Pennsylvania Route 611

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PA Route 611 marker

PA Route 611
Route information
Maintained by PennDOT
Length: 110 mi[1] (177 km)
Existed: 1972 – present
Major junctions
South end: I-95 in South Philadelphia
  I-76 in Philadelphia
I-676 / US 30 in Philadelphia
US 1 in Philadelphia
I-276 / Penna. Tpk. north of Willow Grove
US 202 in Doylestown
I-78 in Easton
US 22 in Easton
I-80 in Stroudsburg
North end: I-380 in Coolbaugh Township
Location
Counties: Philadelphia, Montgomery, Bucks, Northampton, Monroe
Highway system
PA 607 PA 612
PA 301 PA 303
PA 826 PA 828

Pennsylvania Route 611 (PA 611), formerly U.S. Route 611 (US 611), is a major state highway in Pennsylvania, United States, running from Interstate 95 south of downtown Philadelphia north to Interstate 380 in Coolbaugh Township, Pennsylvania in The Poconos.

Within Philadelphia, PA 611 is also Broad Street (except for the five blocks just south of Cheltenham Avenue, where PA 611 bears right onto Old York Road), the main northsouth street in Philadelphia and the traditional route for the annual Mummers Parade.

Route description

Philadelphia County

This is a southbound view of South Broad Street in Philadelphia, a part of Route 611

PA 611 is mostly Broad Street in Philadelphia, a major avenue that runs north and south through Central Philadelphia. PA 611 is called Broad Street for most of its route in Philadelphia, except in Center City, where PA 611 runs around Philadelphia City Hall, and near the northern edge of Philadelphia, where PA 611 leaves Broad Street for Old York Road before exiting the city. The Broad Street Line, a subway line, runs under PA 611 for most of its route in Philadelphia.

PA 611 begins at an interchange with I-95 at exit 17 in South Philadelphia, a section of Philadelphia. North of the I-95 interchange, PA 611 passes west of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex, which includes Citizens Bank Park, Lincoln Financial Field, Wells Fargo Center, and Xfinity Live!. PA 611 is the main access road to all of these arenas. North of the Sports area, PA 611 meets I-76, the Schuylkill Expressway, which heads east towards the Walt Whitman Bridge into New Jersey. North of I-76, PA 611 meets streets like Moyamensing Ave., Oregon Ave., Passyunk Ave., and Snyder Ave. Near Center City, PA 611 meets South Street, Walnut Street, and Chestnut Street. As PA 611 heads for Penn Square, PA 611 divides and runs around City Hall, also meeting the eastern terminus of PA 3 (Market Street) before becoming Broad Street again. In Center City, PA 611 meets Race Street, which takes passengers to the Convention Center. PA 611 meets I-676/US 30, the Vine Street Expressway, in downtown Philadelphia. North of Center City in North Philadelphia, it goes past Temple University, as well as Spring Garden St., Cecil B. Moore, Glenwood, Lehigh, Allegheny, and Girard Ave.. North of the Temple area, PA 611 meets US 13 (Roosevelt Boulevard). North of the intersection with US 13, PA 611 passes over US 1 with access to and from the southbound direction of that route. At the northern tip of Philadelphia, PA 611 becomes Old York Road and leaves Broad Street, which continues north to PA 309. At the Philadelphia city line and in East Oak Lane, PA 611 meets the southern terminus of PA 309 (Cheltenham Avenue) at an interchange but neither PA 309 or PA 611 is a limited access road.

Montgomery County

PA 611 northbound in Horsham
PA 611 enters Montgomery County as Old York Road after the interchange with PA 309. Old York Road is a historic road that connected Philadelphia to New York City. At the Abington Township/Cheltenham Township border, PA 611 meets PA 73 which is called Township Line Rd. In Willow Grove, PA 611 meets PA 63, also called Moreland Rd. The second junction in Willow Grove is the southern terminus of PA 263, southwest of Hatboro, where PA 263 becomes York Rd. and PA 611 becomes Easton Rd. PA 611 meets I-276, the Pennsylvania Turnpike, at the Willow Grove (#343) exit. In the community of Horsham, PA 611 meets the eastern terminus of PA 463. Also in Horsham, PA 611 passes east of the former Naval Air Station Willow Grove. PA 611 meets an important road at the Bucks - Montgomery county line; that road is called County Line Rd. and it divides the two counties.

