Pennsylvania Highways Blog

After the 65th Little League World Series champion was crowned last month, the first Williamsport Road Enthusiast Meet was held this month, specifically today. I'd like to thank all who attended and for making the trip for the first meet in north central Pennsylvania.

The meet began as usual at 12 PM at the Bullfrog Brewery in downtown Williamsport. The food was good as well as the conversations. Mike Pruett brought some Maryland official highway maps and I brought copies of the new Turnpike System map as well as some old copies of the Pennsylvania official highway map for everyone.

After lunch, we hopped in our cars and followed US 15 to see the improvements made to the corridor over the past decade in order for it to be designated I-99. There are numerous signs along the way denoting it as the "Future I-99 Corridor."

The first stop was at the Cogan House interchange just north of the PA 14 interchange. What is interesting about this particular interchange is that the road that connects the two directions of US 15 are the original southbound lanes. They needed to be replaced due to sharp curves at the bottom of the Steam Valley hill, but the section here was retained and turned into an interchange for Cogan House.

We continued north to the next stop, at the next interchange, at PA 184 in Steam Valley. Prior to 2010, this was an at-grade intersection but of course had to be upgraded to an interchange for the I-99 designation to be applied. In order to create the junction, the right-of-ways of both US 15 and PA 184 were changed. As I mentioned above, the existing southbound lanes could not be used so the new ones were shifted eastward and the alignment of PA 184 was shifted southward. An interesting anomaly was created in that PA 184 technically doesn't end at US 15, but rather just to the east of the diamond interchange at Steam Mill Road.

I asked the group if they wanted to clinch US 15 from Williamsport to the New York state line, and everyone agreed we might as well since we were that far north. Crossing into New York, the roadway narrows down to two lanes through an interesting temporary interchange with very modern-looking light poles to illuminate the path. We made the first right to head back into Pennsylvania onto a road that connects to the old route of US 15 now known as Steuben County Route 115. Once in Lawrenceville, a few continued onto PA 287, which was extended northward after the expressway was completed to the west, and the rest onto PA 49 to head south on US 15.

The final stop of the tour was the beautiful Tioga Welcome Center, just south of the PA 287 interchange, which overlooks the Tioga Reservoir. Many have compared the recent flooding in the northern part of the state to that seen in the wake of Hurricane Agnes in 1972. That event was the impetus for construction of the reservoir, as the Allegheny Reservoir demonstrated the need by saving Western Pennsylvania the destruction seen in the east.

I showed the group the original path below of US 15 through Tioga and how it's alignment is now under water. Everyone was able to pick up brochures and maps, not only the 2010 official state one but also the 2008 Trucker's Guide to Pennsylvania. It is a black-and-white version of the regular map and the only colors on it denote the various truck routes as well as specific information for "gear jockeys" such as low clearance points and locations of steep grades. After taking the group picture there with the spectacular backdrop, we said our farewells, and headed to our respective destinations.

It has been three years since there was a holiday edition of the longest running road enthusiast meets in southwestern Pennsylvania, but that and the streak of Saturday-only meets came to an end today. I'd like to thank all who traveled both near and far to attend, even with the snow that was falling in the area and the winter storm churning up the Eastern Seaboard.

The meet began at 12 PM at the Route 40 Classic Diner on what is now Business US 40 in Brownsville. Food was good as well as the conversations. My Maryland counterpart, Mike Pruett, brought a copy of an old trails guide book, a precursor to the modern road atlas, from the late 1920s for everyone to peruse and I brought some recent Pennsylvania officials from 2006 to 2010 for anyone who needed to fill gaps in their collections.

Since these holiday meets are on a smaller scale than the ones during warmer months, the tour was not too extensive. After lunch, we headed down Business US 40 into Brownsville for a taste of the old National Road and to check out the work on connecting PA Turnpike 43 to the PA 88 expressway in West Brownsville. The new alignment, which leaves PA 88, is quite evident as swings east to cross the Monongahela River. The former intersection of old and new PA 88 has been reconfigured to be a continual route through the future interchange, which leaves up for debate whether or not PA 88 will be moved back to its former route into West Brownsville or become multiplexed with PA Turnpike 43 to US 40.

