Interstate 80 in Pennsylvania

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Interstate 80
Main route of the Interstate Highway System
Length: 311.07 mi[1] (500.62 km)
West end: I-80 at the Pennsylvania-Ohio state line
Major
junctions:
I-79 near Mercer
US 322 near Brookville
US 219 in Falls Creek

Future I-99/US 220 concurrent through Marion
I-180/PA 147 in Milton
I-81 in Hazleton,
I-476 (Penna Turnpike) near Hickory Run State Park
I-380 in Tunkhannock Township
East end: I-80 on the Delaware Water Gap Toll Bridge
Pennsylvania State Routes
< PA 79 PA 80 >
Minor - Legislative

The transcontinental Interstate 80 is designated across northern Pennsylvania as the Keystone Shortway. This route was built mainly along a completely new alignment, not paralleling any earlier U.S. Routes, as a shortcut to the tolled Pennsylvania Turnpike and New York State Thruway. It does not serve any major cities in Pennsylvania, and serves mainly as a cross-state route on the Ohio-New York City corridor. Most of I-80's path across the state goes through hilly and mountainous terrain, with relatively flat areas playing home to the freeway toward the western tier of the state.

Contents

[edit] History

Major cities
Bolded cities are officially-designated control cities for signs.

The corridor now served by I-80 was originally to be a branch of the Pennsylvania Turnpike from Sharon to Stroudsburg. Planning was shifted to the Pennsylvania Department of Highways in 1956 with the passage of the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act.[2]

In early plans for the Interstate Highway System, the connection across northern Pennsylvania would have paralleled U.S. Route 6N and U.S. Route 6 from what became Interstate 90 near West Springfield, Pennsylvania east to Scranton. (From Scranton east to Hartford, Connecticut, Interstate 84 was built parallel to US 6.) From Scranton a route went southeast along U.S. Route 611 to the Stroudsburg area, and then east along U.S. Route 46 to near New York City. On May 22, 1957, a request by Pennsylvania to move the corridor south was approved by the Federal Highway Administration.[3] (The Scranton-Stroudsburg connection was kept, and the new alignment merged with it west of Stroudsburg.) However, when the initial numbers were assigned later that year, they were drawn on a 1947 map, and so the corridor across northern Pennsylvania became part of Interstate 84, while the Scranton-New York route became Interstate 82. (I-80 ran along the Pennsylvania Turnpike - later Interstate 80S - to Harrisburg, where it split into I-80S to Philadelphia and I-80N (later Interstate 78) to New York.)[4] This was corrected the next year, as the Keystone Shortway became part of I-80, and the southern route became I-80S and I-78. I-84 was truncated to Scranton, and the Scranton-Stroudsburg connection became Interstate 81E (later renumbered Interstate 380).[5]

The first section of present I-80 to open was the Delaware Water Gap Toll Bridge, opened December 16, 1953. This had been built as part of U.S. Route 611 and connected back to its old alignment soon after crossing into Pennsylvania. Construction on the rest of I-80 began in 1959 and was completed in 1970.[2]

[edit] Toll proposal

In an effort to keep the Pennsylvania Turnpike system under public control, in June 2007, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission proposed tolling Interstate 80 as a means of raising transportation revenue. It is seeking the permission to put tolls on the highway through a Federal Highway Administration pilot program that allows three states to place tolls on interstates. Missouri and Virginia have already taken two of the spots.[6] Under the plan, the PTC would assume all maintenance and tolling operations on I-80. The plan calls for up to ten toll plazas along the length of I-80 in Pennsylvania with a toll rate of 8 cents per mile, which would be comparable to the rate on the Pennsylvania Turnpike following a projected toll increase.[7] Originally, I-80 was part of the PTC's 1,000 Mile Turnpike system, but with the passage of the Interstate Highway Act in 1954, the PTC abandoned the 1,000-mile system and only maintained the original east-west Turnpike and its Northeastern Extension. Currently the only toll on I-80 in Pennsylvania is at the Delaware Water Gap bridge between Pennsylvania and New Jersey.[8] Tolling on I-80 would be completed by 2010. [9] On October 15, 2007, the lease for the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission to toll I-80 was signed.[7]

This plan faces opposition from Northern Pennsylvania politicians who fear tolls will hurt the economy in the region[10] and who do not want their tolls going toward funding mass transit. Congressmen John E. Peterson and Phil English have proposed a federal transportation bill that would ban the tolling of I-80. The chief executive officer of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission has promised that the tolls would be used on highway projects in Pennsylvania and not on mass transit.[11] On December 12, 2007, the FHWA returned Pennsylvania's application for tolling I-80 with questions stating why the state should place tolls on the highway. [6]

Construction on the toll booths for I-80 will begin in August 2009, with tolling to begin autumn 2010.[12]