Bucks County

PA 611 enters Bucks County after crossing County Line Rd. In Warrington Township, PA 611 meets the western terminus of PA 132 which is called Street Rd. As PA 611 approaches Doylestown, PA 611 becomes a freeway to bypass Doylestown and the first exit is Main Street. In Doylestown Township west of Doylestown, the freeway meets US 202 at a cloverleaf interchange. The next interchange serves State Street; it also provides access to downtown Doylestown. The next interchange is for Broad St., an access to the Bucks County courthouse. After that, there is a partial interchange with PA 313 with a northbound off-ramp, and a southbound on-ramp. A mile north of the PA 313 interchange, the freeway ends at a partial interchange and passengers coming from southbound lanes can access the Doylestown exit. In Bedminster Township, PA 611 meets the northern terminus of PA 413 and north of PA 413 in Tinicum Township the northern terminus of PA 113. In Nockamixon Township, PA 611 meets the southern terminus of PA 412 which is a route for Nockamixon State Park via PA 563, which meets PA 412 about one-half mile north of PA 611. In Kintnersville, PA 611 meets the northern terminus of PA 32, a road which runs along the Delaware River. North of the PA 32 intersection, PA 611 will parallel the Delaware River for most of its routing. South of Riegelsville, PA 611 meets the eastern terminus of PA 212.

Northampton County

PA 611 northbound in Easton on Larry Holmes Drive, named for former heavyweight boxing champion Larry Holmes

PA 611 enters Northampton County paralleling the Delaware River. In Williams Township, I-78 passes over PA 611 on the Interstate 78 Toll Bridge. In South Easton there are signs that lead passengers to I-78. After crossing the Lehigh River, PA 611 has entered downtown Easton as Larry Holmes Drive. In Easton, PA 611 meets Northampton Street which enters New Jersey on the Northampton Street Bridge. North of Northampton St, PA 611 meets the eastern terminus of PA 248 and meets U.S. Route 22 the Lehigh Valley Thruway at an interchange. PA 611 turns right on Garden Street and continues north. It turns right again and heads north, passing Lafayette College. As PA 611 exits the city of Easton, PA 611 is called Delaware Drive because PA 611 is paralleling the Delaware River. PA 611 does not have any major junctions in Forks, Lower Mount Bethel, and Washington Townships. In Upper Mount Bethel Township, PA 611 meets the northern terminus of PA 512. In Portland, PA 611 meets a road at an interchange that takes passengers into New Jersey crossing the Delaware River on the Portland-Columbia Toll Bridge. The road enters New Jersey and meets I-80, US 46, and NJ 94 at an interchange.

Monroe County

Route 611 heading northbound through the Pocono Mountains Municipal Airport in Coolbaugh Township

PA 611 enters Monroe County paralleling the Delaware River and I-80 which is in New Jersey. PA 611 passes through the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area south east of Stroudsburg. In Delaware Water Gap, PA 611 meet these roads that connect to I-80 at exit 310. PA 611 becomes Fox Town Hill Road and enters the borough of Stroudsburg meeting with PA 191. Note passengers that want to take I-80 east/ US 209 north continue on PA 611 and passengers that want to take I-80 west/ US 209 south have to take PA 191. PA 611 meets the eastbound lanes of I-80 and the northbound lanes of US 209 and it has access to only I-80 east/ US 209 north. In downtown Stroudsburg, PA 611 briefly joins with US 209 BUS. In Stroud Township, PA 611 meets the northern terminus of PA 33 a 29-mile-long (47 km) freeway. PA 611 has access to I-80 west also at the junction with PA 33. In Pocono Township, PA 611 briefly joins with PA 715. North west of PA 715, PA 611 meets I-80 at exit 298 for the final time near The Crossing Premium Outlets, an outlet shopping center. In Swiftwater, PA 611 briefly joins with PA 314. In Mount Pocono, PA 611 joins with PA 940 meets the southern terminus of PA 196. In Coolbaugh Township, PA 611 meets PA 423 which takes passengers to I-380 south. PA 611 terminates when the lanes of PA 611 northbound enter the lanes of I-380 northbound.