The cloverleaf at PA Turnpike 43 and US 40 is temporarily a partial one due to ongoing construction to upgrade the segment of PA 88 that will be incorporated into the Mon-Fayette Expressway. The northbound lanes are being rebuilt and what is interesting is that the overhead gantry that was before the cloverleaf has been replaced with a blue, mono-tube gantry that is seemingly becoming standard on the Mon-Fayette.

Back across the Lane Bane Bridge, we picked up the old road and stopped at the Searights Toll House. Unlike the last Winter SWPA Meet, there were no broken windows nor damaged screen doors to report. It was good to see that a security system was installed as indicated by a sign by the entrance. Here we said goodbye to half of the attendees and the rest of us continued east on US 40 to drive through the new PA Turnpike 43/US 119 stack interchange. As we took the old route east, we took the new route back to Brownsville where we said our farewells, and headed to our respective destinations.

After a six year hiatus, the second SEPA Road Enthusiast Meet was held today. I'd like to thank all who attended and for making the trip for the second meet in the Greater Philadelphia area, which has taken the record for attendance at a Pennsylvania meet from the 2003 SWPA.

The meet began as usual at 12 PM at the Sly Fox Brewhouse & Eatery, home of the Route 113 India Pale Ale, on what else, PA 113 in Phoenixville. Some of the attendees did partake of the Route 113 IPA, or as PennDOT would call it the SR 0113 India Pale Ale, which just might be the official beverage for road enthusiasts over the age of 21. The food was good as well as the conversations. Many of the attendees brought road-related materials to peruse as well as to keep: Adam Froehlig - various state official maps from Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania; Doug Kerr - I-87 Northway maps; H. B. Elkins - goodie bags full of Kentucky maps and other Kentucky Transportation Cabinet paraphernalia and I brought a planning map for the Keystone State's Interstate System from the early 1960s which I had acquired from eBay in the mid-2000s.

After lunch, we hopped in our cars and followed PA 23 to the first stop which was at the Philadelphia Traffic Management Center in the PennDOT District 6-0 headquarters in King of Prussia. Thanks go to Len Pundt, who worked for PennDOT, who helped arrange the tour. The TMC, which was called the Traffic Control Center when I toured it in 2004, has been upgraded and now includes two video walls with feeds from traffic cameras around the Philadelphia area as well as content from the Internet and TV. In what seems to have become a constant in Pennsylvania meets that involve visiting a traffic management center, we were witness to an accident on the Platt Bridge tying up traffic.

Continuing east on PA 23, we stopped at the Schuylkill Parkway overpass just north of Bridgeport. Len described what was to have happened with that project, which would have been the eastern end of the "Goat Path" Expressway. Len gave us some background on this abandoned project, which is now used as a driver training course for the State Police. He also explained how PennDOT got into the funding predicament which led to it cancelling this and numerous other expressway projects around the Commonwealth in 1977. One of the points he made was that cancelling these projects did initially save money, but now there is no way to build these to solve the traffic issues of the 21st Century because right-of-way acquisition alone would be astronomically high to carve these highways through dense urbanized areas.

We bid Len adieu and took I-276/PA Turnpike eastbound to PA 309 northbound to observe some of the rehabilitation project that has been taking place since 2003. As soon as joining the Fort Washington Expressway, the attendees could see a vastly improved expressway from the one that had been serving commuters since it was built as a new route for US 309. We encountered the last remaining section to be undergoing rehabilitation heading north and exited in the construction zone at Norristown Road to go west to Bethlehem Pike which was the pre-expressway route of US 309. Traveling north to Cedar Hill Road, which crosses over PA 309, allowed us to view the progress on reconstruction of the northern-most segment.

After stopping at the overpass to see the work, we continued northeast to PA 63 then turned northwest to go to the intersection with US 202 to see the progress on the US 202 Parkway project. A new alignment is underway at PA 63 and work is taking place south along the current alignment. We passed some of the work along US 202 as we headed back to the Sly Fox Brewhouse & Eatery where we said our farewells, and headed to our respective destinations.

Today was the second State College meet but unlike the first edition, Mother Nature gave us a rain-free day. I'd like to thank all who attended and for making the trip for the second meet in Happy Valley.

