Pennsylvania

[74/171FAN]

It would have to take I-78 to Fredericksburg.   

(For US 30 and US 222) PennDOT - District 8 News: Weekend Closure Planned for Bridge Demolition at Route 30/Route 222 Interchange Improvement Project in Lancaster County

[Crown Victoria]

https://www.lehighvalleynews.com/transportation-news/interstate-22-new-designation-could-be-just-up-the-road-for-lehigh-valleys-main-highway

Well, it definitely won't be I-22. But maybe 278?

Maybe they could bring back I-378.  Also, the author of the article clearly didn't know about the I-22 in Alabama and Mississippi.

Also...since when is there a traffic threshold for Interstate designation? Nobody told Illinois when they built I-180...

And...last time I was on I-78 in Lehigh or Northampton Counties, there certainly seemed to be more than only 20% of US 22's traffic...

Poorly written article for sure!

If the US 22 freeway is upgraded to Interstate standards, the only way the Interstate 278 designation would work is if its eastern end turned south on PA 33 to meet Interstate 78 again. If the Interstate designation goes all the way to Phillipsburg, it would need to be Interstate 178 (which was proposed when 78 was on 22 but not built: https://www.pahighways.com/interstates/pdi.html#I178). In reality, I think it would take a colossal upgrade to bring US 22 up to Interstate Standards, and even if it is done, adding an Interstate designation is unnecessary.

It certainly would be "colossal". When I first read this article I immediately thought of the 35 mph curves in Easton. I don't see any way you can fix that to get to interstate standards unless you completely realign the route and pave over the Easton Cemetery, which would probably never happen.

Hypothetically though, what if you made this new interstate go all the way west to Fredericksburg, then run along 78 and 81 to Harrisburg, then use the 22/322 freeway all the way up to State College, then (once they complete the State College Area Connector) it could end at I-99? Then you would have a full Interstate connection up to Penn State University for people in eastern PA.

I'd sooner just extend I-78 to I-99.

As for US 22's future designation, yes it could depend on the route's eastern terminus. All x78s except for 378, 478, and 978 are available in PA so we shall see.

[webny99]

I-180 is fully closed in both directions between Exits 1 and 5 due to a dump truck striking the 8th St overpass near Turbotville: https://www.pa.gov/agencies/penndot/news-and-media/newsroom/district-3/2025/i-180-closed-in-both-directions-in-northumberland-county

Predictably, US 15 is experiencing significant backups, and PA 54/Susq Trail is operating at LOS F on all approaches.

[Hwy 61 Revisited]

NGL I think Business 78 would be a good designation for the time being, although 278 would ring well as well. I could just as soon imagine the southernmost part of 33 becoming part of that too interstate too (and hopefully 33 becoming 178 because it is SUBSTANDARD)

[74/171FAN]

I-180 is fully closed in both directions between Exits 1 and 5 due to a dump truck striking the 8th St overpass near Turbotville: https://www.pa.gov/agencies/penndot/news-and-media/newsroom/district-3/2025/i-180-closed-in-both-directions-in-northumberland-county

Predictably, US 15 is experiencing significant backups, and PA 54/Susq Trail is operating at LOS F on all approaches.

I posted that this morning, but it got buried by the US 22 conversation.

On the I-78 to I-99 conversation, let me know when you can figure out how to turn the Duncannon section of US 22/US 322 with businesses between US 11/US 15 and the Clark's Ferry Bridge into a freeway.

PennDOT - District 3 News: I-180 Reopened in Both Directions in Northumberland County

[D-Dey65]

https://www.lehighvalleynews.com/transportation-news/interstate-22-new-designation-could-be-just-up-the-road-for-lehigh-valleys-main-highway

Well, it definitely won't be I-22. But maybe 278?

This just turned up on my cell phone without the correction regarding the existing I-22. I was going to ask if anyone here wants to tell them about it, but evidently somebody already has.

[Dough4872]

https://www.lehighvalleynews.com/transportation-news/interstate-22-new-designation-could-be-just-up-the-road-for-lehigh-valleys-main-highway

Well, it definitely won't be I-22. But maybe 278?

This just turned up on my cell phone without the correction regarding the existing I-22. I was going to ask if anyone here wants to tell them about it, but evidently somebody already has.

Is the Lehigh Valley Thruway even up to Interstate standards? Also I don't see the need for a redundant Interstate here when I-78 is parallel to the south, the road is fine as US 22. This was supposed to be I-78 until Phillipsburg, NJ stopped the road from being built. And even if it became a 3 digit it would probably have to be a spur like I-178 since it doesn't connect on both ends, unless you want to build it through Phillipsburg to connect back to I-78 (unlikely) or have it use PA 33 to connect back to I-78, in which case a 3 digit number like I-278 would work.

[74/171FAN]

(For I-180) PennDOT - District 3 News: Eighth Street Reopened in Northumberland County

[storm2k]

https://www.lehighvalleynews.com/transportation-news/interstate-22-new-designation-could-be-just-up-the-road-for-lehigh-valleys-main-highway

Well, it definitely won't be I-22. But maybe 278?

This just turned up on my cell phone without the correction regarding the existing I-22. I was going to ask if anyone here wants to tell them about it, but evidently somebody already has.

Is the Lehigh Valley Thruway even up to Interstate standards? Also I don't see the need for a redundant Interstate here when I-78 is parallel to the south, the road is fine as US 22. This was supposed to be I-78 until Phillipsburg, NJ stopped the road from being built. And even if it became a 3 digit it would probably have to be a spur like I-178 since it doesn't connect on both ends, unless you want to build it through Phillipsburg to connect back to I-78 (unlikely) or have it use PA 33 to connect back to I-78, in which case a 3 digit number like I-278 would work.

I'm not 100% sure how you would get the entire thing up to full interstate standards. Lots of parts of the road have been upgraded over the years and are close to interstate standards, but the roadway is in a narrow ROW in a lot of places, there isn't much of an inside shoulder before the Jersey barrier (in a lot of places there's maybe 2 feet at most), a lot of exits would likely need upgrades to be fully interstate standard, the Jersey barrier would need to be replaced in a lot of places. I haven't even talked about the roadway through Easton. Put simply, there's no way to bring that stretch of road up to interstate standards without completely bypassing it. And yes, what would the eastern end be? Building the interstate into NJ is a non-starter, and the toll bridge isn't up to interstate spec anyway as well. At the end of the day, this is another instance of  "why does this need an interstate designation" when its current designation as 22 is fine.