Pennsylvania

[SGwithADD]

Seeing a few more four head FYAs in PA but very scattered. Philadelphia has one at 15th & Arch for SB right turns and then for WB left turns onto 15th.

I know of at least two FYAs in Allegheny County:  Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh near the Carnegie-Mellon University campus and PA 48/PA 148 intersection in McKeesport.  So far none in my home county.

Interesting there is a FYA for a right turn considering PennDOT does not recommend them for those turns.  Then again, Philadelphia had red arrows long before the rest of the state.

SM-G965U

I know of one in Greentree at SR 121 & Potomac Ave.

Also, the city of Pittsburgh is in the process of installing several as they upgrade signals around town.

The city just installed a 4-head FYA at the intersection of Fifth Ave. and Negley Ave., replacing a signal that did not previously provide protected turns for traffic on Negley.

[ixnay]

Seeing a few more four head FYAs in PA but very scattered. Philadelphia has one at 15th & Arch for SB right turns and then for WB left turns onto 15th.

I know of at least two FYAs in Allegheny County:  Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh near the Carnegie-Mellon University campus and PA 48/PA 148 intersection in McKeesport.  So far none in my home county.

Interesting there is a FYA for a right turn considering PennDOT does not recommend them for those turns.  Then again, Philadelphia had red arrows long before the rest of the state.

SM-G965U

I know of one in Greentree at SR 121 & Potomac Ave.

Also, the city of Pittsburgh is in the process of installing several as they upgrade signals around town.

The city just installed a 4-head FYA at the intersection of Fifth Ave. and Negley Ave., replacing a signal that did not previously provide protected turns for traffic on Negley.

FYA? 

ixnay

[Alps]

Seeing a few more four head FYAs in PA but very scattered. Philadelphia has one at 15th & Arch for SB right turns and then for WB left turns onto 15th.

I know of at least two FYAs in Allegheny County:  Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh near the Carnegie-Mellon University campus and PA 48/PA 148 intersection in McKeesport.  So far none in my home county.

Interesting there is a FYA for a right turn considering PennDOT does not recommend them for those turns.  Then again, Philadelphia had red arrows long before the rest of the state.

SM-G965U

I know of one in Greentree at SR 121 & Potomac Ave.

Also, the city of Pittsburgh is in the process of installing several as they upgrade signals around town.

The city just installed a 4-head FYA at the intersection of Fifth Ave. and Negley Ave., replacing a signal that did not previously provide protected turns for traffic on Negley.

FYA? 

ixnay

Flashing Yellow Arrow :alarmed:

[74/171FAN]

Markley St (US 202 SB) will be closed to northbound traffic for 2.5 years starting January 27th.

There is no surprise that Dekalb St (US 202 NB) is the detour.

[Alps]

Markley St (US 202 SB) will be closed to northbound traffic for 2.5 years starting January 27th.

There is no surprise that Dekalb St (US 202 NB) is the detour.

Why does 202 split through Norristown? It would seem to me that the NB road should be the business route.

[Roadsguy]

Markley St (US 202 SB) will be closed to northbound traffic for 2.5 years starting January 27th.

There is no surprise that Dekalb St (US 202 NB) is the detour.

Why does 202 split through Norristown? It would seem to me that the NB road should be the business route.

Why it doesn't just follow Markley Street/Swede Road all the way is a very good question, but making Dekalb Street a business route wouldn't really work since it's one-way through downtown Norristown.

[ixnay]

Seeing a few more four head FYAs in PA but very scattered. Philadelphia has one at 15th & Arch for SB right turns and then for WB left turns onto 15th.

I know of at least two FYAs in Allegheny County:  Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh near the Carnegie-Mellon University campus and PA 48/PA 148 intersection in McKeesport.  So far none in my home county.

Interesting there is a FYA for a right turn considering PennDOT does not recommend them for those turns.  Then again, Philadelphia had red arrows long before the rest of the state.

SM-G965U

I know of one in Greentree at SR 121 & Potomac Ave.

Also, the city of Pittsburgh is in the process of installing several as they upgrade signals around town.

The city just installed a 4-head FYA at the intersection of Fifth Ave. and Negley Ave., replacing a signal that did not previously provide protected turns for traffic on Negley.

FYA? 

ixnay

Flashing Yellow Arrow :alarmed:

D'oh!

ixnay

[74/171FAN]

Markley St (US 202 SB) will be closed to northbound traffic for 2.5 years starting January 27th.

There is no surprise that Dekalb St (US 202 NB) is the detour.

Why does 202 split through Norristown? It would seem to me that the NB road should be the business route.

Why it doesn't just follow Markley Street/Swede Road all the way is a very good question, but making Dekalb Street a business route wouldn't really work since it's one-way through downtown Norristown.

