American Legion Memorial Highway

The longest north-south Interstate in Pennsylvania, which was also planned to be a toll highway, has its beginnings back in the 1950s.  In fact, the part from Scranton to the New York line was to be a continuation of the Northeast Extension, but no final designs were completed by the Turnpike Commission.  Another extension that would have followed the current I-81 alignment, referred to as the Scranton Extension, and connected to the mainline Turnpike anywhere from east of Harrisburg to the Delaware River Bridge.  This was also planned before the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 that was passed on June 29 of that year.

With the act passed, work on this highway was transferred over to the Department of Highways. In 1958, construction began on the part from Exit 188 to Exit 191.  In 1959, construction began on the section from the Maryland state line to Exit 3.  Another section was under construction at the same time from Exit 194 to the New York state line.

In 1960, the section from Exit 188 to Exit 191 was completed.  In 1961, more of Interstate 81 opened from Maryland to Exit 3 and Exit 211 to the New York state line.

Ribbon-cutting ceremonies for the Exit 211 to New York state line section in August 1961.  (Pennsylvania Department of Highways)

Representatives from both Pennsylvania and New York standing at the state line. (Pennsylvania Department of Highways)

Governor David Lawrence cutting the ribbon to signify the completion of Interstate 81. (Pennsylvania Department of Highways)

While those sections opened that year, work began from Exit 44 to Exit 48, Exit 187 to Exit 188, and Exit 191 to Exit 194.  In 1962, the sections from Exit 44 to Exit 48, Exit 187 to Exit 188, and Exit 191 to Exit 211 opened while construction got under way on the sections from Exit 3 to Exit 44, Exit 48 to Exit 52, and Exit 186 to Exit 187.  In 1963, the sections from Exit 3 to Exit 5, Exit 48 to Exit 52, and Exit 186 to Exit 187 opened to traffic while construction began on the Exit 170 to Exit 175 section.

The current Exit 187 in the 1960s.  Interstate 81 is from bottom to right in the picture.
(Pennsylvania Department of Highways)

In 1964, the sections from Exit 29 to Exit 44 and Exit 170 to Exit 175 opened to traffic while construction began from the Butler Drive overpass to Exit 170, Exit 175 to Exit 178, and Exit 180 to Exit 186.

In 1965, the section from Exit 5 to Exit 29 opened to traffic while construction commenced on the sections from Exit 134 to the Lofty Road overpass, Exit 145 to the Butler Drive overpass, and Exit 178 to Exit 180 which included upgrading the then PA 315 alignment.

The I-81 interchange with I-80 in the 1960s.  (Pennsylvania Department of Highways)

In 1966, the Interstate opened from Exit 165 to Exit 170 and Exit 175 to Exit 186 while construction began from Locust Lake State Park to Exit 134 and Exit 143 to Exit 145.  In 1967, the section from Exit 145 to the cloverleaf at Interstate 80 opened to traffic, while construction began on large sections:  Exit 77 to the Interstate 78 interchange, PA 72 underpass to Locust Lake State Park, and Lofty Road overpass to Exit 143.  In 1968, the sections from Exit 143 to Exit 145 and Interstate 80 to Exit 165 opened to traffic, while construction began from Interstate 83 to Exit 77 and Interstate 78 to the PA 72 underpass.  In 1969, the section from Exit 116 to Exit 143 opened to traffic, while construction began on the sections from Exit 52 to the Locust Point Road overpass, Exit 65 to Exit 66, and Exit 69 to Exit 70.

Construction going on south of Hazleton in 1968.
(James P. Blair/National Geographic)

In 1970, the sections from Interstate 83 to Exit 104 and Exit 112 to Exit 116 opened and work began on the section from Locust Point Road overpass to Exit 57.  In 1971, the section from Exit 104 to Exit 112 opened to traffic while construction began on the section from Exit 66 to Exit 69 which included construction of the large stack interchange at US 22/US 322 in Wildwood Park.  In 1973, work began on the section from Exit 57 to Exit 65.  This signaled Interstate 81 was either complete and open to traffic or under construction through the Commonwealth.  In 1975, the section between Exit 65 and Exit 66 which included the George N. Wade Bridge was finally completed, and the following year, the remaining sections from Exit 57 to Exit 65 and Exit 66 to Interstate 83 were completed just in time for our country's Bicentennial celebration.  The final cost of Interstate 81 from Maryland to New York was $442,950,000.

