I-476: Making the connection before Mid-County existed

[briantroutman]

Looking at old maps of the Philadelphia area, I've often wondered what the PTC and PDH originally intended as the connection between the Northeast Extension and Schuylkill Expressway, and I'm curious about the piecemeal routes that motorists used to travel this corridor until the current Mid-County Interchange opened in 1992–over 35 years after the Northeast Extension was constructed.

It appears that, by the time work on the Northeast Extension was underway in the mid '50s, a Norristown-Chester freeway had been proposed alternately by the regional planning commission as a parkway and by the PTC as the Chester Extension, but to my knowledge, plans for this road were far from solidified by 1955. I'm not familiar enough with the original pre-Mid-County interchange to comment, but what pictures I have seen do not suggest that the simple trumpet was designed with provisions to easily convert to a full four-way interchange once the Chester Extension/Blue Route was completed.

It would seem rather shortsighted of the PTC to open a regional link in its system that connected the Lehigh Valley and suburban Montgomery County to the Philadelphia area–without actually connecting it to the major feeder road into the city itself, the Schuylkill Expressway.

For at least 15 years after the Northeast Extension's opening, not a shred of the Blue Route was constructed, so what would someone driving, say, from Allentown to Philadelphia do? Take the mainline west to Valley Forge, then turn east on the Schuylkill? Snake through Plymouth Meeting and Conshohocken on city streets? By 1980, maps show I-476 open between Conshohocken and Ridge Pike, so I'm assuming motorists would have gotten off at Norristown, gone through a few traffic lights, made a few turns and gotten back on the freeway there. But still, it must have been a nightmare for commuters. Anyone have recollections of this? Anyone remember (or have pictures) of how "through" traffic to Philadelphia was signed?

[NE2]

Maybe this is why the directional ramps exist at the Conshohocken interchange on I-76 - though they were actually there before even the New Jersey extension of the Turnpike opened.

[richllewis]

I used to live in Havertown and we went to a Church camp for a couple of years north of Stroudsburg, The way we went up was up Darby Road to PA 320 and then up Gulph Rd to King of Prussia where we got on the Schuylkill Expressway coming from Philadelphia and got on the PA Turnpike going East and then over to the NE Extension Past Allentown and Bethlehem to US 206 to Stroudsburg. US 206 if I remember right seemed to have been the longest stretch from the NE Extension to Stroudsburg due to a slower speed limit. Also, I remember a stretch of I-476 that was isolated on Darby Rd before you got to PA 320 which was an interchange and a little bit of road. It wasn't open but was waiting to be connected. This was in the 70's.

About 30 years after leaving Havertown, I drove on the completed Blue Route on my way to my Sister's house in Pottstown. I assure you it was a lot nicer than driving PA 320 through all the scenery.   

[PHLBOS]

Maybe this is why the directional ramps exist at the Conshohocken interchange on I-76 - though they were actually there before even the New Jersey extension of the Turnpike opened.

If you're referring to the interchange w/PA 23; that one was likely built with more local traffic in mind.

My pre-Mid-County experiences only go as far back as 1990 when only part of I-476 (between I-76 & Ridge Pike) was open.  I would typically get off at the last exit (current Exit 18B) and navigate to Germantown Pike (via Chemical Road) and pick up the PA Turnpike there if I was heading north or east.

Pre-full-Blue Route; my only options to get to Plymouth Meeting (from southern Delaware County) were to take either PA 320 to I-76 East to pick up I-476 North to Chemical Road or go through Philly (via I-95 North/PA 291 East /I-76 West) and exit for I-476 North (Exit 331B).

[elsmere241]

I did store inventories during summers home from college (1990, 1991, 1995), many up in that area.  Before I-476 was finished, PA 320 was always, always jammed.

