U.S. Route 19 Truck (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)

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U.S. Route 19 Truck

Length:

19.4 mi^[1] (31.2 km)

Formed:

1946

South end:

US 19 in Mt. Lebanon

Major
junctions:

PA 51 in Pittsburgh

I-279 near Fort Pitt Tunnel

I-376 near Fort Pitt Bridge

PA 65 near Fort Duquesne Bridge

I-579/PA 28 at I-279 interchange

I-279 in Northern Pittsburgh

North end:

US 19 in McCandless Twp.

Pennsylvania State Routes
Spur of US 19
Minor - Legislative

U.S. Route 19 Truck is an auxiliary route of U.S. Route 19 located in Western Pennsylvania in the Pittsburgh Metro Area that has a length of 19 miles (31 km). The southern terminus is at U.S. Route 19 near Mt. Lebanon and the northern terminus is U.S. Route 19 in McCandless Township. Trucks are not allowed on U.S. Route 19^{[citation needed]} and this is the route for trucks. At the junction with I-279 at exit 5 near the Fort Pitt Tunnel, the route becomes confusing for motorists^{[original research?]} when it makes several confusing concurrencies and loops.^[2] North of Pittsburgh, U.S. Route 19 Truck is called McKnight Road and south of Pittsburgh it's called West Liberty Avenue and Washington Road.

1 Route description
2 Major intersections
3 History
4 Notes
5 See also
6 Related U.S. Routes
7 References
8 External links

[edit] Route description

[edit] Southern terminus to 5 route concurrency

US 19 Truck begins as U.S. Route 19 enters Mount Lebanon as Washington Road. US 19 branches northwest to skirt Mt Lebanon and Dormont, while US 19 Truck continues through the centers of those towns. As US 19 Truck enters the southern parts of Pittsburgh, its name becomes West Liberty Ave as it passes through the West Liberty neighborhood. At the south portal of the Liberty Tunnel, US 19 Truck turns left onto Pennsylvania Route 51 (Saw Mill Run Boulevard).

After 1.4 miles, US 19 Truck exits PA 51 via a left exit toward I-279/US 22/US 30. Traffic headed for northbound 19-Truck and 279, and for eastbound 22/30, is joined by traffic headed for southbound 19 and 279 and westbound 22/30. At the top of a half-mile-long uphill ramp, traffic headed for south- and west-bound 279/22/30 joins the mainline highway, but traffic from 279-S/22-W/30-W headed for PA-51, US-19, and southbound US-19-Truck joins the ramp. 500 feet later, US-19-S branches off, and the ramp turns north. After another 1200 feet, traffic headed for northbound 19-Truck, southbound 19-Truck, northbound 279, eastbound 22/30, and PA-51 is joined by traffic from northbound 19; about 500 feet further on, all ramp traffic joins the main highway.

At this point, a single northeasterly highway is carrying north- and south-bound US-19-Truck, northbound US-19 and I-279, and eastbound US-22 and US-30. (Due to the fact that the southwesterly ramp never joins the freeway, the opposite side of the road never carries more than I-279-S, US-22-W, US-30-W, and US-19-Truck-S.) 1000 feet further on, southbound US-19-Truck exits to join PA-51-S; and finally, after another 400 feet, northbound US-19 exits to join PA-51-N, and I-279-N/US-22-E/US-30-E/US-19-TRK-N enter the Fort Pitt Tunnel.

[edit] Fort Pitt Tunnel to Interstate 279 Interchange

I-279, US 19 Truck northbound, US 22, and US 30 continue towards the northeast. North of Exit 5C, I-279 and the other concurrencies (US 19 Truck/US 22/US 30) pass through the Fort Pitt Tunnel then on I-279 southbound, exit 5C leads to Pennsylvania Route 837 north. Then I-279, US 19 Truck, US 22, and US 30 cross the Monongahela River on the Fort Pitt Bridge. After the bridge, US 22 and US 30 leave the concurrency at exit 6; the western terminus of Interstate 376. I-376, US 22, and US 30 head eastward while I-279 and US 19 Truck head northward. Then I-279 and US 19 Truck cross the Allegheny River on the Fort Duquesne Bridge. North of the bridge, I-279 and US 19 Truck interchange the southern terminus of Pennsylvania Route 65 at exit 7B of I-279. Exit 7A is to PNC Park and exit 7B is for Heinz Field. At exit 7C and 8A, I-279 southbound splits into HOV lanes at the Interstate 279 Interchange. The Interstate 279 interchange involves the northern terminus of Interstate 579 and the southern terminus of Pennsylvania Route 28.

[edit] Exit 8 to northern terminus

North of Exit 8B, I-279 has no HOV lanes and continues its concurrency with US 19 Truck towards the north. At exit 11, US 19 Truck splits from I-279 and US 19 Truck continues towards the north at-grade as McKnight Road a divided highway. In Ross Township, US 19 Truck interchanges with Babcock Boulevard and shifts towards the northwest. In McCandless Township, US 19 Truck interchanges with Ingomar Road. Northwest of Ingomar Boulevard, US 19 Truck terminates (ends) at an interchange with U.S. Route 19.^[1]

[edit] Major intersections

Pennsylvania Route 51 in Pittsburgh
Interstate 279 from exit 5A to exit 11
U.S. Route 22 and U.S. Route 30 from exit 5A to exit 6A of I-279
Pennsylvania Route 65 at exit 7B of I-279
Pennsylvania Route 28 at Interstate 279 Interchange
Interstate 579 at Interstate 279 Interchange

[edit] History

Signed as U.S. Route 19 from 1941 to 1948. The route was signed in 1946 as a bypass route for trucks that weren't allowed on US 19. In 1948, the southern terminus was moved from Banksville Road to its current location. In 1989, US 19 truck's designation was moved to I-279 to form a complete US 19 Truck from Mount Lebanon to Wexford after the Parkway North was completed. In 1997, construction began on the interchange at the southern portal of the Liberty Tunnel, and opened to traffic on November 20, 1999.^[3]

[edit] Notes

At exit 5A of I-279, US 19 Truck has both northbound and southbound lanes running at the same ramp. Also forming many wrong-way concurrencies at this interchange.
US 19 Truck has a 5 route concurrency with I-279, US 19, US 22, and US 30.
US 19 Truck has a concurrency with I-279 more than 6 miles.
North of the concurrency with I-279, US 19 Truck is a divided highway called McKnight Road with a couple of interchanges but not at limited-access level.^[1]