[edit] Exit list

County Location Mile[13] Exit # Destinations Notes
New Old
Ohio State Line
Mercer Farrell 3.86 4A 1S
PA 60New Castle
4.20 4B 1N
PA 60 to PA 18Sharon, Hermitage
access to West Middlesex
Findley Township 14.92 15 2 US 19Mercer
Jackson Township 19.18 19A I-79 south – Pittsburgh
19.36 19B I-79 north – Erie
Worth Township 23.25 24 3A PA 173Grove City, Sandy Lake
Venango Barkeyville 29.01 29 3 PA 8Barkeyville, FranklinOil City
Clintonville 34.76 35 4 PA 308Clintonville
Scrubgrass Township 41.94 42 5 PA 38Emlenton
Clarion Emlenton 45.77 45 6 PA 478Emlenton, St. Petersburg Eastbound ramps to/from PA 478;
Westbound ramps to/from PA 38/PA 208 concurrency
and are in Venango County.
Beaver Township 52.53 53 7
To PA 338Knox
Connection to PA 338 via Quadrant Route 3007 (May Road).
Clarion Township 60.31 60 8
PA 66 north– Shippenville
PA 66 joins eastbound, leaves westbound.
61.96 62 9 PA 68Clarion
64.64 64 10
PA 66 south – Clarion, New Bethlehem
PA 66 leaves eastbound, joins westbound.
70.38 70 11 US 322Strattanville
Jefferson Corsica 72.97 73 12 PA 949Corsica
Brookville 78.40 78 13 PA 36 – Sigel, Brookville
Pine Creek Township 81.24 81 14 PA 28 – Hazen
Winslow Township 86.51 86 15 Reynoldsville
90.75 90 PA 830 east - DuBois Regional Airport
Clearfield Sandy Township 96.41 97 16 US 219DuBois, Brockway
Dubois 100.73 101 17 PA 255DuBois, Penfield
Pine Township 110.32 111 18 PA 153Clearfield, Penfield
Plymptonville 119.42 120 19 PA 879Clearfield, Shawville
Lawrence Township 122.69 123 20 PA 970 – Woodland, Shawville
Graham Township 132.65 133 21 PA 53 – Kylertown, Philipsburg
Centre Snow Shoe 146.96 147 22 PA 144Snow Shoe
Boggs Township 157.25 158 23

Alt US 220 to I-99/ PA 150Altoona, Milesburg
Alt US 220 joins eastbound, leaves westbound.
Spring Township 160.20 161 24

I-99 - US 220 - PA 26Bellefonte
US 220 joins eastbound, leaves westbound;
Alt US 220 ends eastbound, begins westbound.
Clinton Porter Township 172.74 173 25 PA 64 – Lamar
Lamar Township 177.53 178 26
US 220Lock Haven
US 220 leaves eastbound, enters westbound;
Future I-99 North will be here or nearby (TBD)
Greene Township 185.19 185 27 PA 477Loganton
191.90 192 28 PA 880Jersey Shore
Union West Buffalo Township 198.96 199 29 Mile Run Road access to Bald Eagle State Forest
White Deer Township 209.83 210A 30A US 15 south – Lewisburg
209.95 210B 30B US 15 north – Williamsport
Northumberland Milton 211.37 212A 31A
PA 147Milton
Northern terminus of PA 147.
211.65 212B 31B
I-180Williamsport
Eastern terminus of I-180.
East Chillisquaque Township 214.88 215 32 PA 254 – Limestoneville
Montour Valley Township 226.56 224 33 PA 54Danville
Columbia Buckhorn 231.80 232 34 PA 42Buckhorn
Bloomsburg 235.38 236A 35A PA 487 south – Bloomsburg Eastbound combined to single exit 236;
single entrance ramps eastbound and westbound.
235.46 236B 35B PA 487 north – (Light Street) Eastbound combined to single exit 236;
single entrance ramps eastbound and westbound.
Almedia 240.23 241A 36A US 11 south – Lime Ridge Westbound combined to single exit 241
240.37 241B 36B US 11 north – Berwick Westbound combined to single exit 241 which splits.
Main Township 241.45 242 37 PA 339Mifflinville, Mainville
Luzerne Sugarloaf Township 255.54 256 38 PA 93Conyngham, Nescopeck
Butler Township 259.56 260A I-81 south – Harrisburg
259.70 260B I-81 north- Wilkes-Barre
262.13 262 39 PA 309Mountain Top, Hazleton
White Haven 272.05 273 40
PA 940 toPA 437White Haven, Freeland
Carbon Kidder Township 273.54 274 41 PA 534Hickory Run State Park
276.26 277 42 PA 940 – Lake Harmony
I-476 - PA Tpk.Wilkes-Barre, Allentown
Pocono Exit of PA Turnpike
Monroe Tunkhannock Township 283.10 284 43 PA 115 – Blakeslee
Jackson Township 292.74 293
I-380 north – Scranton
Southern terminus of I-380.
Pocono Township 297.26 298 44 PA 611 – Scotrun Westbound exit, eastbound entrance only.
298.20 299 45 PA 715 – Tannersville Westbound entrance via Quadrant Route 3004 (Sullivan Trail)
Stroud Township 302.00 302A 46A

PA 33 to US 209 – Snydersville
302.10 302B 46B PA 611 – Bartonsville Single westbound exit 302 to PA 611 only;
eastbound entrance and westbound exit to/from south via exit 304.
Arlington Heights 303.87 303 47 Ninth Street Eastbound exit, westbound entrance only
304.84 304 47A

US 209 to PA 33 – Snydersville
US 209 joins eastbound, leaves westbound
Also Lehighton, Bethlehem
Stroudsburg 305.14 305 48
BUS US 209- (Main Street)
305.79 306 49 Dreher Avenue Eastbound entrance, westbound exit only
306.22 307 50
PA 611 to PA 191 (Park Avenue)
Eastbound exit to/from PA 611
306.74 PA 191- (Broad Street) Westbound exit to/from PA 191
East Stroudsburg 307.62 308 51 East Stroudsburg
308.70 309 52

US 209 to PA 447 – Marshalls Creek
US 209 leaves eastbound, joins westbound;
southern terminus of PA 447 is just north of interchange on US 209.
Delaware Water Gap 309.72 310 53 PA 611Delaware Water Gap All ramps via Broad Street and Gap Road;
potential commuter rail park & ride to New York City and Scranton via the Lackawanna Cutoff.
310.77 New Jersey state line.
Delaware Water Gap Toll Bridge over the Delaware River.
Westbound: $0.75 or E-ZPass.[14]

[edit] References

[edit] External links


Interstate 80
Previous state:
Ohio
Pennsylvania Next state:
New Jersey