[Chris19001]

I would guess that the commuters probably weren't taking the NE Extention.  If you were coming from the Lansdale area, you'd take 309 and windup sneaking over to take Lincoln Drive to the river drives.  (my mom's commute during the '70's)  OR, you'd take Conrail/SEPTA which reached all the way up to Allentown back then.  If you lived in the Pennsburg/Quakertown area back then and commuted by car into Philly, you were a rare bird indeed..  The housing boom in Lansdale happened around the early to mid-80's when Montgomeryville got built out.  For points north and west (Skippack, Qtown) it was only after midcounty was constructed.
Also keep in mind those surface arterials didn't look a whole lot different pre-Blue Route, they just had a whole lot less traffic on them. (320 not withstanding)
Last, keep in mind that there were a whole lot of freeways planned through the mid 70's that would have radiated out from Center City to complement the Schulkill.  If 309 was expressway all the way to from Girard Ave to Quakertown, would you pay to go the same route via the turnpike? 

[briantroutman]

I would guess that the commuters probably weren't taking the NE Extention....The housing boom in Lansdale happened around the early to mid-80's...

I don't doubt that the opening of Mid-County was the green light for countless would-be exurbanites wanting to build new homes out in then-rural Montgomery County–eventually as far as the Lehigh Valley. But I have to imagine that, even before the Montco boom, there were enough commuters, intercity travelers, trucks making their way from the Port of Philadelphia to the Northeast Extension, and so on, that the missing link was a perpetual tangle.

My problem with the alternatives (309, Ridge Pike, etc.) is that I can't imagine any of these–which devolve to essentially city streets before you get anywhere near Center City–would have been more attractive than dealing with the incomplete junction at Plymouth Meeting.

Then again, look now at how poorly the Northeast Extension serves major arterials like US 202, PA 73, and PA 363. And how uncooperative the turnpike and local road network are with each other. I suppose the PTC decided to leave that role to 309.

[Alex]

I recall I-476 shields slapped on button copy signs for the Norristown exit (then-US 422) from the PA Tpk in the late 1980s. Unfortunately I have no footage of that.

However in 1993, I-476 was still referenced for the Valley Forge exit with I-76, and I do have one video showing that:



You may find some interest in the 1976 Delaware County map scans and notes thread, which covers the Mid-County Expressway.

[PHLBOS]

I recall I-476 shields slapped on button copy signs for the Norristown exit (then-US 422) from the PA Tpk in the late 1980s. Unfortunately I have no footage of that.

That BGS was since replaced with this one:

http://goo.gl/maps/HjJ9k

However in 1993, I-476 was still referenced for the Valley Forge exit with I-76, and I do have one video showing that:

Actually, those I-476 shields appeared on the Valley Forge exit signs right after the Blue Route opened in December of 1991.  The final piece of the Blue Route linking it to the Northeast Extension & I-276 wasn't completed until a year later.

It's worth noting that the PTC finally corrected the westbound Valley Forge exit BGS' w/US 422 shields replacing the I-476 shields within this past year.  The infamous EAST NJTP pull-through BGS was also corrected (to read EAST 276) around the same time.

[briantroutman]

However in 1993, I-476 was still referenced for the Valley Forge exit with I-76, and I do have one video showing that:

Isn't it still that way today? I take the presence of the 476 shield not so much as an indication of a workaround caused by the lack of a direct connection, but more because, if you're headed south on I-476, you'd probably be better off to exit at Valley Forge rather than go on to Norristown and backtrack somewhat (aside from the potential congestion between KOP and Conshohocken). If this sign still exists, it should have "SOUTH" added above the 476 shield.

You may find some interest in the 1976 Delaware County map scans and notes thread, which covers the Mid-County Expressway.

Thanks–that's interesting on its own, although none of the scans seemed to address the Mid-County Interchange. I'm still puzzled by the original trumpet. It's almost as if the PTC didn't even consider that anyone would use the Northeast Extension other than to get on the mainline of the turnpike.

