The highway that now lives in the shadows of Interstate 81 has had a long and varied history.  Signed in 1926, there were still dirt sections from Plymouth to Kingston and Hallstead and Great Bend in 1927.  By the following year, those two segments had been paved.  In 1928, the section from Harrisburg to Heckton was under construction and completed the following year.

In 1930, the designation was moved in Wilkes-Barre from Plymouth Road, Carey Avenue, South River Street, North River Street, and River Road onto its current alignment on Wyoming Avenue.  In 1938, the route was widened from Mount Rock to Shippensburg, PA 114 to Lemoyne, Harrisburg to PA 443, Speeceville to Clark Creek, in Shamokin Dam, Scranton to Clarks Summit, and New Milford to Hallstead.

In 1940, the alignment was widened in Chambersburg, in Carlisle, PA 42 to Bloomsburg, in Berwick, Shickshinny to the Hunlock Township line, Plymouth to Larksville, Kingston to West Pittston, Avoca to Scranton, and Hill Road to College Avenue.  In 1941, the designation was placed on its current alignment between Lemoyne and Amity Hall removing it from the Market Street Bridge and Front Street in Harrisburg.  The alignment was widened from US 22/US 322 to Amity Hall and Larksville to Kingston.  In 1946, the highway was widened from the Pennsylvania Turnpike to PA 114, Selinsgrove to Shamokin Dam, and Hunlock Township line to Plymouth.  In 1948, the designation flipped alignments with Bypass US 11 in Lemoyne, with it moved onto the current route on Cumberland Boulevard and Walnut Street from Market Street and Front Street.  In the last year of the 1940s, widened took place from Greencastle to Marion, Chambersburg to PA 433, and Bloomsburg to Briar Creek.

The 1950s began how the 1940s ended with widening projects taking place along the alignment from Marion to Chambersburg, Port Trevorton to Selinsgrove, and Clarks Summit to Le Plume.  In 1952, the sections from Amity Hall to Port Trevorton and Dupont to Avoca were widened.  In 1953, the section from Le Plume to the current US 6/US 11 split north of Factoryville was widened.  In 1955, widening work took place from Chambersburg to Mount Rock, Shamokin Dam to Chulasky, and Ridgeville to PA 42.  Also in 1955, the route was moved onto a new alignment to bypass Greencastle to the west while the section from Bushtown to the bypass was widened.  In 1956, the route was widened from Chulasky to Ridgeville and Berwick to Shickshinny.  In 1958, the highway began to see medians being placed on sections.  The first sections to see one installed were SR 2001 to PA 16, Woods Drive to Hogestown, 32nd Street to the M. Harvey Taylor Bridge approach, Kinkora Heights to Cove Road, US 22/US 322 to Amity Hall, in Half Falls, Chulasky to the Montour County line, School House Road to Kaseville Road, Larksville to Edwardsville, the bridge over Toby's Creek in Wilkes-Barre, Scranton to the PA Turnpike, and Clarks Summit to US 6 north of Factoryville.  The designation was changed in Scranton that same year, with northbound traffic using Pittston Avenue, and southbound remaining on Birch Street, Cedar Avenue, and Brook Street.  The following year northbound traffic returned to Cedar Avenue between Sander Avenue and Birch Street.

The 1960s saw the continuation of installing medians on the highway, with the section from Selinsgrove to the split with US 15 north of Shamokin Dam seeing one installed in 1962.  Also that year, the Harrisburg Expressway opened from Sporting Hill to US 15, removing the designation from Carlisle Pike while construction began on the expressway from Cork Lane to Suscon Road which opened the following year.  Construction began on the North Scranton Expressway in 1963 which opened the following year but did not receive the US 11 designation.  Also in 1964, a median was installed from the Turnpike to Appalachian Drive.

The 1970s saw the work to upgrade the highway slow down.  In 1971, construction began to widen and install a median at the I-81 interchange between Valley Road and the Perry County line and finished in 1973.  In 1974, construction began on the Selinsgrove Bypass which opened in 1977, and removed the designation from Market Street through the borough.  The North Scranton Expressway finally received the US 11 designation in 1989, and shifted it to Jefferson Avenue and Mulberry Street from Moosic Street, Harrison Avenue, Myrtle Street, Wheeler Avenue, Cherry Street, Blakely Street, Green Ridge Street, North Main Avenue, and West Market Street.

A decade later, construction began on a 10.1 mile section from Mount Patrick to McKees Half Falls.  The result was a four-lane, at-grade highway which was the last segment between US 22/US 322 and the Selinsgrove Bypass to be widened.  The southern half of the project zone has a Jersey barrier in the median, while the northern half has a center turning lane.  Six signalized jug-handled intersections are located along the section and the traffic signals are linked and coordinated.  The project finished in Fall 2001 and cost $47.2 million.

