Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike
| Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike | |
|---|---|
| Lancaster Avenue | |
| Route information | |
| Maintained by PennDOT | |
| Length: |
73.33 mi[1] (118.01 km) Route to Columbia included (10.86 mi) |
| Existed: | 1792 (first used 1795) – present |
| Component highways: |
 US 30 from Lancaster to Sadsbury Township US 30 Bus. from Sadsbury Township to Frazer US 30 from Frazer to PhiladelphiaSR 3012 and SR 3005 in Philadelphia |
| Major junctions | |
| West end: |
 PA 441 in Columbia |
| East end: | 34th Street in Philadelphia |
| Location | |
| Counties: | Lancaster, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, Philadelphia |
| Highway system | |
| Designated | November 20, 1999[2] |
The Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike, first used in 1795, is the first long-distance paved road built in the United States, according to engineered plans and specifications.[3] It links Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and Philadelphia at 34th Street, stretching for sixty-two miles. However, the western terminus was actually at the Susquehanna River in Columbia.[4] The route is designated PA 462 from the western terminus to US 30, where that route takes over for the majority of the route. The US 30 designation ends at Girard Avenue in the Parkside neighborhood of Philadelphia, where State Route 3012 takes it from there to Belmont Avenue. At Belmont Avenue, State Route 3005 gets the designation from Belmont Avenue until the terminus at 34th Street.[5]
It was the first turnpike of importance, and because the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania could not afford to pay for its construction, it was privately built by the Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike Road Company.[6] Credited as the country's first engineered road, its ground was broken in 1792.[7] By the 1840s, the use of railroads and canals dealt a serious blow to the companies who specialized in the manufacture of wagons and coaches. During the next fifty years, the road suffered from lack of use and maintenance, but later saw recovery with the invention of the automobile.
In 1876, the parallel Pennsylvania Railroad bought the turnpike from 52nd Street in Philadelphia west to Paoli for $20,000 (equal to $444,438 today) to prevent competing streetcar companies from building along it. In 1913, the turnpike became part of the transcontinental Lincoln Highway, and tolls continued to be collected until 1917, when the State Highway Department bought it for $165,000, equal to $3,047,571 today.[8] In 1926 it was designated as part of U.S. Route 30 along with the rest of the original United States Numbered Highways.
Major intersections
| County | Location | mi[1] | km | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lancaster | Columbia | 0.00 | 0.00 | PA 441 (3rd Street) – Washington Boro, Marietta | Western terminus of the former Turnpike. 40°02′02″N 76°30′17″W / 40.033907°N 76.504755°W PA 462 continues west into Wrightsville on the Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge. |
| Lancaster Township | 7.73 | 12.44 |  PA 741 (Rorherstown/Millersville Road) – East Petersburg, New Danville | ||
| Lancaster | 9.76 | 15.71 |  PA 23 west (College Avenue) | Western terminus of westbound concurrency with PA 23 westbound. | |
| 10.48 | 16.87 |  PA 999 west (Manor Street) | Eastern terminus of PA 999. Connection to King Street only.[9] | ||
| 10.74 | 17.28 |   US 222 / PA 272 south (Prince Street) | Southbound one-way pair of US 222/PA 272. | ||
| 10.86 | 17.48 |  PA 72 north (Queen Street) | |||
| 11.10 | 17.86 | US 222 / PA 272 north (Lime Street) | Northbound one-way pair of US 222/PA 272. | ||
| 11.84 | 19.05 | PA 23 east (Broad Street) | Eastern terminus of westbound concurrency with PA 23 westbound. | ||
| 12.74 | 20.50 |  PA 340 east (Old Philadelphia Pike) | Western terminus of PA 340. | ||
| East Lampeter Township | 14.54 | 23.40 |  US 30 west to PA 283 west – York, Harrisburg | Eastern terminus of PA 462. Turnpike is designated US 30 east of this point. | |
| Ronks | 17.03 | 27.41 |  PA 896 (Eastbrook/Hartman Bridge Road) – Strasburg | ||
| Gap | 25.92 | 41.71 |  PA 772 west (Newport Road) | Eastern terminus of PA 772. | |