That also begs the question: Originally there were many extensions planned by the PTC, including some that probably would have crossed each other completely (four-way) rather than at a three-way interchange like the original Northeast Extension trumpet–a layout almost universal in the original PTC scheme. Would a four-way PTC interchange be a cloverleaf? A double trumpet? And in an alternate future where the PTC built what today are free Interstates in Pennsylvania, would they have had a single closed ticket system like they had on the mainline and Northeast Extension?

[ARMOURERERIC]

I asked a similar question long ago about what is now I-90 in Erie, which WAS started by the PTC as a tolled expansion project only a few months before the interstate highway bill was signed.  Apparently the PTC intended it to be a barrier system, maybe with some ramp tolls, because there were no trumpets in the design.

[NE2]

I asked a similar question long ago about what is now I-90 in Erie, which WAS started by the PTC as a tolled expansion project only a few months before the interstate highway bill was signed.  Apparently the PTC intended it to be a barrier system, maybe with some ramp tolls, because there were no trumpets in the design.

Preliminary plans had only three interchanges: US 19, PA 8, and PA 89. Perhaps these would have been trumpets.

[PHLBOS]

However in 1993, I-476 was still referenced for the Valley Forge exit with I-76, and I do have one video showing that:

Isn't it still that way today? I take the presence of the 476 shield not so much as an indication of a workaround caused by the lack of a direct connection, but more because, if you're headed south on I-476, you'd probably be better off to exit at Valley Forge rather than go on to Norristown and backtrack somewhat (aside from the potential congestion between KOP and Conshohocken). If this sign still exists, it should have "SOUTH" added above the 476 shield.

See my earlier post, the I-476 shield was replaced w/a US 422 shield on the westbound exit BGS' due to the previous exit (Mid-County) was direct-connection to I-476 South.

The eastbound exit BGS, aside from the exit number change (to 326), remains unchanged.

Personally, I would have changed the eastbound panel as well (replace the I-476 shield w/a US 422 shield, side bar: I was recently informed that FHWA either prefers or mandates consistent legend signage for the same exit from both directions) and provided supplemental signage for I-476.

The signage could read:

TO 476
Norristown
Allentown
USE 276 EAST

TO 476
Chester
USE 76 EAST (or EXIT 326)

My reasoning for not including NORTH or SOUTH in the above is due to the fact that one can access I-476 North from I-76 East and use such to access Ridge Pike eastbound (Exit 18A).

[briantroutman]

See my earlier post...

Sorry, I didn't notice the westbound in your previous post. Yes, linking from I-276 westbound to I-476–north or south–via Valley Forge would be circuitous to say the least.

Personally, I would have changed the eastbound panel as well (replace the I-476 shield w/a US 422 shield...

Given the confluence of routes at Valley Forge (I-76, I-276, US 202, US 422, and eventually, I-476) I suppose 422 is of more immediate local significance at that interchange. Then again, to be heading east on I-76 and then turn northwest on US 422 would seem a little counterintuitive. I'd guess that many more people make the Turnpike/Schuylkill/Blue Route connection.

[PHLBOS]

Given the confluence of routes at Valley Forge (I-76, I-276, US 202, US 422, and eventually, I-476) I suppose 422 is of more immediate local significance at that interchange. Then again, to be heading east on I-76 and then turn northwest on US 422 would seem a little counterintuitive. I'd guess that many more people make the Turnpike/Schuylkill/Blue Route connection.

The whole counterintuitive issue's a tad over-rated IMHO.  It ultimately depends on one's final trip destination.  If their destination is indeed Valley Forge Park, Trooper or even Oaks exiting off the eastbound Turnpike at Valley Forge then picking up US 422 West (via US 202 South) is a logical choice.  Keep in mind that the interchange w/PA 29 (Exit 320) opened only recently and is EZ-Pass ONLY.

OTOH, for an eastbounder (from the Turnpike) heading to further US 422 destinations like either Pottstown or even Reading; it would be more advantageous (and cheaper) for them to exit off the Turnpike sooner (at either US 222, I-176 or PA 100).