite a distance between the two alignments of US 222.

It must be the widest one way couplets in the nation's road system.

[jemacedo9]

PennDOT posted to their Facebook feed that the Variable Speed Limit signs will be turned on "in the next few weeks" with a PSA from the State Police stating the signs will be enforceable.

[Roadsguy]

What is up with US 222 in Lancaster? Why does it not continue along Queen Street in Downtown? I noticed it turns NE on Church Street and then north four blocks east. Thus along PA 462 you have quite a distance between the two alignments of US 222.

It must be the widest one way couplets in the nation's road system.

It's just a consequence of the way the street grid connects. 222 from the south logically feeds into Prince and Queen Streets, and from the north it feeds into Duke and Lime Streets. The northbound routing makes sense; it's southbound jogging all the way over to Prince Street that's weird, especially since it cuts off southbound PA 72 to end on the north side of town, while northbound 72 begins on the south side. This means PA 72 exists only in the northbound direction on Queen Street in downtown Lancaster.

This can't easily be avoided, though, because Duke Street doesn't have a good connection over to Prince Street. Northbound 222 uses the diagonal Church Street, which is plenty wide enough to sacrifice a parking lane to allow for two through lanes in each direction. If the diagonal section of the street grid extended just one block further to Prince Street, that would be the best routing of southbound 222.

[74/171FAN]

PennDOT posted to their Facebook feed that the Variable Speed Limit signs will be turned on "in the next few weeks" with a PSA from the State Police stating the signs will be enforceable.

I just looked on it, and I did not see anything.  I guess you are referring to I-76 on the Schuylkill Expressway.

Anyway, an update on PA 283 at PA 722.

[jemacedo9]

PennDOT posted to their Facebook feed that the Variable Speed Limit signs will be turned on "in the next few weeks" with a PSA from the State Police stating the signs will be enforceable.

I just looked on it, and I did not see anything.  I guess you are referring to I-76 on the Schuylkill Expressway.

I meant to add that, yes...I-76 Schuylkill Expressway (US 202 to City Ave US 1).

My FB notification came from Greater Philly Area PennDOT...but the post appears to have come from the PennDOT page directly.

[jeffandnicole]

PennDOT posted to their Facebook feed that the Variable Speed Limit signs will be turned on "in the next few weeks" with a PSA from the State Police stating the signs will be enforceable.

Was the person in charge of writing that PSA laughing at the time?

The shoulders along much of the Schuylkill Expressway are substandard.  It makes it incredibly tough for any actual enforcement to take place when a traffic stop involves the cop car encroaching on a travel lane and the suspect car encroaching on a travel lane.  And it will almost guarantee that it will further increase the traffic jam back, when the reduced limit would've been the reason the cop is pulling over the person in the first place.

It's possible to do 80 on the Schuylkill...on a Sunday morning at 6am.  Outside of that, it's tough to really do too much speed to begin with; especially anything significant enough to warrant being pulled over.

[famartin]

PennDOT posted to their Facebook feed that the Variable Speed Limit signs will be turned on "in the next few weeks" with a PSA from the State Police stating the signs will be enforceable.

Was the person in charge of writing that PSA laughing at the time?

The shoulders along much of the Schuylkill Expressway are substandard.  It makes it incredibly tough for any actual enforcement to take place when a traffic stop involves the cop car encroaching on a travel lane and the suspect car encroaching on a travel lane.  And it will almost guarantee that it will further increase the traffic jam back, when the reduced limit would've been the reason the cop is pulling over the person in the first place.

It's possible to do 80 on the Schuylkill...on a Sunday morning at 6am.  Outside of that, it's tough to really do too much speed to begin with; especially anything significant enough to warrant being pulled over.

Gotta admit, based on what I routinely see on I-95 thru Philly, the idea of any serious limit enforcement seems like a fantasy or a joke.  People scream past me routinely even when I'm 10 over the limit.

