Interstate 276

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 (PTC) 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 Interstate 76 (I-76) between the Ohio state line and Valley Forge (I-70 runs concurrently with I-76 between New Stanton and Breezewood), Interstate 276 (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 road 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 its Northeast Extension. 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 (between the Norristown interchange and the Fort Washington interchange) to a low of 21,000, between Breezewood and the Carlisle interchange.

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 (I-476), the Beaver Valley Expressway ( I-376), the Mon–Fayette Expressway (PA 43), the Amos K. Hutchinson Bypass ( PA 66), and the Southern Beltway ( PA 576).

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 ( I-76) through rural areas south of New Castle. A short distance from the Ohio line, the eastbound lanes pass the electronic Gateway toll gantry. The highway then reaches Beaver County and the first interchange with I-376 (the Beaver Valley Expressway) in Big Beaver.

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 continues through rural land and suburban development north of Pittsburgh into Allegheny County.

The turnpike approaches the Warrendale toll gantry (where the closed toll system begins) and continues southeast, 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. 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 six-lane Allegheny River Turnpike Bridge.

It returns to four lanes after the river crossing, passing through the Oakmont Country Club before a bridge over Canadian National's Bessemer Subdivision; 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 (the Penn–Lincoln Parkway) 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 (Amos K. Hutchinson Bypass). 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 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.

It continues southeast to Somerset and an interchange with PA 601 accessing US 219 and Johnstown before crossing CSX's S&C Subdivision rail line. East of Somerset, the highway passes north of the Somerset Wind Farm before reaching Allegheny Mountain and its tunnel. The turnpike then winds down the mountain at a three-percent grade (its steepest) into Bedford County through a valley. In Bedford, an exit for US 220 Business (US 220 Bus.) 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, continuing east across Sideling Hill 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 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.

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 (a freeway to Reading) 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. In Montgomery County is 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 accesses US 202 and US 422.

Delaware River Extension

At the Valley Forge interchange, the turnpike is designated I-276 and becomes a six-lane suburban commuter highway. It crosses a bridge over SEPTA's Norristown High Speed Line and runs parallel to Norfolk Southern's Dale Secondary rail line, south of the road. The turnpike crosses Norfolk Southern's Harrisburg Line, the Schuylkill River, and SEPTA's Manayunk/Norristown Line on the Schuylkill River Bridge near Norristown. The road crosses the Schuylkill River Trail and Norfolk Southern's Morrisville Connecting Track on the Schuylkill River Bridge before the parallel Dale Secondary rail line runs south.

In Plymouth Meeting, an interchange with Germantown Pike accesses Norristown before the Mid-County Interchange. This interchange connects to I-476, which runs south as the Mid-County Expressway (locally known as the Blue Route) and north as the Northeast Extension connecting the mainline to the Lehigh Valley and the Pocono Mountains.

After the Mid-County Interchange, the mainline runs east through Philadelphia's northern suburbs. In Fort Washington, it passes over SEPTA's Lansdale/Doylestown Line before an interchange with PA 309. The road then parallels Norfolk Southern's Morrisville Line, a short distance south. later is a westbound exit and entrance for Virginia Drive. In Willow Grove, it reaches the PA 611 exit before crossing SEPTA's Warminster Line. The turnpike continues through suburban areas, entering Bucks County and a bridge over Norfolk Southern's Morrisville Line before crossing SEPTA's West Trenton Line. In Bensalem Township is a bridge over CSX's Trenton Subdivision rail line before an interchange with US 1, which accesses Philadelphia.

The highway returns to four lanes before an eastbound exit and entrance for PA 132. It then reaches the east end of the closed toll system at the Neshaminy Falls toll gantry. The road reaches a partial interchange with I-95, where it crosses under I-295; I-295 access is from the westbound turnpike to southbound I-95 and from northbound I-95 to the eastbound turnpike. At this point, I-276 ends and the turnpike becomes part of I-95; signage indicates the westbound turnpike as a left exit from southbound I-95, using I-95 milepost exit number 40.

After joining I-95, the remaining of road uses I-95's mileposts and exit numbers and is not signed as the Pennsylvania Turnpike (although it is still considered part of the mainline). The turnpike reaches its final interchange, accessing US 13 near Bristol. The road crosses an East Penn Railroad line before the westbound all-electronic Delaware River Bridge toll gantry. It crosses the Delaware Canal and Amtrak's Northeast Corridor rail line before crossing the Delaware River into New Jersey on the Delaware River–Turnpike Toll Bridge. The Pennsylvania Turnpike ends and I-95 continues east (north) as the Pearl Harbor Memorial Extension of the New Jersey Turnpike, which connects to the mainline New Jersey Turnpike.

