Pennsylvania

[roadman65]

Was Phoenixville Pike between West Chester and Frazer ever a state route designation?

Also when PA 100 used to terminate at the Delaware State Line did the current PA 100 freeway between Exton and US 202 ever have a signed route number or was that a PA reference route like PA 12 was between Reading and Pricetown and signed with nothing?

My old map shows the latter as TO PA 100 and no number for the former.

[Roadgeek2500]

Was Phoenixville Pike between West Chester and Frazer ever a state route designation?

Good Question, Before US 202 broke the continuity of Phoenixville pike from West Chester to Charlestown Rd, PA 29 was signed on that corridor. 29 was realigned to Morehall Rd in 1970 according to pahighways

[74/171FAN]

For PA 29:  https://www.pahighways.com/state/PA1-50.html#PA29south  https://wiki.aaroads.com/wiki/Pennsylvania_Route_29#History

Prior to construction of the US 202 expressway in 1970, PA 29 travelled entirely on Phoenixville Pike between Phoenixville and West Chester. PA 29 entered West Chester on Goshen Road and Marshall Street, ending at PA 100 (High Street) in town. When the US 202 expressway was built, PA 29 was rerouted onto Morehall Road at Devault and ran south to junction US 202 and then end at US 30.

Apparently the PA 100 freeway before the relocation onto it was SR 2023. (https://wiki.aaroads.com/wiki/Pennsylvania_Route_100)

The freeway connecting US 202 and PA 100 became known as SR 2023 when the Location Referencing System was established in 1987.

[wildcat7176]

Looking back, I think it would have been better to simply create a "PA 100 Alternate Truck" route, as preventing trucks from coming through the borough of West Chester was the main reason they truncated 100. I know when they did the redesignation it caused a lot of confusion for people near the Delaware border who lived near "Old Route 100". A truck route could have followed the freeway spur and then ran on 202/322 to the south end of town. I believe Bing Maps actually still erroneously has the old 100 designation through town, and calls the spur route to 202 "PA 100 Spur".

As for 29, it makes sense for it to have been changed looking back now with the 202 freeway and how crowded and developed Morehall Road is today from Charlestown Road to its southern terminus at US 30. However, I just wish there was a better direct route from West Chester to Phoenixville, as the part of 29 from Devault to Phoenixville is only 2 lanes and has some sharp curves in the woods along Pickering Creek. I believe I read somewhere that there were plans in the 1980s to widen that section, but I always wondered if they considered re-routing 29 onto Charlestown Road or White Horse Road and widening one of those roads, instead of the aforementioned State Road (I have also seen it called West Chester State Road somewhere?).

[CanesFan27]

The law that created Interstate 99 turns 30 this November.  I take a look at its past, the hobby's anti-I-99 fascination, and its future.  Plus, how quickly Pennsylvania signed I-99 (three days after the law passed) and also a gentleman that took his complaints about I-99's number to then-President Bill Clinton.

Take a read: https://www.gribblenation.org/2025/01/interstate-99-at-30.html

--Adam

[74/171FAN]

Anyway, there is a CE Expert System update on PA 14 over Trout Run.

And there is another one as of yesterday.

And another one as of today.

(For PA 225) PennDOT - District 3 News: Emergency Repairs to Begin on Damaged Bridge in Little Mahanoy Township

[Bitmapped]

I was looking at the historic Type 10 county maps on the PennDOT website this morning and realized how much progress PennDOT has made in paving roads even since 1990. (1990 was the last series of maps that showed surface types.) At that point, the last part of gravel traffic route (PA 44 in Potter County) was being paved, but there were still large amounts of gravel road on the quadrant route network.

Now, it's a safe bet to make that if it has a SR number that it's at least chip-seal. The only gravel quadrant routes I've encountered in the past 20 years were Tioga SR 3001 and Lycoming SR 4009 near Pine Creek Gorge, way out in the Pennsylvania Wilds. If I'm exploring in rural areas of the state, I try to stick to PennDOT-maintained roads because I can expect they'll be hard-surfaced.

Has anyone run into any other non-paved PennDOT-maintained roads, especially outside of extremely remote areas?

