Pennsylvania Turnpike
The Pennsylvania Turnpike, sometimes shortened to Penna Turnpike or PA Turnpike, is a controlled-access toll road which is operated by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission in Pennsylvania. It runs for across the southern part of the state, connecting Pittsburgh, Harrisburg and Philadelphia, and passes through four tunnels as it crosses the Appalachian Mountains. A component of the Interstate Highway System, it is part of I-76 between the Ohio state line and Valley Forge, I-276 between Valley Forge and Bristol Township, and I-95 from Bristol Township to the New Jersey state line.
The turnpike's western terminus is at the Ohio state line in Lawrence County, where it continues west as the Ohio Turnpike. The eastern terminus is the New Jersey state line at the Delaware River–Turnpike Toll Bridge, which crosses the Delaware River in Bucks County. It continues east as the Pearl Harbor Memorial Extension of the New Jersey Turnpike. The turnpike has an all-electronic tolling system; tolls may be paid using E-ZPass or toll by plate, which uses automatic license plate recognition. Cash tolls were collected with a ticket and barrier toll system before they were phased out between 2016 and 2020. The turnpike currently has 15 service plazas, providing food and fuel to travelers.
The turnpike was designed during the 1930s to improve automobile transportation across the Pennsylvania mountains, using seven tunnels built for the South Pennsylvania Railroad in the 1880s. It opened in 1940 between Irwin and Carlisle. Branded as "America's First Superhighway", the turnpike, an early long-distance limited-access U.S. highway, was a model for future limited-access toll roads and the Interstate Highway System. It was extended east to Valley Forge in 1950 and west to the Ohio state line in 1951. The road was extended east to the Delaware River in 1954, and construction began on an extension into Northeastern Pennsylvania. The mainline turnpike was finished in 1956 with the completion of the Delaware River Bridge.
From 1962 to 1971, an additional tube was built at four of the two-lane tunnels, with two cuts built to replace the three others; this made the entirety of the road four lanes wide. Improvements continue to be made: rebuilding to meet modern standards, widening portions to six lanes, and construction or reconstruction of interchanges.
Route description
The turnpike runs west to east across Pennsylvania, from the Ohio state line in Lawrence County to the New Jersey state line in Bucks County. It passes through the Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, and Philadelphia areas, farmland and woodland. The highway crosses the Appalachian Mountains in central Pennsylvania, passing through four tunnels. The PTC, created in 1937 to construct, finance, operate, and maintain the road, controls the highway. In 2023, the turnpike had annual average daily traffic ranging from a high of 120,000 vehicles to a low of 21,000.It is part of the National Highway System, a network of roads important to the U.S. economy, defense, and mobility. The turnpike is a Blue Star Memorial Highway, honoring those who have served in the United States Armed Forces, and the Garden Club Federation of Pennsylvania has placed Blue Star Memorial Highway markers at its service plazas. In addition to the east–west mainline, the PTC also operates the Northeast Extension, the Beaver Valley Expressway, the Mon–Fayette Expressway, the Amos K. Hutchinson Bypass, and the Southern Beltway.
Western Extension
The turnpike begins at the Ohio state line in Lawrence County, where it continues west as the Ohio Turnpike. From the state line, the highway heads southeast as a four-lane freeway through rural areas south of New Castle. A short distance from the Ohio line, the eastbound lanes pass the electronic Gateway toll gantry, where the road widens to six lanes. The highway then reaches Beaver County and the first interchange with I-376 in Big Beaver, narrowing back to four lanes.It then passes under Norfolk Southern's Koppel Secondary rail line before the exit for PA 18 near Homewood, crossing CSX's Pittsburgh Subdivision rail line, the Beaver River, and Norfolk Southern's Youngstown Line on the Beaver River Bridge. The road enters Butler County and Cranberry Township, where an interchange accesses I-79 and US 19. It widens to six lanes and continues through rural land and suburban development north of Pittsburgh into Allegheny County.
The turnpike approaches the Warrendale toll gantry and continues southeast, narrowing to four lanes and passing over the CSX P&W Subdivision rail line operated by the Buffalo and Pittsburgh Railroad to an interchange with PA 8 in Hampton Township, becoming six lanes wide again. The Allegheny Valley exit in Harmar Township accesses PA 28 via Freeport Road. The road then heads south, with Canadian National's Bessemer Subdivision rail line parallel on the east, before crossing Norfolk Southern's Conemaugh Line, the Allegheny River, and the Allegheny Valley Railroad's Allegheny Subdivision line on the Allegheny River Turnpike Bridge.