Major bridges and tunnels

The turnpike has several major bridges and tunnels. Four tunnels cross central Pennsylvania's Appalachian Mountains. The Allegheny Mountain Tunnel passes under Allegheny Mountain in Somerset County. The Tuscarora Mountain Tunnel runs beneath Tuscarora Mountain at the border of Huntingdon and Franklin counties, and is long. The Kittatinny Mountain and Blue Mountain tunnels are adjacent to each other in Franklin County and are and long, respectively. The turnpike had also traveled through the Laurel Hill Tunnel, Sideling Hill Tunnel, and Rays Hill Tunnel; they were replaced during the 1960s as they were obsolete.

Five bridges carry the turnpike over major rivers. The Beaver River Bridge, which is being replaced, crosses the Beaver River in Beaver County. The highway crosses the Allegheny River in Allegheny County on the Allegheny River Turnpike Bridge, which replaced a 1951 deck truss bridge with the same name. It crosses the Susquehanna River between York and Dauphin Counties on the Susquehanna River Bridge, which also replaced an early-1950s deck truss bridge. The turnpike crosses the Schuylkill River on the Schuylkill River Bridge in Montgomery County, which was twinned in the 2000s. At the New Jersey state line in Bucks County, the highway is connected to the Pearl Harbor Memorial Extension of the New Jersey Turnpike by the Delaware River–Turnpike Toll Bridge over the Delaware River.

Tolls

The turnpike uses all-electronic tolling, with toll by plate (which uses automatic license-plate recognition and mails a bill to the vehicle owner) or E-ZPass. Between the mainline Warrendale and Neshaminy Falls toll plazas, tolls are based on distance traveled. An eastbound mainline toll gantry is at Gateway (near the Ohio state line), and a westbound mainline toll gantry is at the Delaware River Bridge near the New Jersey state line; both charging a flat toll. There is no toll between Gateway and Warrendale, and between Neshaminy Falls and the Delaware River Bridge.

, it costs $104.78 for a passenger vehicle to travel the length of the mainline turnpike between Warrendale and Neshaminy Falls using toll by plate and $52.39 using E-ZPass; the eastbound Gateway toll gantry charges $15.96 with toll by plate and $7.88 with E-ZPass for passenger vehicles, and the westbound Delaware River Bridge toll gantry charges $10.19 for toll by plate and $7.67 for E-ZPass. The turnpike has raised tolls each January 1 since 2009 to fund mandated Act 44 annual payments to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT).

Until March 2020, the turnpike used a ticket system between the Warrendale and Neshaminy Falls toll plazas. Motorists received a ticket listing the toll for each exit; the ticket was surrendered when exiting, and the applicable toll was paid. If the ticket was lost, motorists were charged the maximum toll for that exit. Cash, credit cards, and E-ZPass were accepted at toll plazas.

In 2010, McCormick Taylor and Wilbur Smith Associates were hired to conduct a feasibility study on converting the road to electronic tolls. On March 6, 2012, the turnpike commission announced that it was implementing the plan. The turnpike commission projected that it would save $65 million annually in labor costs by eliminating toll collectors. On January 3, 2016, electronic tolling was introduced at the westbound Delaware River Bridge mainline toll plaza, and the eastern terminus of the ticket system was moved from the Delaware River Bridge to Neshaminy Falls. On October 27, 2019, electronic tolling was implemented at the eastbound Gateway mainline toll plaza. Electronic tolling was originally scheduled to be implemented on the entire length of the turnpike in late 2021.

By 2020, about 86 percent of turnpike vehicles already used E-ZPass for payment of tolls. In March 2020, the switch to electronic tolling was made early as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The electronic tolling system used toll booths at exits until toll gantries between interchanges were built. The first toll gantries on the Northeast Extension and on the mainline east of the Reading interchange began operation in January 2025, and the remainder of the toll gantries along the western portion of the turnpike are expected to begin operation by late 2026. After all toll gantries are fully operating, the PTC plans to demolish all toll plazas.

Act 44, Act 89, and toll increases

Under a 2007 law, Act 44, the Turnpike has been mandated to provide $450 million, a sizable share of its revenue, annually to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the Department of Transportation for transit and other purposes. The PTC, which previously had raised tolls only six times in 64 years, began to increase tolls every January 1. Its debt increased to be about equal to the entire General Obligation debt of the state. Under Act 89 of 2013, the $450 million payments were to be reduced to $50 million in 2022. But the Turnpike still must work off the debt, all of which is in 30-year bonds, and so annual toll increases will continue for many years.