[74/171FAN]

I saw on ECMS this morning that the new interchange on I-81 at Guilford Springs Road (Exit 12) is planned to be let in December 2025.

[74/171FAN]

(For PA 225) PennDOT - District 3 News: A Portion of Route 225 Closed in Little Mahanoy Township, Northumberland County

PennDOT - District 3 News: PennDOT Provides Update on Damaged Bridge on Route 225 in Little Mahanoy Twp.

The CE Expert System has documentation in regard to this as of January 3rd.

(For I-81 and PA 171) PennDOT - District 4 News: PennDOT/BPC Announce Traffic Switch on Interstate 81 in Susquehanna County

(For PA 225) PennDOT - District 3 News: Route 225 Bridge in Northumberland Co. to Reopen Saturday

[74/171FAN]

(For PA 225) PennDOT - District 3 News: A Portion of Route 225 Closed in Little Mahanoy Township, Northumberland County

PennDOT - District 3 News: PennDOT Provides Update on Damaged Bridge on Route 225 in Little Mahanoy Twp.

The CE Expert System has documentation in regard to this as of January 3rd.

(For I-81 and PA 171) PennDOT - District 4 News: PennDOT/BPC Announce Traffic Switch on Interstate 81 in Susquehanna County

(For PA 225) PennDOT - District 3 News: Route 225 Bridge in Northumberland Co. to Reopen Saturday

PennDOT - District 3 News: Route 225 Bridge in Northumberland County Now Open

[roadman65]

https://maps.app.goo.gl/fdZN7zzAZ6woKr5r8?g_st=ac

I see the latest sweep by Google shows either PennDot or the DRPA has not changed the signs on US 322 at PA 291 to reflect that US 13 is now concurrent with Route 291.

[74/171FAN]

https://maps.app.goo.gl/fdZN7zzAZ6woKr5r8?g_st=ac

I see the latest sweep by Google shows either PennDot or the DRPA has not changed the signs on US 322 at PA 291 to reflect that US 13 is now concurrent with Route 291.

I never thought that DRPA would ever care enough to do so (in this direction).  DRPA had nothing to do westbound unless PennDOT wanted them to specify US 13 BUS's existence.

[roadman65]

https://maps.app.goo.gl/hnBSFSeR5Q3BCxyG9?g_st=ac

At least the end of the ramp shows US 13's existence.

[ixnay]

https://maps.app.goo.gl/hnBSFSeR5Q3BCxyG9?g_st=ac

At least the end of the ramp shows US 13's existence.

The end of *this* ramp acknowledges the reclassification of 9th Street. 

https://tinyurl.com/56ychzn7

The hospital where I was born (since repurposed for other medical purposes) is a few blocks west of this intersection on 9th (one of several ways US 13 resonates positively in my life [I'm not a number 13-ophobe]).

OTOH this fading button copy board has IIRC been in place since the CBB opened.

https://tinyurl.com/37rxxru6

[roadman65]

https://www.lehighvalleynews.com/transportation-news/the-road-scholar-the-ugly-lehigh-valley-interchange-that-no-ones-talking-about?fbclid=IwY2xjawI8zX5leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHUI33cJUHRRar7aMp3I0BeSX8fYiLk3QweE4k3fN9sCtzQR3NXqxXscuFA_aem_dHnOcCG9ulxY6Or7z6mnnw

Interesting article on the US 22 and Tilghman Street interchange.

[The Ghostbuster]

There should definitely be exit-only lanes between the Tilghman Street interchange and the Interstate 476/Pennsylvania Turnpike Northeast Extension interchange. If possible, both on-ramps from Tilghman Street should be lengthened since they both seem too short to meet modern design standards.

[74/171FAN]

(For I-81)  PennDOT - District 4 News: Interstate 81 Northbound and Southbound Closure in Lackawanna County

PennDOT - District 4 News: Interstate 81 Northbound and Southbound is Now Open in Lackawanna County

[74/171FAN]

Construction Update: Spring 2025
Section 103 Work to Improve US 322 Progressing

[74/171FAN]

The status of the latest round of sign replacements on I-81 SB in Harrisburg as of 4/4/2025.