After the river crossing, the road passes through the Oakmont Country Club before a bridge over Canadian National's Bessemer Subdivision; where it narrows to four lanes and the rail tracks parallel the west side of the road before splitting further west. The highway heads southeast to Monroeville, an eastern suburb of Pittsburgh; an interchange with the eastern terminus of I-376 and US 22 accesses Pittsburgh. It traverses eastern Allegheny County before entering Westmoreland County. The turnpike then heads south and passes over Norfolk Southern's Pittsburgh Line before the exit for US 30 near Irwin.
Original mainline
After the Irwin interchange, the turnpike widens to six lanes and heads into rural areas west of Greensburg. Curving southeast, it reaches New Stanton and an interchange for I-70, US 119, and the southern terminus of PA 66. The road returns to four lanes there, and I-70 is concurrent with I-76. After New Stanton it passes over the Southwest Pennsylvania Railroad's Radebaugh Subdivision line and winds southeast, gaining a third eastbound lane, and comes to the exit for PA 31 in Donegal, which accesses PA 711. East of Donegal, the turnpike crosses the Laurel Hill cut, and soon after enters Somerset County, where it gains a third westbound lane.It continues southeast to Somerset and an interchange with PA 601 accessing US 219 and Johnstown, where it narrows to four lanes, before crossing CSX's S&C Subdivision rail line. East of Somerset, the highway passes north of the Somerset Wind Farm and briefly has a third westbound lane before reaching Allegheny Mountain and its tunnel. The turnpike then winds down the mountain at a three-percent grade, with a third westbound lane. After descending the mountain, the westbound direction narrows to two lanes and heads into Bedford County through a valley. In Bedford, an exit for US 220 Business accesses US 220, the southern terminus of I-99, and Altoona.
It passes through the Narrows, a gap in Evitts Mountain east of Bedford, with US 30 and the Raystown Branch Juniata River. The turnpike winds through a valley south of the river before traversing Clear Ridge Cut near Everett. In Breezewood, I-70 leaves the turnpike at an interchange with US 30 with some of the only traffic lights on an interstate highway.
The turnpike then heads northeast across Rays Hill into Fulton County, with a third eastbound lane while ascending the hill. The road continues east across Sideling Hill, with a third westbound lane, before narrowing to two westbound lanes and coming to an interchange with US 522 in Fort Littleton and paralleling US 522 before curving east into Huntingdon County. It goes under Tuscarora Mountain through a tunnel into Franklin County, curving northeast into a valley to the PA 75 exit in Willow Hill.
The road then passes under Kittatinny Mountain through the Kittatinny Mountain Tunnel before entering the tunnel under Blue Mountain. The turnpike heads northeast along the base of Blue Mountain to an exit for PA 997, where it becomes six lanes wide, and enters Cumberland County, heading east through the Cumberland Valley on a stretch known as "the straightaway". It then reaches Carlisle and an interchange with US 11, accessing I-81. At this point, the highway narrows to four lanes.
Philadelphia Extension
The turnpike heads east through a mixture of rural land and suburban development approaching Harrisburg, passing over Norfolk Southern's Shippensburg Secondary rail line. In Upper Allen Township, the US 15 interchange accesses Gettysburg on the south and Harrisburg on the north. The road passes over Norfolk Southern's Lurgan Branch rail line before entering York County and the interchange with I-83 serving Harrisburg, its western suburbs, and York on the south.East of I-83, the turnpike widens to six lanes and crosses over Norfolk Southern's Port Road Branch rail line, the Susquehanna River, Amtrak's Keystone Corridor rail line, and Norfolk Southern's Royalton Branch rail line on the Susquehanna River Bridge. In Dauphin County, the road is a bypass south of Harrisburg.
An interchange with the southern end of I-283 and the western end of PA 283 serves Harrisburg's eastern suburbs in Lower Swatara Township and Harrisburg International Airport; PTC headquarters are adjacent to the interchange. The road returns to four lanes through suburban development north of Middletown, passing over the Middletown and Hummelstown Railroad and Swatara Creek into rural areas. and crossing a corner of Lebanon County before entering Lancaster County.
The highway passes through Pennsylvania Dutch Country to an interchange with PA 72, accessing Lebanon on the north and Lancaster on the south. It passes over an East Penn Railroad line in Denver before an indirect interchange with US 222, which serves Reading and Lancaster. The route continues into Berks County to an interchange with the southern terminus of I-176 and PA 10 in Morgantown which accesses PA 23.
The turnpike enters Chester County, running southeast to an exit for PA 100 north of Downingtown and the western suburbs of Philadelphia; an interchange with PA 29 is near Malvern. The turnpike continues east to the eastbound Valley Forge Service Plaza, then widens to six lanes before entering Montgomery County. The turnpike crosses over US 422 before reaching the Valley Forge Interchange in King of Prussia, where I-76 splits from the turnpike and heads southeast as the Schuylkill Expressway toward Philadelphia; this interchange also accesses US 202 and US 422.