History

Old junction US 611 sign on Easton Road in Willow Grove in 2008. The US 611 shield is now missing from the sign.

In 1970, the section of Interstate 380 between the current exit 8 and 13 opened to traffic, and the U.S. Route 611 designation was moved onto that portion of highway. The original U.S. 611 still parallels Interstate 380 approximately 200 yards to the east through Gouldsboro State Park but is now known as Coolbaugh TR 627.[2] The road is now closed to traffic. Locally, it is often known as "Old Route 611".

Until 1972, PA State Route 611 remained designated U.S. Route 611, and continued north to U.S. Route 11 in Scranton. That same year, the portion south of Tobyhanna was decommissioned to a state highway.[3]

The stretch between Gouldsboro and Elmhurst Township is now Route 435. Route 611's southern terminus had always been in Center City Philadelphia at the junction with Route 3; it was extended south to I-95 in 1987 (the stretch from City Hall south to Moyamensing Avenue had been part of PA 291).

US 611 in New Jersey and US 611 Alternate

Button copy guide sign with former US 611 designation at south end of Doylestown Bypass in 2009. This sign has since been replaced.

Until 1953, US 611 was exclusively in Pennsylvania. In late 1953, the Delaware Water Gap Toll Bridge and Portland-Columbia Toll Bridge were completed, as was the freeway through the Delaware Water Gap connecting them on the east (New Jersey) side of the Delaware River. The Delaware Bridge several miles south-east, which U.S. Route 46 used to cross, was abandoned at that point and later destroyed in 1955 by Hurricane Diane. The freeway had been planned as a realignment of U.S. Route 46, but instead US 611 was rerouted from its all-Pennsylvania route to cross the river twice in order to use the better-quality road on the New Jersey side. The Portland-Delaware Water Gap section of U.S. 611 became U.S. Route 611 Alternate. Route 46, therefore, no longer crossed into Pennsylvania; its western terminus became the junction with U.S. 611 at the intersection at the Portland-Columbia Toll Bridge.

North of the Portland-Columbia Bridge, the road widened from two to four lanes. Less than a mile north was a three-way intersection with only a caution light where Route 94 began and ran north. North of that intersection, Route 611 became a four-lane divided freeway and crossed the Delaware River a few miles further north on the Delaware Water Gap Toll bridge. After crossing into Pennsylvania, the divided highway narrowed again for a mile to a four lane road and curved into downtown Delaware Water Gap. There it intersected U.S. 611 Alternate and continued on to Stroudsburg. In 1959, it was announced that Interstate 80 would eventually be designated on the freeway. In 1964, U.S. Route 209 was moved to a newly built freeway to bypass Stroudsburg and wind south of the city. (The old alignment of U.S. 209 was redesignated as U.S. 209 Business from several miles north of East Stroudsburg to five miles south of Stroudsburg.) US 611 freeway was extended by a mile and when it ran into the then-newly built US 209 bypass, US 611 continued to run concurrently through Stroudsburg. Just west of Stroudsburg US 209 headed south and merged with 209 Business. US 611 continued west a few miles and winded slightly north and merged with US 611 alternate. The original US 611 from Delaware Water Gap past Stroudsburg was now also Alternate US 611. In 1965, the stretch of US 611 from the Route 94 intersection up past the Delaware Water Gap Bridge through the merger with US 611 Alternate was designated both US 611 and Interstate 80. Also past the merger with the US 209 bypass, the freeway was designated interstate 80, US 209, and US 611. Past Stroudsburg the freeway headed south and merging with US 209 Business continued to be designated as US 209. The freeway headed northwest was designated US 611 and Interstate 80. By 1972, Pennsaylvania portions of Interstate 80 in the state were completed.