An analysis by Australian insurance company Budget Direct found the Pennsylvania Turnpike the world's most expensive toll road. Turnpike spokesperson Carl DeFebo disputed Budget Direct's claim, saying that the analysis looked at all of the turnpike's toll roads together; "Nobody would ever go south towards Pittsburgh, east towards Philadelphia, then north towards Scranton. That's a 400-plus mile trip", and turnpike tolls are comparable to other toll roads on a per-mile basis.

Services

Emergency assistance and information

Motorists needing assistance can dial *11 on mobile phones. First-responder service is available to all turnpike users via the GEICO Safety Patrol program. The free program checks for disabled motorists, debris and accidents along the road, and provides assistance 24 hours daily year-round. Each patrol vehicle covers a stretch of the turnpike. Towing service is available from authorized service stations near the highway, and Pennsylvania State Police Troop T patrols the turnpike. The troop's headquarters is in Highspire, and its turnpike substations are grouped into two sections. The western section has substations in Gibsonia, New Stanton, Somerset and Everett; the eastern section has mainline substations in Newville, Bowmansville and King of Prussia. The PTC broadcasts AM road, traffic, and weather conditions from highway advisory radio transmitters at each exit on 1640 kHz, with a range of approximately . The 511PA travel-information service provides alerts, an interactive map, weather information and traffic cameras to motorists, and variable-message signs located along the roadway provide information such as accidents, construction, weather, and traffic congestion.

Service plazas

The turnpike currently has 15 high capacity service plazas, though at one point had over 20 lower capacity plazas. Each plaza has several fast-food restaurants, a Sunoco gas station, and a 7-Eleven convenience store. Other amenities include ATMs, E-ZPass sales, free cellphone charging, Pennsylvania Lottery sales, picnic areas, restrooms, tourist information, Travel Board information centers, and Wi-Fi. The King of Prussia plaza has a welcome center, and the New Stanton and Sideling Hill plazas have seasonal farmers' markets. Several plazas offer E85 fuel, and New Stanton offers compressed natural gas; all have conventional gasoline and diesel fuel. Some plazas have electric vehicle charging stations. The Sunoco and 7-Eleven locations and the Subway at North Midway are operated by 7-Eleven, and the remaining restaurants and general upkeep are operated by Applegreen.

By 1946, a number of service plazas were expanded in order to accommodate booming popularity.

With the opening of the extensions between 1950 and 1954, new service plazas came as well. On them, the service plazas were less frequent, larger, and further from the road. Gulf Oil operated service stations on the extensions, and Howard Johnson's provided food service in sit-down restaurants.

In 1955, the North and South Somerset Service Plazas were both opened, replacing the eastbound only New Baltimore Plaza.

In 1957, the westbound New Stanton service plaza was built, and the Laurel Hill Plaza, located to the west of the western end of the Laurel Hill Tunnel, was closed.

In 1968, the Sideling Hill Plaza opened with the Sideling Hill/ Rays Hill bypass. It is the only service plaza on the mainline turnpike to serve both eastbound and westbound traffic, and replaced the westbound only Cove Valley Plaza, which was demolished due to being located on the section of turnpike being bypassed.

In preparation of the United States Bicentennial, construction was completed in 1976 of a 320 space parking lot at the eastbound only Valley Forge plaza.

The Pleasant Valley plaza was closed in January 1979, while the Denver and Mechanicsburg plazas closed in 1980.
All three were auctioned in October 1981, having been experiencing diminishing profits. This left only the Oakmont Plum, Butler, and Zelienople service plazas in western Pennsylvania.

In 1978, as Howard Johnson's exclusive contract to provide food service was ending, the turnpike commission entertained bids; Aramark was awarded a food-service contract at two plazas. The turnpike was the first toll road in the U.S. to have more than one fast-food chain at its service plazas. Gas stations were operated by Gulf Oil, Exxon, and ARCO. In 1980, Hardee's opened restaurants at the service plazas to compete with Howard Johnson's. The turnpike was the world's first road to offer fast food at its service plazas. Burger King and McDonald's restaurants opened on the turnpike in June 1983, this was part of a deal that saw the eastbound Path Valley plaza closed, it had seen a gradual loss of revenue since the Sideling Hill plazas opening in 1968. With this, fast food was implemented at the Hempfield Plaza. This reflected increased demands for fast food. Marriott Corporation purchased the remaining Howard Johnson's restaurants in 1987, and restaurants such as Roy Rogers and Bob's Big Boy opened.

In April 1990, Gulf Oil LP

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases