Tag: Map

I stopped into my local driver’s license center to see if they had the new road maps. Sure enough, they did not disappoint and in fact did have copies of the 2013 official road map.  No idea why they decided to print another in succession, even so, here are the changes since last year.

Bucks County/Montgomery County
US 202 parkway completed from PA 463 to PA 611

Chester County
Exit 320/PA 29 E-ZPass-only slip ramp completed on Interstate 76/Pennsylvania Turnpike

Fayette County/Washington County
PA Turnpike 43 completed from Exit 22 to Exit 30

The E-ZPass-only slip ramps on the Pennsylvania Turnpike are now white-on-purple circles. Previous editions up to this point used the standard white-on-red circles. Those are the same that denote interchanges on the Turnpike System. Purple is the color in the federal Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices now used to denote electronic toll facilities. These interchanges are strictly all-electronic. In other words, they do not have staffed toll booths like the other ones on the original Turnpike.

Those are all the changes to the 2013 official road map. It has the same dimensions as the previous year’s. However, this year’s cover features a picture of the Gettysburg Battlefield.

Today, I stopped by my local DMV to get my driver’s license renewed. It was an uneventful process. That probably had to do with the fact that there had been an icing event that morning and no one was out traveling as they were usually after Christmas. As I waited for the new one to finish laminating, I happen to notice down at the other end of the counter, stacks of state maps.  So, I picked up a copy of the 2012 official road map. I guess better late than never that I was able to secure a copy right under the wire.  No idea why the Department of Transportation and VisitPA decided to print another in succession, since there is only one change.

Montgomery County
US 202 Parkway shown as completed from US 202 to PA 463

The parkway is a “consolation prize” for the lack of a full expressway. Planning for, which took place in the 1960s and 1970s as the Piedmont Expressway. Rather than build an expressway, the new roadway is and will be an at-grade facility with separated trails for biking and walking along the route. This was the more favorable plan for the communities along the new US 202 alignment.

That is the only change to the 2012 official road map. It has the same dimensions as the previous year’s map. However, this year’s cover features a picture of a man kayaking on the north branch of the Susquehanna Water Trail.

Today I received an order from PennDOT which included a copy of the 2011 official road map.  It is not surprising PennDOT went to the trouble of printing one, since we elected a new Governor last year and therefore have a new Secretary of Transportation.  These are the changes since the 2010 edition:

Fayette County
PA Turnpike 43 completed from West Virginia to Exit 2 and the US 119/PA 51 interchange to Exit 15

Indiana County
US 22 is now a four-lane, divided highway from just east of Blairsville to Armagh

Lycoming County
US 15 upgraded to an expressway from north of PA 14 to PA 184

Pittsburgh Inset
Consol Energy Center shown

Erie Inset
PA 299 removed from Powell Avenue

Philadelphia Inset
Street Road E-ZPass-only slip ramp completed

Those are all the changes to the 2011 official road map. For most of the URLs on the map, there is a likewise corresponding Microsoft Tag to scan with a smartphone. However, the link for VisitPA uses a regular QR Code.

No longer appearing on the map is the yellow shading of “Selected Built Up Areas.” Meanwhile, the dark, shaded areas of urban concentrations remain.  State Game Lands have changed from a peach coloring to a tan one.  The State Park textured color used to indicate the extent of said park has been removed, but it remains in the city insets.

Above all, the US 22/US 322 shield error on the 2010 map on the Penn-Lincoln Parkway at PA 60 is now the correct US 22/US 30 shield.  There is now an inset for the Elk Scenic Drive in the upper left corner over Lake Erie. A yellow highlight instead of an orange one indicates its path on the main map.

It has the same dimensions as the previous year’s map. However, this year’s cover features a picture of Independence Hall.

Today, I stopped at the welcome center on Interstate 70 at the Maryland state line in Warfordsburg and picked up a copy of the 2010 official road map.  I am surprised PennDOT even bothered to print one this late in the year that isn’t a “B” version, especially since there will be a new governor come Tuesday.  These are the changes since the 2009 edition, all of which involve the extension of Interstate 376:

Allegheny County/Pittsburgh Inset
Interstate 376 extended west beyond I-279 to multiplex with US 22/US 30 and replace PA 60
Interstate Business Loop 376 replaced Business PA 60

Beaver County/Lawrence County/New Castle Inset
Interstate 376 replaced PA 60 and PA Turnpike 60

Mercer County
Interstate 376 replaced PA 60
PA 760 replaced PA 60 from I-80 to Sharon

Those are all the changes to the 2010 official road map. In addition, there are two mentions of the new 511 system:  one on the back cover under the list of welcome centers and another at the top next to the legend.

