Breezewood

[Max Rockatansky]

I did in middle school with my dad back in the mid-1990s.  We walked all the way out to the tunnel and everything.  I want to say that the same trip we checked out Centralia and abandoned PA 61.

[jeffandnicole]

According to the PA Turnpike toll calculator the current cost of driving on just the I-70 portion of the PA Turnpike (New Stanton to Breezewood) is $20.76 for the toll by plate cost and $10.38 for the EZ Pass rate. Pretty expensive fee for around 99 miles of turnpike.

This is probably going to be a shocker, but the NJ Turnpike is more expensive, especially when paying with EZ Pass.

Exit 2 to Exit 16E/W is 99 miles.  The charge:

Cash/EZ Pass (Peak): $18.15
EZ Pass (Off-Peak): $13.57

Most people look at the two toll roads and say "Oh, the NJ Turnpike is so much cheaper".  They often fail to understand "Oh, the PA Turnpike is 3 times as long as the NJ Turnpike". 

Per mile, the NJ Turnpike can be more expensive than the PA Turnpike, especially when you factor in the higher tolls between Interchange 9 and the northern terminus.

Has anyone ever ventured onto the Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike segment around Breezewood? I most certainly would if I was ever in the area.

Back in college, yes.

When might we see an update on this?

My guess - Not for a while.  It was surprising news when it was first announced, but in terms of how long it takes the PTC to work on things, I would estimate at least a decade or longer just to go thru preliminary engineering stuff.  Construction will be much further away.  They have no reason to rush this project.  They're proposing the connection as part of their overall Turnpike widening program, because they have to replace overpasses around the interchange area. They're not doing it because of the traffic lights on I-70 - they don't affect the Turnpike mainline, and the Turnpike ramp with US 30/I-70 doesn't experience much congestion.

[02 Park Ave]

Has anyone ever ventured onto the Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike segment around Breezewood? I most certainly would if I was ever in the area.

Didn't Brian Troutman lead a group tour there awhile ago?

[vdeane]

According to the PA Turnpike toll calculator the current cost of driving on just the I-70 portion of the PA Turnpike (New Stanton to Breezewood) is $20.76 for the toll by plate cost and $10.38 for the EZ Pass rate. Pretty expensive fee for around 99 miles of turnpike.

This is probably going to be a shocker, but the NJ Turnpike is more expensive, especially when paying with EZ Pass.

Exit 2 to Exit 16E/W is 99 miles.  The charge:

Cash/EZ Pass (Peak): $18.15
EZ Pass (Off-Peak): $13.57

Most people look at the two toll roads and say "Oh, the NJ Turnpike is so much cheaper".  They often fail to understand "Oh, the PA Turnpike is 3 times as long as the NJ Turnpike". 

Per mile, the NJ Turnpike can be more expensive than the PA Turnpike, especially when you factor in the higher tolls between Interchange 9 and the northern terminus.

Has anyone ever ventured onto the Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike segment around Breezewood? I most certainly would if I was ever in the area.

Back in college, yes.

When might we see an update on this?

My guess - Not for a while.  It was surprising news when it was first announced, but in terms of how long it takes the PTC to work on things, I would estimate at least a decade or longer just to go thru preliminary engineering stuff.  Construction will be much further away.  They have no reason to rush this project.  They're proposing the connection as part of their overall Turnpike widening program, because they have to replace overpasses around the interchange area. They're not doing it because of the traffic lights on I-70 - they don't affect the Turnpike mainline, and the Turnpike ramp with US 30/I-70 doesn't experience much congestion.

Meanwhile, $10 will get someone a trip of around 200 miles on the Thruway with a NY E-ZPass.

[akotchi]

Has anyone ever ventured onto the Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike segment around Breezewood? I most certainly would if I was ever in the area.

Didn't Brian Troutman lead a group tour there awhile ago?

Yes, back in Nov. 2018, I believe.  Marked 50th anniversary of abandonment.

[LeftyJR]

https://www.post-gazette.com/business/development/2025/02/20/breezewood-interchange-pennsylvania-turnpike-commission-redesign/stories/202502200100

[davewiecking]

https://www.post-gazette.com/business/development/2025/02/20/breezewood-interchange-pennsylvania-turnpike-commission-redesign/stories/202502200100

On average 8-10 years between selection of design firm and start of construction. Much of the article about turning the previously abandoned portion into a more developed trail. After all, they had 900 people register for mini-marathons recently...

[jeffandnicole]

https://www.post-gazette.com/business/development/2025/02/20/breezewood-interchange-pennsylvania-turnpike-commission-redesign/stories/202502200100

This caught my eye:

Nearly 3 million people entered the turnpike at Breezewood in 2022, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission said.

Since the entrance to the Turnpike is effectively I-70 WB, that would reference a single direction AADT of only about 8,200 vehicles, which would be extremely low for any interstate highway anywhere.  This also would appear that congestion on I-70/US 30 would be very minimal, even factoring in traffic on I-70 West needs to make a left turn.  And I believe it is very minimal; it's just peak travel periods, mainly holidays, when congestion forms. 

[Plutonic Panda]

[Sani]

https://www.post-gazette.com/business/development/2025/02/20/breezewood-interchange-pennsylvania-turnpike-commission-redesign/stories/202502200100

On average 8-10 years between selection of design firm and start of construction. Much of the article about turning the previously abandoned portion into a more developed trail. After all, they had 900 people register for mini-marathons recently...

So how long until we'll see a preliminary design, do you think? A couple of years?

