Interstate 80 in Pennsylvania
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| Interstate 80 Main route of the Interstate Highway System |
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| Length: | 311.07 mi[1] (500.62 km) | ||||||||||||
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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.
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[edit] History
| Major cities Bolded cities are officially-designated control cities for signs. |
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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 | |
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| New | Old | |||||
| Ohio State Line | ||||||
| Mercer | Farrell | 3.86 | 4A | 1S | ||
| 4.20 | 4B | 1N | access to West Middlesex | |||
| Findley Township | 14.92 | 15 | 2 | |||
| Jackson Township | 19.18 | 19A | ||||
| 19.36 | 19B | |||||
| Worth Township | 23.25 | 24 | 3A | |||
| Venango | Barkeyville | 29.01 | 29 | 3 | ||
| Clintonville | 34.76 | 35 | 4 | |||
| Scrubgrass Township | 41.94 | 42 | 5 | |||
| Clarion | Emlenton | 45.77 | 45 | 6 | Eastbound ramps to/from PA 478; Westbound ramps to/from PA 38/PA 208 concurrency and are in Venango County. |
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| Beaver Township | 52.53 | 53 | 7 | Connection to PA 338 via Quadrant Route 3007 (May Road). | ||
| Clarion Township | 60.31 | 60 | 8 | PA 66 joins eastbound, leaves westbound. | ||
| 61.96 | 62 | 9 | ||||
| 64.64 | 64 | 10 | PA 66 leaves eastbound, joins westbound. | |||
| 70.38 | 70 | 11 | ||||
| Jefferson | Corsica | 72.97 | 73 | 12 | ||
| Brookville | 78.40 | 78 | 13 | |||
| Pine Creek Township | 81.24 | 81 | 14 | |||
| Winslow Township | 86.51 | 86 | 15 | Reynoldsville | ||
| 90.75 | 90 | |||||
| Clearfield | Sandy Township | 96.41 | 97 | 16 | ||
| Dubois | 100.73 | 101 | 17 | |||
| Pine Township | 110.32 | 111 | 18 | |||
| Plymptonville | 119.42 | 120 | 19 | |||
| Lawrence Township | 122.69 | 123 | 20 | |||
| Graham Township | 132.65 | 133 | 21 | |||
| Centre | Snow Shoe | 146.96 | 147 | 22 | ||
| Boggs Township | 157.25 | 158 | 23 | Alt US 220 joins eastbound, leaves westbound. | ||
| Spring Township | 160.20 | 161 | 24 | US 220 joins eastbound, leaves westbound; Alt US 220 ends eastbound, begins westbound. |
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| Clinton | Porter Township | 172.74 | 173 | 25 | ||
| Lamar Township | 177.53 | 178 | 26 | US 220 leaves eastbound, enters westbound; Future I-99 North will be here or nearby (TBD) |
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| Greene Township | 185.19 | 185 | 27 | |||
| 191.90 | 192 | 28 | ||||
| Union | West Buffalo Township | 198.96 | 199 | 29 | Mile Run Road | access to Bald Eagle State Forest |
| White Deer Township | 209.83 | 210A | 30A | |||
| 209.95 | 210B | 30B | ||||
| Northumberland | Milton | 211.37 | 212A | 31A | Northern terminus of PA 147. | |
| 211.65 | 212B | 31B | Eastern terminus of I-180. | |||
| East Chillisquaque Township | 214.88 | 215 | 32 | |||
| Montour | Valley Township | 226.56 | 224 | 33 | ||
| Columbia | Buckhorn | 231.80 | 232 | 34 | ||
| Bloomsburg | 235.38 | 236A | 35A | Eastbound combined to single exit 236; single entrance ramps eastbound and westbound. |
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| 235.46 | 236B | 35B | Eastbound combined to single exit 236; single entrance ramps eastbound and westbound. |
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| Almedia | 240.23 | 241A | 36A | Westbound combined to single exit 241 | ||
| 240.37 | 241B | 36B | Westbound combined to single exit 241 which splits. | |||