In 1972, when US 611 was decommissioned to a State Highway, Interstate 80 became the exclusive route for the area of freeway up to the US 209 bypass connection (US 209 is still designated on the Stroudsburg portion or the I 80 freeway). The US 611 shields all were removed that year from the freeway. In November 1973, the New Jersey portion of Interstate 80 was also complete. Soon after the Pennsylvania sections of I 80 also were complete. From 1972-73, the roads on the New Jersey side of the Delaware River were extensively realigned into a complex group of ramps. At this point, U.S. 611 was both decommissioned and realigned to its former Pennsylvania alignment and became Pennsylvania Route 611 (due to the completion of the Interstate 380 freeway, and its terminus there 25 miles (40 km) south of U.S. 11 in Scranton). PA 611 now was parallel to the Delaware River west to Delaware Water Gap, then to Stroudsburg downtown area, the shopping area north of Stroudsburg and then to Mt Pocono. Route 94 continued to serve the new Columbia interchange, as would U.S. 46. U.S. 46 was realigned to the former U.S. 611 alignment, terminating at Interstate 80 at the new interchange. The Columbia-Portland Bridge approaches on the New Jersey side were rebuilt to feed directly into Route 94 north. The only U.S. 611 shield in New Jersey is located on the approach to the Columbia-Portland bridge from U.S. 46 East.

Major intersections

CountyLocationMilekmDestinationsNotes
PhiladelphiaPhiladelphia0.00.0 I-95 (Delaware Expressway) – Philadelphia International Airport, Central PhiladelphiaInterchange
0.91.4 I-76 (Schuylkill Expressway) Valley Forge, Walt Whitman BridgeInterchange
3.96.3 PA 3 west (Market Street, John F. Kennedy Boulevard)One-way pair
4.26.8 I-676 / US 30 (Vine Street Expressway)Interchange
8.413.5 US 13 (Roosevelt Boulevard)
8.513.7 US 1 (Roosevelt Expressway)Interchange
Philadelphia –
Montgomery
Philadelphia
Cheltenham Township
11.518.5 PA 309 north (Cheltenham Avenue)Interchange
MontgomeryCheltenham Township
Abington Township
13.421.6 PA 73 (Township Line Road) – Whitemarsh, Cheltenham
Abington Township
Upper Moreland Township
17.227.7 PA 63 (Moreland Road)
Upper Moreland Township17.628.3 PA 263 north (York Road)
19.130.7 I-276 / Penna. Tpk. – Philadelphia, Harrisburg, New JerseyInterchange
Horsham Township20.232.5 PA 463 west (Horsham Road)
BucksWarrington Township23.838.3 PA 132 east (Street Road) – Warminster
Doylestown Township27.744.6South end of freeway
27.744.6Main Street – Business DistrictNorthbound exit and southbound entrance
28.646.0 US 202 New Hope, NorristownCloverleaf interchange
29.347.2State Street
30.749.4Broad Street
Doylestown Township –
Plumstead Township
31.550.7 PA 313 Dublin, QuakertownNorthbound exit and southbound entrance
Plumstead Township32.352.0Main StreetSouthbound exit and northbound entrance
32.352.0North end of freeway
Bedminster Township38.862.4 PA 413 south (Durham Road)
Tinicum Township40.164.5 PA 113 south (Bedminster Road)
Nockamixon Township43.670.2 PA 412 north (Durham Road) Springtown
48.878.5 PA 32 south (River Road)
Durham Township50.681.4 PA 212 west
NorthamptonEaston59.295.3 To I-78 (Cedarville Road)
60.797.7 PA 248 west
61.098.2 US 22 (Lehigh Valley Thruway) New Jersey, New YorkInterchange
Upper Mount Bethel Township77.8125.2 PA 512 south (Mt. Bethel Highway)
Portland To US 46 / I-80 / Route 94 New JerseyInterchange
MonroeSmithfield Township85.7137.9 To I-80 New Jersey
Stroudsburg88.4142.3 PA 191 (Godfrey Ridge Road/Broad Street)
88.7142.7 I-80 east / US 209 north Delaware Water GapInterchange
89.1143.4
US 209 Bus. north (Main Street)
South end of US 209 Bus. overlap
89.4143.9
US 209 Bus. south (Main Street)
North end of US 209 Bus. overlap
Stroud Township91.4147.1 I-80 west HazletonNorthbound exit and southbound entrance
93.6150.6 PA 33 south to I-80 / US 209 south
Pocono Township97.4156.8 PA 715 northSouth end of PA 715 overlap
97.5156.9 PA 715 southNorth end of PA 715 overlap
98.4158.4 I-80Southbound exit and northbound entrance
101.5163.3 PA 314 east (Lower Swiftwater Road)South end of PA 314 overlap
101.7163.7 PA 314 west (Manor Drive)North end of PA 314 overlap
Mount Pocono104.2167.7 PA 940 eastSouth end of PA 940 overlap
104.3167.9 PA 196 north (Belmont Road) / PA 940 west (Pocono Summit Road) to I-380 Hamlin, BlakesleeNorth end of PA 940 overlap
Coolbaugh Township109.2175.7 PA 423 (Prospect Street) to I-380 south
109.9176.9 I-380 north ScrantonInterchange
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
  •       Concurrency terminus
  •       Incomplete access

