Pennsylvania Route 45

PA Route 45
Route information
Maintained by PennDOT
Length:	86 mi[1] (138 km)
Major junctions
West end:	PA 45 Truck / PA 453 in Water Street
	PA 350 near Spruce Creek PA 26 near State College US 322 in Boalsburg PA 144 near Centre Hall PA 235 near Laurelton PA 104 in Mifflinburg PA 304 in Mifflinburg US 15 in Lewisburg PA 405 near Lewisburg PA 147 near Lewisburg
East end:	PA 642 near Mooresburg
Location
Counties:	Huntingdon, Centre, Union, Northumberland, Montour
Highway system
Pennsylvania State Route System Interstate US State Scenic Byways Legislative ← PA 44 US 46 → ← PA 976 PA 978 →

Pennsylvania Route 45 (PA 45) is an 86-mile-long (138 km) state highway located in central Pennsylvania. PA 45 is called the Purple Heart Highway. The western terminus of the route is at Pennsylvania Route 453 in the Morris Township near the community of Water Street. The eastern terminus is at Pennsylvania Route 642 west of the small town of Mooresburg.

History

From approximately 1830 to 1903, the section between Lewisburg and Mifflinburg was owned and operated by the Lewisburg and Mifflinburg Turnpike Company.^[2] The section west of Mifflinburg (formerly Youngmanstown) was built by the Bellefonte, Aaronsburg and Youngmanstown Turnpike Company, chartered in 1825.^[3]

When Pennsylvania's "traffic routes" were established in 1925, PA 45 was originally signed from Herndon to Easton.^[4] The 1928 revision expanded this route westward; PA 45 was signed on two different sections, the connection between them being signed as part of US 120 (later US 122, now PA 405, PA 147, and PA 61). The "middle" section was signed from Water Street to Montandon, between Milton and Northumberland,^[5] and the east section from Ashland to Easton.^[6]

Route 45 as it heads into Woodward, Pennsylvania

In 1928, the route was under construction from Indianland to Beersville and completed the following year on the Ashland to Easton section. In 1930, the route was paved from Lehigh Gap to Indianland on the eastern section. In 1934, the eastern terminus was moved from Walnut Street to 13th Street in Easton.

In 1932, a western section of PA 45 was opened from Belsano to US 22 near Sankertown and Cresson. The route replaced US 422 from Belsano to Ebensburg and US 22 from Ebensburg to Cresson when those designations were placed on a straighter route.^[7] In 1936, the eastern terminus of the middle section was moved from Montandon to Mausdale. In 1946, the eastern terminus of the western section was truncated from Cresson to Ebensburg. Until 1952, the middle section entered Mooresburg on a different route. In 1951, construction began on a bypass which opened in 1952. In 1955, the eastern terminus in the eastern section was moved from 13th Street to Third Street in Easton.^[8]

Until 1961, there was a break between Mausdale and Ashland, that was connected when PA 54 was truncated to Mausdale.^[8] Also in 1961, the western section of PA 45 was decommissioned; the piece of PA 45 between Belsano and Nanty Glo became part of an extension of PA 933^[9][10] and is currently part of PA 271.

In 1962, the route was changed from going into State College via US 322 and then PA 26, to go straight from PA 26 to Boalsburg. In 1966 the eastern section was renumbered as PA 248, leaving the current alignment the only one to hold the designation.^[8] The eastern terminus was fixed at its current location, with the road reverting to PA 642 from Mooresburg to Mausdale and to PA 54 south/east of Mausdale.^[11]

Major intersections

County	Location	mi	km	Destinations	Notes
Huntingdon	Morris Township	0.0	0.0	PA 45 Truck / PA 453	Western terminus of PA 45 Truck.
	Franklin Township	7.8	12.6	PA 45 Truck / PA 350	Southern terminus of PA 350 & eastern terminus of PA 45 Truck.
Centre	Ferguson Township	19.5	31.4	PA 26	Western terminus of concurrency.
		20.9	33.6	PA 26	Eastern terminus of concurrency.
	Harris Township	25.1	40.4	US 322 Bus.	Western terminus of concurrency.
		25.9	41.7	US 322 Bus.	Eastern terminus of concurrency.
		26.4	42.5	US 322	Interchange.
	Potter Township	33.3	53.6	PA 144
	Penn Township	44.4	71.5	PA 445	Southern terminus of PA 445.
Union	Hartley Township	59.1	95.1	PA 235	Northern terminus of PA 235.
	Mifflinburg	67.4	108.5	PA 45 Truck / PA 104 / PA 304 Truck	Northern terminus of PA 104, western terminus of PA 45 Truck & eastern terminus of PA 304 Truck.
		67.9	109.3	PA 304	Western terminus of PA 304.
	Lewisburg	76.6	123.3	US 15
Northumberland	West Chillisquaque Township	77.5	124.7	PA 405
		79.2	127.5	PA 147	Interchange.
Montour	Liberty Township	86.0	138.4	PA 642
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus

Bannered routes

PA 45 Truck (Mifflinburg)

PA Route 45 Truck
Location:	Mifflinburg, Pennsylvania
Existed:	1969–present

Pennsylvania Route 45 Truck is a 2-mile-long (3.2 km) truck route in Mifflinburg, Union County, Pennsylvania. Narrow streets within the borough are avoided by this designation, and a complicated intersection with Pennsylvania Route 304, which does not contain turning lanes, is bypassed. The route is concurrent with other highways for its entire length: it begins as a portion of Pennsylvania Route 104 southbound, then it is cosigned with Truck 304, before traveling back northbound along Route 304.

PA 45 Truck (Huntingdon County)

PA Route 45 Truck
Location:	Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania
Existed:	1969–present

At mile 2.4, a very old overpass, constructed from blocks of stone, carries the Pittsburgh Line over PA 45. Passage of large trucks is impossible as it allows only 8'2" of clearance, and the speed limit on the associated hairpin turn is 10 mph. Pennsylvania Route 45 Truck is a 17-mile-long (27 km) truck route designed to avoid this bottleneck, other sharp turns, and steep grades along mainline PA 45 in western Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania. The route is somewhat antiquated, concurrent entirely with other routes, and significantly longer than the twisty mainline. Traveling mostly in Franklin Township and Warriors Mark Township, the route begins in the west by branching northbound along Pennsylvania Route 453, before continuing west along Pennsylvania Route 550, and traveling south along Pennsylvania Route 350 to meet up with its parent.

See also

• U.S. Roads portal
• Pennsylvania portal

References

External links

Route map: Bing

• Pennsylvania Route 45 Junction List