| Main Township | 241.45 | 242 | 37 | |||
| Luzerne | Sugarloaf Township | 255.54 | 256 | 38 | ||
| Butler Township | 259.56 | 260A | ||||
| 259.70 | 260B | |||||
| 262.13 | 262 | 39 | ||||
| White Haven | 272.05 | 273 | 40 | |||
| Carbon | Kidder Township | 273.54 | 274 | 41 | ||
| 276.26 | 277 | 42 | Pocono Exit of PA Turnpike | |||
| Monroe | Tunkhannock Township | 283.10 | 284 | 43 | ||
| Jackson Township | 292.74 | 293 | Southern terminus of I-380. | |||
| Pocono Township | 297.26 | 298 | 44 | Westbound exit, eastbound entrance only. | ||
| 298.20 | 299 | 45 | Westbound entrance via Quadrant Route 3004 (Sullivan Trail) | |||
| Stroud Township | 302.00 | 302A | 46A | |||
| 302.10 | 302B | 46B | Single westbound exit 302 to PA 611 only; eastbound entrance and westbound exit to/from south via exit 304. |
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| Arlington Heights | 303.87 | 303 | 47 | Ninth Street | Eastbound exit, westbound entrance only | |
| 304.84 | 304 | 47A | US 209 joins eastbound, leaves westbound Also Lehighton, Bethlehem |
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| Stroudsburg | 305.14 | 305 | 48 | |||
| 305.79 | 306 | 49 | Dreher Avenue | Eastbound entrance, westbound exit only | ||
| 306.22 | 307 | 50 | Eastbound exit to/from PA 611 | |||
| 306.74 | Westbound exit to/from PA 191 | |||||
| East Stroudsburg | 307.62 | 308 | 51 | East Stroudsburg | ||
| 308.70 | 309 | 52 | US 209 leaves eastbound, joins westbound; southern terminus of PA 447 is just north of interchange on US 209. |
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| Delaware Water Gap | 309.72 | 310 | 53 | All ramps via Broad Street and Gap Road; potential commuter rail park & ride to New York City and Scranton via the Lackawanna Cutoff. |
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| 310.77 | New Jersey state line. Delaware Water Gap Toll Bridge over the Delaware River. Westbound: $0.75 or E-ZPass.[14] |
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[edit] References
- ^ Route Log - Main Routes of the Eisenhower National System Of Interstate and Defense Highways - Table 1
- ^ a b Pennsylvania Highways: Interstate 80
- ^ Ask the Rambler - Was I-76 Numbered to Honor Philadelphia for Independence Day, 1776?
- ^ Official Route Numbering for the National System of Interstate and Defense Highways as Adopted by the American Association of State Highway Officials, August 14, 1957
- ^ Official Route Numbering for the National System of Interstate and Defense Highways as Adopted by the American Association of State Highway Officials, Approved June 27, 1958
- ^ a b Nussbaum, Paul (December 14, 2007). I-80 toll plan is kicked back. The Philadelphia Inquirer.
- ^ a b Nussbaum, Paul (October 17, 2007). I-80 toll plans moving forward. The Philadelphia Inquirer.
- ^ Senate Transportation Committee. Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. Retrieved on 2007-07-13.
- ^ Transportation Funding. WHP-TV. Retrieved on 2007-07-19.
- ^ Nussbaum, Paul (October 2, 2007). Interest to lease turnpike is broad. The Philadelphia Inquirer.
- ^ Nussbaum, Paul (October 4, 2007). I-80 tolls not for mass transit. The Philadelphia Inquirer.
- ^ The Pennsylvania Turnpike and Interstate 80 - Act 44 - Project Process
- ^ DeLorme Street Atlas USA 2007 Software. Toggle Measure Tool. Retrieved on July 15, 2007.
- ^ Toll Rates. Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission. Retrieved on 2007-07-15.
[edit] External links
| Previous state: Ohio |
Pennsylvania | Next state: New Jersey |
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