Studies began in 2000 on how to redesign the US 11/US 15/PA 581 interchange in Camp Hill.  Congestion due to growth of the area and poor design are the leading factors in rebuilding the interchange.  Parts of the study include a new interchange at Zimmerman Drive and US 15, removing the Gettysburg Road interchange, and modifying the existing interchange.  Project website:  http://www.us15atpa581.com/.

In October 2003, the alignment of the Central Susquehanna Valley Thruway project was approved.  The estimated price tag is $350 million and will consist of an expressway from the northern end of the Selinsgrove Bypass and tie into the PA 147 expressway.  A 140-foot high, 4,000-foot span will cross the Susquehanna River just south of Winfield.  Construction is projected to begin in late 2007 or 2008 with the bridge and expressway connection to PA 147 being completed first and then the expressway in Snyder County beginning in 2010.  Project website:  http://www.csvt.com/.

Links:
Exit Guide
US 11 Auxiliary Routes
US 11 Pictures
Capital Beltway Map
Terminus of US 11 - Dale Sanderson
Terminus of US 11 in Pennsylvania - Tim Reichard
The US 11 Corridor - Tim Reichard
US 11 Junction List - Tim Reichard
US 11 Pictures - Steve Alpert
US 11/US 15 Selinsgrove Bypass - Alex Nitzman

INFORMATION

Southern Entrance:	Maryland state line in State Line.
Northern Entrance:	New York state line two miles north of Great Bend.
Length:	247 miles
National Highway System:	PA 433/Truck PA 997 to PA 997 I-76/PA Turnpike to Shamokin Dam PA 29 in Wilkes-Barre to US 6 in Factoryville
Names:	Pennsylvania Avenue, Molly Pitcher Highway, Antrim Way, Main Street, Garfield Street, Second Street, Philadelphia Avenue, Norland Avenue, West King Street, King Street, Ritner Highway, High Street, Hanover Street, Bedford Street, Harrisburg Pike, Carlisle Pike, Pennsylvania Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial Highway, Capital Beltway, 32nd Street, Cumberland Boulevard, Walnut Street, Front Street, Enola Road, Susquehanna Trail, State Road, Marine Corps League Memorial Highway, Charles Attig Memorial Highway, Northumberland Highway, Northumberland Street, Bloom Street, Montour Boulevard, East Street, New Berwick Highway, East Front Street, Salem Boulevard, South Main Street, North Main Street, Wyoming Avenue, Exeter Avenue, Kennedy Boulevard, William Street, James A. Musto Bypass, Birney Avenue, Pittston Avenue, Cedar Avenue, Birch Street, Spruce Street, Mulberry Street, Joseph M. McDade Expressway, North Scranton Expressway, Scranton-Carbondale Highway, Northern Boulevard, and Lackawanna Trail
SR Designations:	SR 0011 SR 0581:  PA 581 west to US 15 SR 0006:  I-476 to one mile north of Factoryville
Counties:	Franklin, Cumberland, Perry, Juniata, Snyder, Union, Montour, Columbia, Luzerne, Lackawanna, Wyoming, and Susquehanna
Expressway:	PA 581 to US 15 PA 274 to US 22/US 322 Market Street to US 522 Providence Road in Scranton to Business US 6
Multiplexed Routes:	PA 533:  Shippensburg PA 696:  Shippensburg Truck PA 997:  PA 433 to PA 997 PA 641:  Carlisle PA 74:  Carlisle PA 34:  Carlisle PA 581:  PA 581 West to US 15 US 15:  PA 581 to Shamokin Dam PA 147:  Northumberland PA 487:  Bloomsburg PA 42:  Rupert PA 93:  Briar Creek to Nescopeck PA 239:  Shickshinny PA 29:  West Nanticoke to Avondale PA 307:  Scranton Business US 6:  I-476 to Business US 6 US 6:  I-476 to one mile north of Factoryville
Former Designations:	PA 13  (1925 - 1930):  Maryland state line to Shippensburg and Moredale to PA 581 PA 4  (1925 - 1930):  Harrisburg to Shamokin Dam PA 2  (1925 - 1930):  Scranton to the New York state line PA 7  (1925 - 1930):  Scranton to Factoryville PA 19  (1926 - 1930):  Shamokin Dam to Scranton PA 14  (1927 - 1928):  Lemoyne to Amity Hall PA 5  (1928 - 1935):  Lemoyne to Amity Hall PA 641  (1928 - 1956):  PA 641 to Carlisle Pike PA 14  (1935 - 1941):  Lemoyne to Amity Hall Bypass US 11  (1935 - 1947):  PA 581 to Front Street PA 33  (1936 - 1963):  Shippensburg to Moredale
BicyclePA Route:	US 22/US 322 to PA 35 US 522 to SR 1023 11th Avenue to PA 147
BicyclePA Route:	PA 54 to Ferry Street
BicyclePA Route:	US 6 to PA 107