[jeffandnicole]

PennDOT posted to their Facebook feed that the Variable Speed Limit signs will be turned on "in the next few weeks" with a PSA from the State Police stating the signs will be enforceable.

Was the person in charge of writing that PSA laughing at the time?

The shoulders along much of the Schuylkill Expressway are substandard.  It makes it incredibly tough for any actual enforcement to take place when a traffic stop involves the cop car encroaching on a travel lane and the suspect car encroaching on a travel lane.  And it will almost guarantee that it will further increase the traffic jam back, when the reduced limit would've been the reason the cop is pulling over the person in the first place.

It's possible to do 80 on the Schuylkill...on a Sunday morning at 6am.  Outside of that, it's tough to really do too much speed to begin with; especially anything significant enough to warrant being pulled over.

Gotta admit, based on what I routinely see on I-95 thru Philly, the idea of any serious limit enforcement seems like a fantasy or a joke.  People scream past me routinely even when I'm 10 over the limit.

Yeah...at 65 mph, that's slow on 95.

[74/171FAN]

Update on US 202 in Norristown: Markley Street Traffic Shift Thursday Marks Completion of New Northbound Bridge Over Stony Creek in Norristown

[roadman65]

What is up with US 222 in Lancaster? Why does it not continue along Queen Street in Downtown? I noticed it turns NE on Church Street and then north four blocks east. Thus along PA 462 you have quite a distance between the two alignments of US 222.

It must be the widest one way couplets in the nation's road system.

It's just a consequence of the way the street grid connects. 222 from the south logically feeds into Prince and Queen Streets, and from the north it feeds into Duke and Lime Streets. The northbound routing makes sense; it's southbound jogging all the way over to Prince Street that's weird, especially since it cuts off southbound PA 72 to end on the north side of town, while northbound 72 begins on the south side. This means PA 72 exists only in the northbound direction on Queen Street in downtown Lancaster.

This can't easily be avoided, though, because Duke Street doesn't have a good connection over to Prince Street. Northbound 222 uses the diagonal Church Street, which is plenty wide enough to sacrifice a parking lane to allow for two through lanes in each direction. If the diagonal section of the street grid extended just one block further to Prince Street, that would be the best routing of southbound 222.

Another weird one is EB PA 462 and EB PA 23 being on separate alignments while Westbound they both share a concurrency.

[74/171FAN]

PennDOT announces update on PA 228:  Prep Work to begin on State Route 228 from Route 8 to Officer Edward Brooks Drive, Middlesex Township, Butler County

Also PennDOT Announces New Scenic Byway Designation for the Brandywine Valley Scenic Byway

Third on US 220 Safety Improvements between PA 287 and Williamsport.

Fourth: PennDOT Announces Virtual Plans Display for State Route 3020 Powell to Haine School Improvement project in Cranberry Township, Butler County

[Roadsguy]

What is up with US 222 in Lancaster? Why does it not continue along Queen Street in Downtown? I noticed it turns NE on Church Street and then north four blocks east. Thus along PA 462 you have quite a distance between the two alignments of US 222.

It must be the widest one way couplets in the nation's road system.

It's just a consequence of the way the street grid connects. 222 from the south logically feeds into Prince and Queen Streets, and from the north it feeds into Duke and Lime Streets. The northbound routing makes sense; it's southbound jogging all the way over to Prince Street that's weird, especially since it cuts off southbound PA 72 to end on the north side of town, while northbound 72 begins on the south side. This means PA 72 exists only in the northbound direction on Queen Street in downtown Lancaster.

This can't easily be avoided, though, because Duke Street doesn't have a good connection over to Prince Street. Northbound 222 uses the diagonal Church Street, which is plenty wide enough to sacrifice a parking lane to allow for two through lanes in each direction. If the diagonal section of the street grid extended just one block further to Prince Street, that would be the best routing of southbound 222.

Another weird one is EB PA 462 and EB PA 23 being on separate alignments while Westbound they both share a concurrency.

Yeah, that one I have no idea why they did. It seems like a completely arbitrary decision since Orange Street would provide a continuous route for westbound 462, compared to the actual routing following Walnut Street all the way to Race Avenue, which isn't signed very well because Walnut and Chestnut Streets are maintained by the city of Lancaster, not by PennDOT like King, Orange, and all four major north-south streets are.

[jemacedo9]

Does anyone know anything about potential traffic route numbers in the 1930s for every legislative route added during the Depression? They show up on most of the 1940 census maps, for example http://catalog.archives.gov/id/5838518 ; this one is special because somehow PA 438 west of Ligonier found its way onto the 1941 county map (and so did PA 173 to the east):

I've always wondered that.  PA had a pretty good numbering parent-child-spur numbering system, but it seemed like somewhere along the way a bunch of new routes were added with numbers that seemed arbitrary.  Some examples off the top of my head that maybe fit this or maybe not:
Chester County - PA 345
Berks County - PA 419, PA 568, PA 737, PA 645
York County - PA 382, PA 392, PA 177, PA 262, PA 425
Erie County - PA 531
Indiana County - PA 259
Lackawanna County - PA 632, PA 438, PA 524, PA 348

[74/171FAN]

From District 6: PennDOT to Begin Project to Widen and Improve 1.5 Miles of U.S. 1 in Bensalem, Middletown Townships, Bucks County

[Crown Victoria]

A commission has been organized to study the future of PA's transportation funding, including eliminating the gas tax (yes you read that correctly):

https://www.pennlive.com/news/2021/03/gov-tom-wolf-proposes-phasing-out-pennsylvanias-gasoline-tax.html

[vdeane]

Yeesh.  I hate user fees.  The great thing about the gas tax is that it's (mostly) invisible.

This is why it should be illegal for states to divert gas tax revenue for other purposes.  Of the listed diversions, the only one that could possibly be legitimate is the one to local governments - and even then, only if it's in a fund specifically for road/bridge projects, similar to NY's CHIPS program.  The toll roads around Pittsburgh are part of the Turnpike and should be funded as such, and the other diversions aren't even related to the gas tax's purpose of building/maintaining the highway system.

[Crown Victoria]

Yeesh.  I hate user fees.  The great thing about the gas tax is that it's (mostly) invisible.

This is why it should be illegal for states to divert gas tax revenue for other purposes.  Of the listed diversions, the only one that could possibly be legitimate is the one to local governments - and even then, only if it's in a fund specifically for road/bridge projects, similar to NY's CHIPS program.  The toll roads around Pittsburgh are part of the Turnpike and should be funded as such, and the other diversions aren't even related to the gas tax's purpose of building/maintaining the highway system.

The diversion of fuel tax revenue to the state police is probably the most controversial of those items listed. Annual amounts have been in excess of $800 million in the past (and currently in the upper $600 millions I believe), but are now (slowly) being reduced to $500 million/yr. While not nearly enough to address PennDOT's funding issues, that's still a lot of money, probably enough to, say, begin widening I-81, for instance.

The problem here is that, in order to fully restore all fuel tax revenues to PennDOT, other sources of funding would need to be found. When you combine this with Act 44's diversions from the Turnpike that are set to be reduced by $400 million next year, that leaves a hole in the budget of over $1 billion that would be tough to fill, considering that the Legislature would have to either raise taxes or reduce/divert other spending.

And, of course, restoring fuel tax revenue to PennDOT is only a temporary fix, as that money itself is slowly declining...

I should also note that fuel tax revenue in PA is constitutionally protected...but, as "safety" is included in the allowable uses for said revenue, this ostensibly allows the diversion of funds to the State Police.

[Ketchup99]

One thing that occurred to me driving back from New York on Saturday morning is that the 70 zones on I-80 seem to be kind of arbitrary.

Between I-380 and the Luzerne-Columbia line, why can't it be 70 and not 65? It seems like an identical roadway in every respect, including traffic volume, interchange spacing, the whole nine yards.

[74/171FAN]

The I-80/PA 26 Interchange work resumes next week.  (I quoted the article from the email I received because the PennDOT website is currently down.) EDIT: Link was added at 3:18 PM.

PennDOT - District 2 News
Local Interchange Project Work Resumes Next Week

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) is alerting area motorists that work will resume next week on its Local Interchange/Route 26 project in Centre County. The work zone is located along I-80 near the Bellefonte/161 interchange and work to build the local interchange can affect traffic flow on Interstate 80.

This year, motorists will use a crossover taking one lane of traffic from I-80 westbound to I-80 eastbound. The lane configuration through the work zone will be three lanes on eastbound and one remaining on westbound. To prepare for opening of the crossovers there will be some preliminary work taking place.

During the week of March 22, lane closures will be used to complete cross-pipe work on I-80 westbound. The right lane will be closed for a period of 2-3 days followed by the left lane for a period of 2-3 days. Additionally, there will be a right lane closure on I-80 eastbound for 2-3 days to complete shoulder repair.

Work on this project is in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and state Department of Health guidance as well as a project-specific COVID-19 safety plan. The plan includes protocols for social distancing, use of face coverings, personal and job site cleaning protocols, management of entries to the job site and relevant training.

Work this season will include completion of basin construction in the median, completion of norther ramps, full depth reconstruction of I-80 westbound bridge piers and northern abutment, and construction of the connector road between I-80 and Route 26.

The I-80/Route 26 local interchange project is east of Bellefonte and is part of a long-awaited safety-improvement in Centre County. HRI, Inc. of State College is the contractor on this $52 million project. Up-to-date information can be found on the project page at www.penndot.gov/SR26Localinterchange

[jemacedo9]

One thing that occurred to me driving back from New York on Saturday morning is that the 70 zones on I-80 seem to be kind of arbitrary.

Between I-380 and the Luzerne-Columbia line, why can't it be 70 and not 65? It seems like an identical roadway in every respect, including traffic volume, interchange spacing, the whole nine yards.

My guess has been that there are a couple of sharp downhill curves with 45MPH advisory speeds and truck rollover warning signs...one between the PA 940/I-476 Exit and the PA 534 exit, and another west of the PA 93 exits. So instead of raising and lowering between 65 and 70, PennDOT kept it at 65 until you clear the westernmost curve. 

That bridge just after the curve west of PA 93 is one of the proposed bridge tolls.  The bridge deck is a quilted mess...and the shunpike route is very inconvenient.

[rickmastfan67]

The lane configuration through the work zone will be three lanes on eastbound and one remaining on westbound.

This can't be right, can it?  3 lanes EB???

[Alps]

The lane configuration through the work zone will be three lanes on eastbound and one remaining on westbound.

This can't be right, can it?  3 lanes EB???

I think that means 2 EB and 1 WB on the eastbound roadway.

[rickmastfan67]

The lane configuration through the work zone will be three lanes on eastbound and one remaining on westbound.

This can't be right, can it?  3 lanes EB???

I think that means 2 EB and 1 WB on the eastbound roadway.

Now that I've reread it again, yeah, that must be it.

[MASTERNC]

The lane configuration through the work zone will be three lanes on eastbound and one remaining on westbound.

This can't be right, can it?  3 lanes EB???

I think that means 2 EB and 1 WB on the eastbound roadway.

The lane configuration through the work zone will be three lanes on eastbound and one remaining on westbound.

This can't be right, can it?  3 lanes EB???

I think that means 2 EB and 1 WB on the eastbound roadway.

Now that I've reread it again, yeah, that must be it.

They should have called it the Express Lane setup or a split traffic pattern.  The wording was definitely confusing at first read.