The President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Expressway, commonly referred to as the President Biden Expressway, and formerly known as the Central Scranton Expressway, is a

freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...

southeast of downtown

Scranton Scranton is a city in and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Scranton is the most populous city in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the ...

in the U.S. state of

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. It runs east-southeast from

U.S. Route 11 U.S. Route 11 or U.S. Highway 11 (US 11) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway extending across the eastern U.S. The southern terminus of the route is at US 90 in Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refu ...

(US 11)/

Pennsylvania Route 307 Pennsylvania Route 307 (PA 307) is a north–south route of the Pennsylvania State Route, Pennsylvania Highway System that runs for . The southern terminus is Pennsylvania Route 435, PA 435 in Covington Township, Lackawanna County, Pennsylv ...

(PA 307) near downtown to

Interstate 81 Interstate 81 (I-81) is a north–south (physically northeast–southwest) Interstate Highway in the eastern part of the United States. Its southern terminus is at Interstate 40, I-40 in Dandridge, Tennessee, Dandridge, Tennessee; its nort ...

(I-81). The highway is one of only three freeways in Pennsylvania with no posted route number. In the

Location Referencing System In the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, state highways are generally maintained by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT). Each is assigned a four-digit State Route (SR) number in the present Location Referencing System. Traffic Routes ...

, it is designated State Route 3022 by the

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) oversees transportation issues in the Pennsylvania, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The administrator of PennDOT is the Pennsylvania Secretary of Transportation, Michael B. Carroll. PennDOT ...

(PennDOT). In 2021, the road was renamed after President

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

, who was born in Scranton.

Route description

The President Biden Expressway begins at an interchange with US 11/PA 307 and Cedar Avenue in Scranton, with access to northbound US 11/PA 307 and from southbound US 11/PA 307. From here, the President Biden Expressway heads east-southeast as a four-lane freeway. The road runs between residential neighborhoods to the southwest and Roaring Brook to the northeast. The freeway passes under the

Harrison Avenue Bridge The Harrison Avenue Bridge was a concrete deck arch bridge carrying Harrison Avenue (unsigned SR 6011) in Scranton, Pennsylvania, United States. History and architectural features Its three spans included an open-spandrel ribbed arch over Roar ...

before ending at a

directional T interchange In the field of road transport, an interchange (American English) or a grade-separated junction (British English) is a road junction that uses grade separations to allow for the movement of traffic between two or more roadways or highways, using ...

with I-81.

History

Construction began in 1964 alongside the adjacent section of I-81. The road was built along a portion of the former

Lackawanna and Wyoming Valley Railroad The Lackawanna & Wyoming Valley Railroad, more commonly known as the Laurel Line, was a Pennsylvania third rail electric interurban streetcar line which operated commuter train service from 1903 to 1952, and freight service until 1976. Its main li ...

right-of-way passing beneath the

. It opened with a temporary western terminus feeding into Front Street at Prospect Avenue. By the early 1970s, the current interchange at the western terminus was opened, connecting to a new road replacing the demolished Spruce Street Bridge. In July 2021, there was a proposal to rename the Central Scranton Expressway after incumbent U.S. President

, who was born in Scranton. On July 20, 2021, the Scranton City Council unanimously voted to rename the Central Scranton Expressway to the President Joseph R. Biden Jr. Expressway along with renaming Spruce Street to Biden Street. PennDOT replaced signage on the northbound lanes of I-81 on September 29, 2021, and replaced signage on the southbound lanes of I-81 on the following day. The sign installation was completed on October 4, 2021, at the exit 185 off ramp along I-81. In December 2024, local residents and multiple state politicians called for Biden's name to be removed from the expressway after he controversially commuted the sentence of

Michael Conahan Michael Thomas Conahan is an American convicted felon and former judge. He received a J.D. degree from Temple University and went on to serve from 1994 to 2007 as judge on the Court of Common Pleas for Luzerne County. During the last four years ...

, a judge responsible for the

kids for cash scandal The kids for cash scandal centered on judicial kickbacks to two judges at the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, US. In 2008, judges Michael Conahan and Mark Ciavarella were convicted of accepting money in ret ...

that took place in neighboring

Luzerne County Luzerne County is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and is water. It is Northeaste ...

. However, Scranton mayor

Paige Cognetti Paige Gebhardt Cognetti (born 1979/1980) is an American politician serving as the mayor of Scranton, Pennsylvania. She is the first woman to be mayor of the city and won her seat in a special election. A member of the Democratic Party, she ran h ...

and the city council declined to remove the signs.

Exit list

References

External links

{{commons category, President Biden Expressway Limited-access roads in Pennsylvania Transportation in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania 1964 establishments in Pennsylvania Freeways in the United States Joe Biden

Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

Route description

History

Exit list

See also

References

External links