Work began in April 2001 to rebuild the highway from Exit 20 to north of Exit 24.  The $25.4 million project included complete pavement removal and concrete replacement on both the northbound and southbound highways and shoulders, extension of the ramps at two interchanges, bridge improvements, new drainage, improved guiderails, and updated signing.  Bridges carrying Pine Stump Road, PA 696, and Mainsville Road were also rehabilitated.  The work was completed in Fall 2003.

Work also began in that same month on another section of I-81 from the Susquehanna River to north of the interchange with Interstate 83.  This six-lane section of Interstate 81 carries nearly 100,000 vehicles a day, with truck traffic accounting for 24% of the volume.  Next to the Syracuse, New York area, this is the most heavily traveled section of the Interstate between Knoxville, Tennessee and the Canadian border.  This was also one of the roughest sections of concrete pavement to be address by PennDOT in their commitment to improve the Interstate Highway System of Pennsylvania.  The $74.5 million project included reconstruction of all six lanes of the highway and shoulders, some interchange ramp improvements, rebuilding bridge decks with some widened, upgrading signage including installation of new overhead variable message signs (VMS), new drainage, and new guiderail.  Longer on-ramps from Interstate 83 were built with the entire project completed in 2004.

On May 16, 2001, State Senator Terry Punt (R) secured a commitment from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to start the process of widening the highway to six lanes on a 77-mile section in southern Pennsylvania from the Maryland state line to PA 581 and from I-83 to I-78.  Also, the ramps onto and off of the Interstate would be lengthened to current standards.  The state would join Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland in planning to widen the current four-lane Interstate.  PennDOT recommended to the Pennsylvania Transportation Commission on May 24 that the study be given "immediate priority status" on the commission's 12-year plan.  Senator Punt said state and federal money will fund $2 million study and take up to two years to complete.  In 1998, a multi-state task force recommended that Pennsylvania study widening the highway; however, PennDOT emphasized improving the highway surface.  The senator lobbied during the past four years to win approval of the project.  He said that the highway is currently being "strangled and suffocated" by the volume of traffic, which it was not designed to carry.  The entire project could cost between $200 and $400 million and take 10 years to complete.  Project website:  http://www.i-81study.com/.

Drivers on Interstate 81 between milemarker 108 and milemarker 158 could breathe a little easier starting on December 6, 2001.  That day PennDOT unveiled 102 emergency call boxes that were installed earlier in the year along the highway between those two points in Schuylkill and Luzerne Counties respectively.  Those needing help will find four buttons inside the boxes:  one for police, one for fire, one for ambulance, and a fourth for a tow truck.  After they press a button, they have the ability to talk to a state police dispatcher who makes sure the appropriate crews are dispatched to the scene.  The reason that this section was picked was that the area is prone to dense fog, high winds, and severe winter weather conditions.  The boxes were a part of a $1.6 million Intelligent Transportation System, or ITS, project that included weather monitoring stations, variable message signs, and traffic counters.  Prior to this, the only highway in Pennsylvania with call boxes was the Turnpike and its extensions and I-80 when it first opened in 1970.

December 28, 2001 was not a good day to be on the Interstate, as a wreck on the highway outside of Hazleton claimed the life of a 13-year-old girl, according to the Luzerne County Emergency Management Agency.  The crash involved about 30 vehicles and caused multiple injuries.