Rarely do I find an error on the official maps, but this year there is a blatant one near the junction of the Penn-Lincoln Parkway and PA 60 west of Pittsburgh.  A US 22/US 322 shield is located where there should be, and last year was, a US 22/US 30 shield.

It has the same dimensions as the previous year’s. However, this year’s cover features a view of Johnstown from the Inclined Plane station above the city in Westmont.

This past weekend, I stopped at the welcome center on Interstate 70 at the Maryland state line in Warfordsburg. In doing so, I picked up a copy of the 2009 official road map. Here are the changes since the 2007 editions:

Berks County/Chester County
PA 82 removed between Elverson and Birdsboro

Blair County/Centre County/State College Inset
Interstate 99 completed from Bald Eagle to State College in addition to being signed from there to Interstate 80

Fayette County
PA Turnpike 43 completed between Exit 15 and Exit 22 and shown under construction between Exit 22 and PA 88

Lehigh County/Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton Inset
US 222/Trexlertown Bypass completed from PA 100 to Interstate 78

Tioga County
US 15 finished from PA 287 to New York and PA 287 extended further along old US 15 to Lawrenceville

New Castle Inset
US 224 extended further than US 422/PA 60 eastward on State Street and Falls Street

In conclusion, those are all the changes to the 2009 official road map. It has the same dimensions as the previous year’s; however, this year’s cover is of an Amish buggy driving on one of the newly designated Civil War Trails. You can view the map at PennDOT’s GIS page.

If the Departments of Transportation and Tourism would have waited, they could have given a shout-out to our three professional sports teams that won championships in the past year. The North Carolina Department of Transportation did that for the Carolina Hurricanes on the cover of their 2007 map.

Last month, I received a copy of the 2007 official road map from the Department of Transportation’s Map Sales office. I was fortunate to be able to receive it just before the state shut down due to not being able to pass a budget.  Here are the changes since the 2006 edition:

Allegheny County/Washington County/Pittsburgh inset:
PA Turnpike 576 completed and open to traffic between US 22 and PA 60

Berks County:
US 222 completed and now indicated with the red “expressway stripe” between PA 272 and Shillington

Fayette County:
PA Turnpike 43 shown as under construction north of US 40 from US 119 to Brier Hill

Tioga County:
US 15 shown as under construction from PA 49 to the New York state line

Altoona inset:
Osgood Drive completed on the eastern side of I-99/US 220 between Exit 32 and Exit 33

New Castle inset:
PA 65 extended from Business US 422 to end at PA 108/PA 168

The map has the same dimensions as the previous year’s. However, this year’s cover is from America’s Most Livable City, Pittsburgh, with a man creating a mural in chalk on the West End overlook. You can view the 2007 official road map at Department of Transportation’s Graphical Information System page.

It’s that time of the year when I receive in the mail a copy of the new 2006 official road map.  The following are the changes since the 2005 edition:

Erie County/Erie Inset
PA 290 now signed on the Bayfront Connector and East 12th Street between Interstate 90 and Interstate 79.

Jefferson County
PA 949 extended from its previous terminus in Corsica south to Summerville

Lehigh County/Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton Inset
PA 100 removed from Trexlertown Road through Trexlertown and signed on its bypass

Mifflin County
Northern Lewistown Bypass completed with US 22 rerouted off of William Penn Highway, Fourth Street, and Juniata Street through the borough and Business US 22 signed to take its place

Tioga County
US 15 (I-99) under construction from PA 287 to PA 49

Those are all the changes to the 2006 official road map. It seems that practically every state agency has some advertisement on the back of the map now.  I am surprised that one of those advertisements was not for our new Gaming Control Board in order to get people ready to drop some money at one of our casinos. Whenever we get them.  I guess we just have to wait for that to come in a future edition.