In 1929, the route was under construction from PA 51 to Redstone and opened the following year, removing the designation from Tony and Henderson Road.  Also in 1930, the sections from Springfield to the Salt Lick Township line and PA 31 to Pleasant Grove was paved.

In 1931, the route was under construction from Donegal to Stahlstown and completed the following year.  Also in 1932, the route was paved from New Florence to Cramer.

In 1954, the route was moved from Fayette Avenue in Belle Vernon to the current PA 201 alignment to end at PA 71 at the current Interstate 70 interchange.  In 1964, another change in the routing took place when the southern terminus was moved from I-70 at the Donora/Monessen interchange to its current location.

Near Connellsville, the route has come under some scrutiny.  Truck traffic utilize the route to access stone quarries, lumber companies, and other dairy and agricultural enterprises in the mountains.  On May 18, 2001, a runaway truck entering the borough collided with a home, as another had done the same to the one next door in the fall of 1999.  Fortunately, in both cases, the residents were not injured.

So far PennDOT has announced that they will spend $1.5 million on warning signs and truck run-off ramps.  However, a complete bypass of the area might come about in the future.

Another borough along the path of 711 is solving its similar problems in a different way.  After about a decade of debate over seven alignments for a bypass route around Ligonier, PennDOT finally narrowed down the improvements to two options.  While the two bypass alternatives would require construction of a two-lane highway, the "no-build" alternative would involve some improvements to existing roads, signs and signals.  A new roadway could have cost somewhere from $12 million to $18 million, depending on which route had been selected.  Construction at the time was projected to have begun in 2005.

Another harrowing accident took place on Springfield Pike outside of Connellsville on January 24, 2023.  A tractor-trailer carrying pipes lost its brakes while descending Chestnut Ridge, took out three utility poles, damaged one house, destroyed the front porch of another, rolled over, and spilled its load around 9:15 AM.  A woman who was working from home at the time was not injured, while there was no one home at the other.  Even with the damage to both structures, they were deemed livable.  "This is the third time in my career that it’s lost a porch because of a tractor-trailer crash," said Rob Leiberger, Connellsville Township fire chief.  He said most of the crashes involving trucks were "drivers who are not from here."  There is a runaway truck ramp along the route, but it was north of the crash site.

Cleanup of the accident site, which included Fayette County Hazmat due to the truck leaking fluids, as well as West Penn Power replacing the damaged utility poles continued throughout the afternoon.  The roadway was reopened to traffic around 6 PM that evening.  The only injuries were to the driver of the rig who was taken to Penn Highlands Connellsville hospital; however, his dog, a seven-month old Jack Russell terrier who was in the cab with him, was uninjured.  "Everybody got lucky today," said chief Leiberger.  "There were no major injuries."  The chief has been with the department for three decades and has seen terrible wrecks on PA 711, but none has caused a mess as much as this accident.  "The load went everywhere," he said.  "One bundle went way behind the homes and some pipes were seen eight homes down.  It was a mess."  John Hamman, a nearby resident, was outside when the crash happened.  "It sounded like wind chimes with those pipes coming down," he said. "Then I heard the big boom when it hit the house."  He said the utility poles and wires were shaking as he approached the site.  Hamman, a former firefighter and medic, said he has experienced many crashes on the mountain.  He and another man helped get the drivers and his dog out of the cab and into a nearby house.  The driver told Hamman he had considered pulling onto the runaway truck ramp, but had the truck nearly stopped and thought it was under control.  "But he said it started rolling faster," Hamman said.  "As I got near the truck, I saw smoke.  That’s how hot those brakes were."

Construction began in Spring 2013 to upgrade the interchange with PA 283 in Lancaster County.  The $25 million project included replacing the bridges over PA 283 and the Amtrak rail line to the west of the interchange, widening the roadway to accommodate left turn lanes, and installation of traffic signals at the PA 283 ramps.  Work is expected to be complete in Fall 2014.

Resigned in 1969 on its current location.

In 1952, the route was decommissioned.  It was signed on its current alignment in 1964.

In 1978, the western terminus was moved from US 222 in Willow Street to New Danville and then again in 1985 to the intersection with PA 722 in East Petersburg.

During the later half of September 2009, crews hauled twin 510-ton generators through Lancaster County en route to their new home at Three Mile Island.  The convoy began traversing PA 741 on September 18 and only moved approximately three miles a day until September 18 when it continued onto Long Road in New Danville.

The western terminus was truncated to 160 feet west of the Commercial Avenue intersection in East Hempfield Township, Lancaster County in 2007, which removed the designation from Lemon Street in East Petersburg.

Construction began on January 14, 2011 on a project to realign PA 743 at its intersection with US 422 in Hershey.  The first item on the agenda was the demolition of a building at the corner of the two routes.  The $12 million project also includes replacing the bridge over the Norfolk Southern Railroad tracks north of US 422, construction of two pedestrian underpasses, building of two retaining walls, utility relocation, and drainage improvements.