On September 24, 2002, Mayor Tom Newcomer of Chambersburg cast his first tie-breaking vote when Borough Council hit a deadlock on the issue of construction of the long proposed Exit 17 and another south of the town.  Councilman Allen Coffman, agreeing with a citizens' group on the matter, sayid that federal funding should be directed from the Exit 17 project to construction of an exit south of Chambersburg to serve numerous warehouse and distribution centers that have opened there, one of which includes the Chambers-5 Business Park.  David G. Sciamanna, president of the Greater Chambersburg Chamber of Commerce has said of the controversy, "The whole agricultural protection argument was grasping at straws and just a way to find any reason to delay the project.  I think it is over."  Supporters of the exit say that it will ease congestion on US 30 and offer an alternative route to new development north of Chambersburg.  Critics say that it will not solve congestion problems, and will dump more cars on country highways and pressure rural Greene Township to develop.

One thing parents do not like while driving are noisy children in the backseat.  However, it is just that which saved Patsy Harvey of Muncie, Indiana on July 5, 2003.  She climbed into the backseat to quiet her grandchildren, while her husband Selby continued to drive southbound on the Interstate.  Minutes after doing so, a log from an overturned truck on the US 22/US 322 ramps above, came crashing down through the passenger-side windshield.  Around a dozen logs, each weighting around 1,000 pounds each, spilled onto the ramp with that stray one falling over the side and onto Interstate 81.  The family and driver of the truck were taken to Holy Spirit Hospital and treated for minor injuries.

In March 2004, the 15-year-old battle over the long proposed Exit 7, now Exit 17, at Walker Road near Chambersburg finally came to an end.  The Department of Transportation began a $15.7 million project to not only build the Walker Road interchange but also rehabilitate approximately 3.8 miles of the Interstate from US 30 to approximately one-quarter mile south of Exit 20.  Median shoulder widening and addition of auxiliary lanes between US 30 and the new interchange resulted in a six lane expressway.  Walker Road's overpass was relocated approximately one-quarter mile south of the former location.  Construction on Interstate 81 included pavement patching, bituminous pavement overlay, and guiderail, drainage, and signing improvements.  The project concluded on September 30, 2005.

Even when the winter is turning the corner into spring, the Interstate can be treacherous.  On the afternoon of March 5, 2004, twelve vehicles including a tractor-trailer and box truck, were involved in the pile-up between McAdoo and Frackville.  Not only did emergency crews have to deal with this one, but also two minor accidents on the northbound lanes north of the pile-up and another in the southbound lanes in the same area.  The cause was determined to be fog.  It didn't take long for crews to have the accidents cleared and Interstate 81 to reopen that night.

Wednesday, February 14, 2007 will be remembered more for the snow and ice storm than romantic evenings for most of eastern Pennsylvania.  Even those just passing through, or attempting to, on the Interstate won't soon forget Valentine's Day 2007.  As conditions began to deteriorate with seven inches of snow followed by three inches of ice, several tractor-trailers began to jack-knife and others becoming stuck trying to negotiate the Interstate.  PennDOT closed it between Exit 85 and Exit 165 on Thursday, February 15 and it did not reopen until 4 PM on February 17.  The storm and the problems it caused forced Governor Ed Rendell to declare a statewide disaster emergency which authorized state agencies to use all available resources and personnel to assist in relief.  It took 150 employees with 141 pieces of equipment to clear the ice and snow off I-78, I-80, and I-81.

Links:
Exit Guide
Interstate 81 Ends
Interstate 81 Pictures
Capital Beltway Map
Capital Beltway Safety Program - PennDOT District 8-0
Focus I-81 - Northeastern Pennsylvania Alliance
Interstate 81 Circa 1960 Photo Gallery - PennDOT District 4-0
Interstate 81 Statement - FHWA
Highway 81 Revisited - James Wilkins/Kim Wilkins
I-81 Interchange Browser - Tim Reichard
I-81 Stack Interchanges - Alex Nitzman
Interstate 81 - Steve Alpert
Interstate 81 - Andy Field/Alex Nitzman
Interstate 81 - David Steinberg
Interstate 81 Pictures - Andy Field/Alex Nitzman

INFORMATION