One of the most rural US highways to traverse Pennsylvania, US 209 originally began as an intrastate highway.  The southern terminus was located in Clarks Ferry and the northern terminus was in Milford.  In 1927, the route was under construction from Newtown to Minersville and completed the following year.

The first significant rerouting took place in 1933 when the designation was moved onto the current alignment between Llewellyn and Mar Lin.  The designation was signed on the current SR 4005 into Minersville and current PA 901 from the borough to Mar Lin.  The next change was the movement of the northern terminus from Milford to Kingston, New York in 1935.  The southern terminus was moved from Clarks Ferry to its current location in Millersburg in 1936.  In 1939, the route was widened from Milford to the Westfall Township line.

The 1940s began as the 1930s ended with widening taking place in Tower City, current PA 901 East to Pottsville, Schuylkill County line to the Borough of Summit Hill line, in Nesquehoning, Packerton to Lehighton, and the Milford Township line to Matamoras in 1940.  In 1941, the widening continued in Tamaqua, in Tremont, Lehighton to Weissport, and PA 612 to East Stroudsburg.  That same year a new alignment opened between Pottsville and Port Carbon which prompted the designation to be removed from Bacon Street through Palo Alto.  Improvements would be postponed until 1946 when a new alignment was finished between Machamer Avenue in Lykens and SR 4010 and the designation moved off Pottsville Road and Market Street through Williamstown.  Widening took place that same year between East Stroudsburg to PA 447 North.

Widening was still on the agenda in the 1950s with the section being widened in Jim Thorpe in 1950 then from Nesquehoning to East Center Street in 1955.  In 1956, widening took place from Coaldale to the Carbon County line.  Widening continued in 1958 when sections in Elizabethville, in Lykens, Tower City to Reinerton, and in Branch Dale and saw work.  Construction on the first expressway section of US 209 was when construction of Interstate 80 from Exit 308 to Exit 310 began in 1959.

The section from Exit 308 to Exit 309 opened in 1960 and a year later construction began from Exit 298 to Exit 308.  In 1962, the section of Interstate 80 from Exit 305 to Exit 308 and with that, the designation was removed from passing through Stroudsburg and East Stroudsburg via Main Street, Washington Street, Courtland Street, and Milford Road.  Construction on another section of expressway began from the current PA 33 South interchange to Snydersville that year as well.  In 1963, construction began from Sciota to the PA 33 South interchange and the PA 33 North interchange to Interstate 80.  The route had a median installed on it from PA 901 West to the current PA 901 East intersection.  The expressway opened to traffic from Sciota to Interstate 80 in 1964, and with it the designation moved onto the new alignment.  In 1969, the highway was divided from Weissport to the Pennsylvania Turnpike Northeast Extension and again in 1975 between Pottsville and New Philadelphia.

On July 27, 2001, the Federal Highway Administration approved plans for the Marshalls Creek Bypass.  This project would include construction of a new, four-lane limited access bypass of US 209 and PA 402, plus widening of US 209 to relieve congestion in Marshalls Creek.  The estimated price tag of the project is $70 million and was expected to begin in Spring 2005.  That was until Pyrite, which forced a halt to Interstate 99 construction on Skytop Mountain, was discovered in the path of the projected highway.  Testing is being done to determine the exact amount and remediation plans will be included in the contract proposal.

Planned interchange with PA 402  (PennDOT)

Ground was broken for the start of Phase I on August 24, 2005.  The initial $14.2 million phase will consist of preliminary grading and drainage for the PA 402 section of the bypass, as well as replacement wetlands and relocating a section of Oak Grove Drive.  Cul-de-sacs will also be built in the White Birch Estates community near Oak Grove Drive.   Three intersections are slated for improvement at US 209 at Buttermilk Falls Road, Buttermilk Falls Road at River Road, and US 209 at Winona Falls Road/River Road.  Improvements call for widening to add new turning lanes, new traffic signals, and upgrades to drainage and signage.  Phase I is expected to finish in Fall 2007.  Project website:  http://www.marshallscreekbypass.com/.

US 209 Truck Information Monroe and Pike Counties Marshalls Creek to Milford* *The National Parks Service bans all commercial vehicles from this section as it falls under their jurisdiction not PennDOT.

Links:
Exit Guide
US 209 Auxiliary Routes
US 209 Pictures
Interstate 80
Terminus of US 209 - Dale Sanderson
Terminus of US 209 in Pennsylvania - Tim Reichard
US 209 Junction List - Tim Reichard

INFORMATION