Markley St will still only be one lane NB after the project is complete so leaving the split at least keeps two lanes per direction in the area. (as confusing as that sounds)

Having said that, I agree that US 202 SB should be on Swede Rd instead of cutting over at Johnson Hwy.

[Roadsguy]

Markley St (US 202 SB) will be closed to northbound traffic for 2.5 years starting January 27th.

There is no surprise that Dekalb St (US 202 NB) is the detour.

Why does 202 split through Norristown? It would seem to me that the NB road should be the business route.

Why it doesn't just follow Markley Street/Swede Road all the way is a very good question, but making Dekalb Street a business route wouldn't really work since it's one-way through downtown Norristown.

Markley St will still only be one lane NB after the project is complete so leaving the split at least keeps two lanes per direction in the area. (as confusing as that sounds)

Having said that, I agree that US 202 SB should be on Swede Rd instead of cutting over at Johnson Hwy.

I suppose if they really wanted to, they could make the pair of road three lanes, with two one way and one the other, so that US 202 can be four lanes. If necessary, Markley Street could be made one-way through at least part of downtown. This would work better after Lafayette Street is completed to the weird half-diamond thing at the Dannehower Bridge, to allow for more east-west connectivity between the two directions of 202.

[sbeaver44]

Probably a pedantic question, but is the northern end of I-476 the trumpet with I-81, or the trumpet with US 11?  If it's US 11, then there is a very short unsigned I-476/US 6 concurrency.  I consider the two trumpets to be separate interchanges.

Wiki says I-81/US 6/US 11 so it's treating it all as one interchange.  But it also says 476 "ends at an interchange with connections to I-81, US 6 and US 11. US 6 joins the turnpike for less than 1⁄4 mile (0.40 km) to connect between I-81 and US 11. "

If I read this correctly, I-476 ends at the trumpet with I-81, and only US 6 exists between the trumpets without I-476, but that US 6 is sort of part of the (non-tolled) PA Turnpike for a hot second.

[74/171FAN]

We discussed this on TM last year and agreed to extend I-476 to US 11.  You can see the green extend to there on the PennDOT Traffic Volume Map for Lackawanna County.

Having said that, we will see if the Scranton Beltway in the future could require another change here.

[Alps]

Probably a pedantic question, but is the northern end of I-476 the trumpet with I-81, or the trumpet with US 11?  If it's US 11, then there is a very short unsigned I-476/US 6 concurrency.  I consider the two trumpets to be separate interchanges.

Wiki says I-81/US 6/US 11 so it's treating it all as one interchange.  But it also says 476 "ends at an interchange with connections to I-81, US 6 and US 11. US 6 joins the turnpike for less than 1⁄4 mile (0.40 km) to connect between I-81 and US 11. "

If I read this correctly, I-476 ends at the trumpet with I-81, and only US 6 exists between the trumpets without I-476, but that US 6 is sort of part of the (non-tolled) PA Turnpike for a hot second.

Now see, I'd end it at I-81, meaning on that other trumpet ramp, and also concurrent with 6.

[Roadsguy]

PennDOT defines SR 7476 (and presumably thus I-476) to end at US 11, with the I-81 double-trumpet being SR 8015. The FHWA's National Highway System map, however, shows the Interstate corridor turning to end at I-81 itself. I don't know where to find out official records of route termini from the FHWA.

Further ambiguity is added by the PTC's signage of the Clarks Summit exit being designed as if the Northeast Extension continued north as it was originally intended to. Exit 131 is only seen in reference to the entire interchange complex on signs located before the hairpin curve, and all signs after the toll plaza have no exit tabs.

[akotchi]

A quick look at StreetView shows I-476 milemarkers extending past the ramps to I-81 and just short of the ramp split to U.S. 11.  I guess it shows how PTC views the northern limit.

[Crown Victoria]

I've noticed this pair of stub ramps on I-78 westbound between Shartlesville and Strausstown over the years but I've never figured out what they're for.  Any ideas? 

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.5093465,-76.1445529,1165m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en

[Roadsguy]

I've noticed this pair of stub ramps on I-78 westbound between Shartlesville and Strausstown over the years but I've never figured out what they're for.  Any ideas? 

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.5093465,-76.1445529,1165m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en

A once-proposed rest that was never built and probably never will be. You can see the outline of the ROW for it. I think there might be another set of stubs and ROW for an eastbound rest area somewhere else, but I don't remember for sure or where.

[Crown Victoria]

I've noticed this pair of stub ramps on I-78 westbound between Shartlesville and Strausstown over the years but I've never figured out what they're for.  Any ideas? 

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.5093465,-76.1445529,1165m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en

A once-proposed rest that was never built and probably never will be. You can see the outline of the ROW for it. I think there might be another set of stubs and ROW for an eastbound rest area somewhere else, but I don't remember for sure or where.

That's what I figured, considering there's nothing matching on the eastbound side immediately across.  And I agree, such a rest area won't be built now.