| 26.32 | 42.36 |  PA 41 south (Gap-Newport Pike) – Wilmington, DE | Northern terminus of PA 41. | ||
| 26.66 | 42.91 |  PA 897 north (White Horse Road) | Southern terminus of PA 897. | ||
| Chester | West Sadsbury Township | 31.10 | 50.05 |  PA 10 (Octorara Trail) – Honey Brook, Parkesburg | |
| 31.50 | 50.69 | US 30 (Downingtown-Coatesville Bypass) – Coatesville, Downingtown | Western terminus of US 30 BUS. Turnpike is US 30 BUS east of here. | ||
| Coatesville | 36.59 | 58.89 |  PA 82 south (Strode Avenue) | ||
| 37.00 | 59.55 | PA 82 north (1st Avenue) | |||
| Thorndale | 41.24 | 66.37 | PA 340 west (Bondsville Road) – Wagontown | Eastern terminus of PA 340. Paoli/Thorndale Line trains terminate here at the nearby train station, two intersections west at S. Bailey Rd. | |
| Downingtown | 43.48 | 69.97 |  US 322 west (Manor Avenue) to US 30 | Western terminus of concurrency with US 322. | |
| 43.66 | 70.26 | US 322 east (Brandywine Avenue) – West Chester | Eastern terminus of concurrency with US 322, western terminus of concurrency with US 322 Truck | ||
| 43.80 | 70.49 |  PA 282 west (Green Street) | Eastern terminus of PA 282. | ||
| 44.18 | 71.10 |   PA 113 north (West Uwchlan Avenue) to Penna Turnpike | Southern terminus of PA 113. | ||
| East Caln Township |   US 322 Truck east (Quarry Road) | Eastern terminus of concurrency with US 322 Truck | |||
| 45.41 | 73.08 | US 30 (Downingtown-Coatesville/Exton Bypass) – Coatesville, Lancaster, King of Prussia | Interchange. | ||
| Exton | 47.98 | 77.22 |  PA 100 (Pottstown Pike) – Pottstown, West Chester | ||
| West Whiteland Township | 50.29 | 80.93 |  US 30 west / US 202 – Downingtown, King of Prussia, West Chester | Eastern terminus of US 30 BUS. Turnpike is US 30 east of here. | |
| Frazer | 51.65 | 83.12 |  PA 352 south (Sproul Road) – Chester | Northern terminus of PA 352. | |
| Malvern | 53.21 | 85.63 |  PA 401 west (Conestoga Road) – Elverson | Eastern terminus of PA 401. | |
| 53.62 | 86.29 |  PA 29 north (Morehall Road) to US 202 | Southern terminus of PA 29. | ||
| Paoli | 56.14 | 90.35 |  PA 252 (Bear Hill/Leopard Road) – Valley Forge, Newtown Square | ||
| Delaware | Villanova | 62.93 | 101.28 |  I-476 (Blue Route) – Plymouth Meeting, Chester | Interchange. |
| 63.26 | 101.81 |  PA 320 (Spring Mill/Sproul Road) | |||
| Montgomery – Philadelphia | Lower Merion Township – Philadelphia | 69.35 | 111.61 |  US 1 (City Avenue) | |
| Philadelphia | Philadelphia | 71.56 | 115.16 | US 30 east (Girard Avenue) | US 30 is the Turnpike west of here. Western terminus of SR 3012. |
| 72.00 | 115.87 | Belmont Avenue (SR 3005) / 44th Street | Eastern terminus of SR 3012. Concurrent with SR 3005 until terminus.[5] | ||
| 73.04 | 117.55 |  US 13 (Powelton Avenue) | |||
| 73.33 | 118.01 | 34th Street | Eastern terminus of Turnpike and SR 3005. 39°57′32″N 75°11′28″W / 39.958767°N 75.191009°W | ||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | |||||
See also
- U.S. Roads portal
- Pennsylvania portal
- Lancaster, Pennsylvania portal
- Philadelphia portal
- Great Wagon Road
- Lincoln Highway
- "The Colossus", 1813 bridge
References
- 1 2 DeLorme Street Atlas 2007, Toggle Measure Tool. Retrieved on 2007-07-02.
- ↑ "PHMC Historical Markers Search" (Searchable database). Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Retrieved 2014-01-25.
- ↑ "The Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike Road". Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved 2006-05-29.
- ↑ Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike (Map). Library of Congress. 1796. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
- 1 2 Philadelphia County (PDF) (Map). Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. 2005. p. 1. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
- ↑ "Philadelphia & Lancaster Turnpike". Lifelong Learning Online. Retrieved 2006-05-29.
- ↑ "Philadelphia & Lancaster Turnpike". Explore Pennsylvania History. Retrieved 2006-05-29.
- ↑ Butko, Brian. The Lincoln Highway: Pennsylvania Traveler's Guide. pp. 50–51. ISBN 0-8117-2497-2.
- ↑ "Eastern terminus of PA 999". Google. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike. |
- Pennsylvania Highways: US 30
- Lancaster Avenue: Turn of the Millennium. Photographs along the Lancaster Turnpike in Philadelphia.
Coordinates: 40°02′12″N 76°18′44″W / 40.0367°N 76.3122°W