The meet began at 12 PM at Hoss's Steak & Sea on Business US 322 (North Atherton Street). Food was good as well as the conversations. Many of the attendees brought road-related materials to peruse as well as to keep: Steve Alpert - Florida Turnpike maps; H.B. Elkins - new Kentucky and West Virginia maps; Doug Kerr - I-87 Northway maps; and I brought some recent officials from Kentucky, Maryland, Tennessee, and Pennsylvania for anyone who needed to fill gaps in their collections.

After lunch, we hopped in our cars and drove down via former US 220/US 322 to PA 550 to the first stop of the 2005 Meet to see the completed I-99. Where the two roads cross is where some of the acid rock problems had occurred, and even today the large retaining pond that was constructed on the south side of the Interstate to catch run-off was partially filled.

Continuing down former US 220/US 322, which is now known as SR 3042, we stopped at the top of Skytop Mountain which overlooks the Interstate everyone loves to hate. This area is where construction crews discovered the pyritic rock which stalled work on I-99 until a solution was devised which included removing the disturbed rock and keeping the remainder at the location. It is easy to see where the undisturbed acid rock is located as it was covered with mesh then rocks to prevent erosion.

We continued on SR 3042 to SR 3040 to Port Matilda, passing through the trumpet interchange where "END" signage still exist for Alternate US 220. With no mention of that route on new signage on I-80 or before the trumpet, I'd expect it to be decommissioned before the next PennDOT official map is released.

It was in the now traffic-thinned Port Matilda where we took I-99 north back to State College. The view from the alignment as it climbs Skytop is fantastic and will be spectacular in Fall. We got to see in greater clarity the acid rock remediation as we headed back to the restaurant.

A few of the attendees had to leave, and the rest of us continued into State College on Business US 322 and then north on PA 26 to the southern stub of the Bellefonte Bypass. It is now a ramp onto I-99/US 220, but there were plans to continue it south to the end of the US 322 expressway north of Lewistown.

Following northbound I-99/US 220/PA 26, we turned off onto the former route of 26 right before the current interchange with I-80. There is earth moving taking place for the relocation of Jacksonville Road which is part of the plan for the future I-80/I-99 directional Y. After which we head back to Hoss's where we said our farewells, and headed to our respective destinations.

Saturday was the latest edition of the longest running road enthusiast meets and I'd like to thank all who traveled both near and far to attend.

The meet began at 12 PM at Garfield's in the Uniontown Mall on US 40 near the US 119 interchange. The food and conversation was excellent as always. I provided each attendee with a copy of the 2007 PennDOT map.

After the lunch portion, we headed down US 40 to see the new Brownsville Connector. We decided to make the Searights Toll House the first stop, and it's best that we did. I noticed that one of the windows appeared to be open. Upon further examination, it wasn't open but rather someone had taken one of the bricks from the steps and smashed the window. Also the screen door at the entrance had been ripped and pulled at in several places. The police were called and they said they'd notify the proprietors.

The next stop was to see the new US 40 connector that just opened east of Brownsville. What struck those of us who attended the 2006 gathering was that the former partially constructed interchange just north of PA 166 where US 40 traffic had to turn to continue has been replaced by an at-grade intersection. Even though last year, we noticed grading for what appeared to be the other entrance/exit ramps had taken place which is noted on the US 40 page. Also, PA 166's northern terminus has not moved to intersect the new US 40 alignment, but still ends at the former intersection a block to the south. There is grading for the future PA Turnpike 43 interchange which will be a temporary end until the loop around Brownsville is completed.

Heading back to Uniontown, we took a small detour over a new connector road that has been built between PA 51 and US 40 and will also serve an interchange of PA Turnpike 43. It is five lanes wide (four travel lanes and a center turn lane), and it was built through the location where I attended the groundbreaking for the Uniontown/Brownsville section seen on the PA Turnpike 43 page.

We took PA 43/PA Turnpike 43 south and stopped at the current end at Gans Road before continuing south into West Virginia to see how they are progressing on their section. From PA 857/WV Secondary 857, you can see the bridge on the state line has been finished complete with a "Welcome to West Virginia" sign gantry at the southern end. Turning off onto Morgan's Run Road we got an up-close look at another pair of spans taking shape and saw a completed section of WV 43 with signage already installed. Back at 857 we kept heading south to the Cheat Lake interchange to see the construction taking place in preparation of the directional T interchange between I-68 and WV 43.

After turning around we headed back to Garfield's where we said our goodbyes, Merry Christmases, Happy New Years, and headed to our respective destinations.