My other guess was a proposed freeway interchange, possibly something running up from Reading along PA 183.  I recall reading somewhere about the idea being floated decades ago but not sure exactly where I saw that. 

[Alps]

I've noticed this pair of stub ramps on I-78 westbound between Shartlesville and Strausstown over the years but I've never figured out what they're for.  Any ideas? 

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.5093465,-76.1445529,1165m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en

A once-proposed rest that was never built and probably never will be. You can see the outline of the ROW for it. I think there might be another set of stubs and ROW for an eastbound rest area somewhere else, but I don't remember for sure or where.

That's what I figured, considering there's nothing matching on the eastbound side immediately across.  And I agree, such a rest area won't be built now.

My other guess was a proposed freeway interchange, possibly something running up from Reading along PA 183.  I recall reading somewhere about the idea being floated decades ago but not sure exactly where I saw that. 

Whenever you see ROW in that shape, it's a rest area. Check out the NJ Turnpike.

[briantroutman]

A once-proposed rest that was never built and probably never will be. You can see the outline of the ROW for it. I think there might be another set of stubs and ROW for an eastbound rest area somewhere else, but I don't remember for sure or where.

The eastbound rest area would have been here, approximately one mile west of the PA 183 interchange and three miles west of the westbound rest area: https://goo.gl/maps/1Hjx8ixyWn5dj5Ds8

Though the eastbound site doesn't have visible, paved ramp stubs, as the westbound rest area does, the locations where the on and off ramps would have been located is posted with no parking signs: https://goo.gl/maps/yNiLcrnjZKjfAGHG8

[Crown Victoria]

I've noticed this pair of stub ramps on I-78 westbound between Shartlesville and Strausstown over the years but I've never figured out what they're for.  Any ideas? 

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.5093465,-76.1445529,1165m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en

A once-proposed rest that was never built and probably never will be. You can see the outline of the ROW for it. I think there might be another set of stubs and ROW for an eastbound rest area somewhere else, but I don't remember for sure or where.

That's what I figured, considering there's nothing matching on the eastbound side immediately across.  And I agree, such a rest area won't be built now.

My other guess was a proposed freeway interchange, possibly something running up from Reading along PA 183.  I recall reading somewhere about the idea being floated decades ago but not sure exactly where I saw that. 

Whenever you see ROW in that shape, it's a rest area. Check out the NJ Turnpike.

The eastbound rest area would have been here, approximately one mile west of the PA 183 interchange and three miles west of the westbound rest area: https://goo.gl/maps/1Hjx8ixyWn5dj5Ds8

Though the eastbound site doesn't have visible, paved ramp stubs, as the westbound rest area does, the locations where the on and off ramps would have been located is posted with no parking signs: https://goo.gl/maps/yNiLcrnjZKjfAGHG8

Thanks to all.  Too bad PennDOT never developed them; there would be more truck parking areas available if those rest areas had been built.  Of course the lack of rest areas nowadays is better for the commercial truck stops that have sprung up.

[seicer]

And here is the never-completed eastbound rest area, complete with popo: https://goo.gl/maps/ifQmN8EsPG88m5Uj7

[sbeaver44]

Two more FYAs to report:
US 422 @ PA 645, Myerstown
US 422 @ Ramona Rd, W of Myerstown

[Crown Victoria]

Two more FYAs to report:
US 422 @ PA 645, Myerstown
US 422 @ Ramona Rd, W of Myerstown

I'll add one at the PA 581/Creekview Road interchange near Mechanicsburg, if no one else has mentioned it yet.

[Roadsguy]

Two more FYAs to report:
US 422 @ PA 645, Myerstown
US 422 @ Ramona Rd, W of Myerstown

Also a pair of FYAs at the PA 501 intersection for PA 501 itself, added with the left turn lanes in the same project that added the FYAs at PA 645. (422 at 501 still has protected-only left turn phases as it did before the project.)

What's special about the westbound FYA at PA 645 is the lack of a green arrow. The only reason it's there is to allow for Dallas phasing so that you can have a permissive left turn while westbound traffic is stopped and eastbound traffic has a protected left. I thought this was unique until I stumbled on another signal like it by accident on Street View (I think somewhere in NC, but I don't remember where). Has this configuration been used anywhere else in Pennsylvania yet?



In other FYA-related news, two more intersections just got FYAs in Lebanon County: the intersection of Cornwall Road and Isabel Drive, and the intersection of PA 72 and Rocherty Road. The former was activated about a month or two ago, and the latter just within the past two weeks. The one on 72 also has FYAs on three of the four approaches, with only the planned double left turn from Rocherty onto PA 72 southbound having a protected-only turn phase.

[MASTERNC]

There was supposed to be a permanent FYA installed at PA 926 and Pocopson Road in Chester County as part of the PA 52 bridge reconstruction but it has never been done.  Guess it wasn't part of the detour preparation work.