Bannered routes

Former Philadelphia alternate route


U.S. Route 611 Alternate
Location: Philadelphia-Willow Grove

U.S. Route 611 Alternate (US 611 Alt.) was an alternate alignment of US 611 between Philadelphia and Willow Grove. The route began at US 309, US 422, and US 309 Truck at the intesection of Germantown Avenue, Chew Avenue, and Mt. Airy Avenue in Philadelphia, heading northeast on Mt. Airy Avenue. The route became Easton Road as it entered Montgomery County, where it formed a short concurrency with PA 152 before intersecting PA 73. US 611 Alt. continued through Glenside and Roslyn before it reached Willow Grove, where it crossed PA 63 before ending at US 611 near the southern terminus of PA 263.[4] US 611 Alt. was first designated by 1946.[5] The alternate route was decommissioned in the 1950s.[6]

Former Delaware Water Gap alternate route


U.S. Route 611 Alternate
Location: Portland-Stroudsburg

U.S. Route 611 Alternate (US 611 Alt.) was an alternate alignment of US 611 that ran between Portland and Stroudsburg across the Delaware Water Gap. US 611 Alt. began at Portland in Northampton County, where US 611 crossed the Portland-Columbia Toll Bridge into New Jersey. From here, it headed north on the west bank of the Delaware River, passing through Slateford. The route traversed the Delaware Water Gap into Monroe County and passed through the community of Delaware Water Gap. US 611 Alt. curved west and headed into Stroudsburg, where it intersected PA 90 and ended at an intersection with US 209 and US 611. US 611 Alt. was designated during the 1950s on the former alignment of US 611 when US 611 was realigned to use a new alignment across the river in New Jersey, crossing the Delaware River twice on the Portland-Columbia Toll Bridge and the Delaware Water Gap Toll Bridge.[7] US 611 Alt. was replaced by US 611 in the 1960s when it was rerouted out of New Jersey. I-80 had replaced the alignment of US 611 in New Jersey.[8]

See also

  • Portal icon U.S. Roads portal
  • Portal icon Pennsylvania portal
  • Portal icon Philadelphia portal

References

External links

Route map: Google / Bing
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