[Life in Paradise]

https://www.post-gazette.com/business/development/2025/02/20/breezewood-interchange-pennsylvania-turnpike-commission-redesign/stories/202502200100

On average 8-10 years between selection of design firm and start of construction. Much of the article about turning the previously abandoned portion into a more developed trail. After all, they had 900 people register for mini-marathons recently...

So how long until we'll see a preliminary design, do you think? A couple of years?

Time frame and the cost for this is quite amazing.  If today's time frame existed back in ancient Egypt, they would probably still be waiting for half of the pyramids to be done.

[wanderer2575]

https://www.post-gazette.com/business/development/2025/02/20/breezewood-interchange-pennsylvania-turnpike-commission-redesign/stories/202502200100

On average 8-10 years between selection of design firm and start of construction. Much of the article about turning the previously abandoned portion into a more developed trail. After all, they had 900 people register for mini-marathons recently...

So how long until we'll see a preliminary design, do you think? A couple of years?

Time frame and the cost for this is quite amazing.  If today's time frame existed back in ancient Egypt, they would probably still be waiting for half of the pyramids to be done.

Ancient Egyptians didn't have to deal with funding appropriations, multiple public presentations and other "stakeholder engagements," gather and study current-condition data, acquire right-of-way, study projected growth of future facility use, requirements to design and analyze multiple build options, environmental impact studies, NIMBYs, etc.

[jeffandnicole]

https://www.post-gazette.com/business/development/2025/02/20/breezewood-interchange-pennsylvania-turnpike-commission-redesign/stories/202502200100

On average 8-10 years between selection of design firm and start of construction. Much of the article about turning the previously abandoned portion into a more developed trail. After all, they had 900 people register for mini-marathons recently...

So how long until we'll see a preliminary design, do you think? A couple of years?

Time frame and the cost for this is quite amazing.  If today's time frame existed back in ancient Egypt, they would probably still be waiting for half of the pyramids to be done.

How many pyramids were planned?  Did they build all of them, or did they cut back on the number they were going to build?  We only know today what was built and still stands. 

[Sani]

https://www.post-gazette.com/business/development/2025/02/20/breezewood-interchange-pennsylvania-turnpike-commission-redesign/stories/202502200100

On average 8-10 years between selection of design firm and start of construction. Much of the article about turning the previously abandoned portion into a more developed trail. After all, they had 900 people register for mini-marathons recently...

So how long until we'll see a preliminary design, do you think? A couple of years?

Time frame and the cost for this is quite amazing.  If today's time frame existed back in ancient Egypt, they would probably still be waiting for half of the pyramids to be done.

It seems like it is possible to do these sorts of major improvement works in a much shorter span of time. MoDOT announced the "Improve I-70" program in the summer of 2023, and construction work is already underway on one 20-mile segment, with construction on a second segment expected to start this spring. The entire project from Blue Springs to Wentzville, approximately 170 miles of widened interstate and interchange improvements, is planned to be complete by the end of 2030.

Now, I'll caveat that by saying I don't know how much of what MoDOT is doing with that project would be able to be applied to what the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission has planned, so it may well be an apples-to-oranges comparison. And Missouri has commissioned various plans and studies for widening and improving I-70 across the state over the last 25 years, most of which were much broader in scope than what's being built.

[jeffandnicole]

https://www.post-gazette.com/business/development/2025/02/20/breezewood-interchange-pennsylvania-turnpike-commission-redesign/stories/202502200100

On average 8-10 years between selection of design firm and start of construction. Much of the article about turning the previously abandoned portion into a more developed trail. After all, they had 900 people register for mini-marathons recently...

So how long until we'll see a preliminary design, do you think? A couple of years?

Time frame and the cost for this is quite amazing.  If today's time frame existed back in ancient Egypt, they would probably still be waiting for half of the pyramids to be done.

It seems like it is possible to do these sorts of major improvement works in a much shorter span of time. MoDOT announced the "Improve I-70" program in the summer of 2023, and construction work is already underway on one 20-mile segment, with construction on a second segment expected to start this spring. The entire project from Blue Springs to Wentzville, approximately 170 miles of widened interstate and interchange improvements, is planned to be complete by the end of 2030.

Now, I'll caveat that by saying I don't know how much of what MoDOT is doing with that project would be able to be applied to what the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission has planned, so it may well be an apples-to-oranges comparison. And Missouri has commissioned various plans and studies for widening and improving I-70 across the state over the last 25 years, most of which were much broader in scope than what's being built.

Eh, it was a bit before 2023. The Improve I-70 project actually dates back to August 2000, nearly 25 years ago. https://www.modot.org/improve-i-70-kc-history

Within that link is a letter dated from the summer of 2023 that moves forward the current phase of the project. But as implied in that letter, there was some significant history preparing for the project well before 2023.

[Sani]

...Right, that's what I said if you read the last sentence of my post. What they're building now is very different from what was proposed in the 2001 First Tier EIS or the 2006 Second Tier EA. It's not quite as simple as tossing out the work done in the previous studies and starting over, but it's close.

[jeffandnicole]

...Right, that's what I said if you read the last sentence of my post. What they're building now is very different from what was proposed in the 2001 First Tier EIS or the 2006 Second Tier EA. It's not quite as simple as tossing out the work done in the previous studies and starting over, but it's close.

But were those studies used as part of the overall project to where it stands now, even if the scope of the project changed?

With the PA Turnpike, I don't believe they've commissioned any studies in what will be the future construction zone that includes I-70, so the area may be looking at a 10 year pre-construction phase that includes those various environmental studies and design work.