I-81 SOUTH AND US 322 WEST NEAR SPLIT AT US 22 (EXITS 67B-A) (1) by Mark Moore, on Flickr

I-81 SOUTH AND US 322 WEST NEAR SPLIT AT US 22 (EXITS 67B-A) (2) by Mark Moore, on Flickr

I-81 SOUTH AND US 322 WEST SPLIT AT US 22 (EXITS 67B-A) (2) by Mark Moore, on Flickr

[74/171FAN]

The APLs are fully installed with the old signs fully gone (minus the poles on the sides of the gantries) as of today.  More are coming on I-81 NB at the same interchange.

I-81 SOUTH AND US 322 WEST .75 MILES NORTH OF SPLIT AT US 22 (EXITS 67B-A) (10) by Mark Moore, on Flickr

I-81 SOUTH AND US 322 WEST .25 MILES NORTH OF SPLIT AT US 22 (EXITS 67B-A) (10) by Mark Moore, on Flickr

I-81 SOUTH AND US 322 WEST SPLIT AT US 22 (EXITS 67B-A) (10) by Mark Moore, on Flickr

[Bitmapped]

I discovered a bit of a route numbering oddity around Uniontown today. In short, there is a stretch of Morgantown Road that is SR 0119 but not US 119.

When the first chunk of the Uniontown bypass was completed in 1972, US 119 had a stub end at the current Morgantown Road interchange on the south side of town. The north-facing ramps and overpass were built at the time, but the rest heading further south wasn't completed until about 1993 as the PA 43 Chadville Demonstration Project. The US 40 overpasses of US 119 northbound just north of here, and the Morgantown Road overpass of the future US 40 mainlane, were also built at this time in anticipation of the future US 40 bypass that was also completed around 1993.

US 119 as a posted traffic route has followed the short stub north to US 40, then what became US 40 west, since 1972. From the development of PennDOT's current LRS SR numbering system in 1986 to the 1993 map, the short stub of the freeway north of Morgantown Road was signed as SR 0119.

By the 1996 map, though, things changed. The section of freeway heading south from US 40 became SR 0043. SR 0119 was extended back over its historic alignment (which had been SR 3019) up to meet the westbound ramp from US 40 to Morgantown Road, which provides access to US 119/PA 43 southbound. This section is signed as To US 119, not mainline US 119. The little white signs in the field all confirm this. Does anyone know why PennDOT would have done this? The stretch of road was renumbered from SR 3019 to SR 0119, so it had to have been intentional.

[roadman65]

Couldn't help notice in Dunmore they reconfigured Exit 2 on I-84 & 380 from a wye to a directional interchange in the last year.

A video on Facebook showed the new flyover completed north of that high viaduct between the systems exchange at the 84 & 380 split and the PA 435 exit.

I'm seeing just how important eliminating left exits really are in our society now

[74/171FAN]

(For I-476) PennDOT - District 6 News: PennDOT to Host Public Meetings for the Interstate 476 Flex Lane Project

[wildcat7176]

(For I-476) PennDOT - District 6 News: PennDOT to Host Public Meetings for the Interstate 476 Flex Lane Project

What I don't understand about the flex lanes is that 476 is a different case from 76. Making flex lanes for 76 actually makes some sense due to the geography and the severely obsolete design of the roadway preventing actual widening. But wasn't the 4-lane portion of 476 literally built with wide enough medians and bridges in anticipation that people would complain soon after it was built for it to be widened to 6 lanes?  I suppose the difference in cost between the flex lanes and actual widening is too high.

[MASTERNC]

(For I-476) PennDOT - District 6 News: PennDOT to Host Public Meetings for the Interstate 476 Flex Lane Project

What I don't understand about the flex lanes is that 476 is a different case from 76. Making flex lanes for 76 actually makes some sense due to the geography and the severely obsolete design of the roadway preventing actual widening. But wasn't the 4-lane portion of 476 literally built with wide enough medians and bridges in anticipation that people would complain soon after it was built for it to be widened to 6 lanes?  I suppose the difference in cost between the flex lanes and actual widening is too high.

Probably easier to push this through than a full-time widening.  Swarthmore put up enough of a fight when the road was built.

The I-95 flex lane is needed just as much, if not more.  Dropping to two lanes temporarily at I-476 really jams up southbound traffic nearly every day of the week.