Pennsylvania Highways

Since my driver’s license was up for renewal, I was at the DMV and figured I would see if there were any new state road maps out on display.  As usual, they did not disappoint, and I snagged a copy of the 2016 official road map.

Unlike last year, there are no changes of note between this version and the 2015 version.  Just as in 2014, one blatantly obvious omission still is in Somerset County. The major project that has already begun there is construction of the “missing link” of US 219 expressway between Meyersdale and Somerset. Construction began on this link on February 15, 2013; however, it is missing on this year’s map again. It was missing on the 2014 and 2015 editions as well. It is odd because this is a project which has been championed for years by local officials. One politician in particular who pushed for the road was the late US Representative John Murtha. I would venture a guess that it will be shown as under construction at some point on a future edition.

It has the same dimensions as the previous year’s. However, the cover of the 2016 official road map features a picture of Liberty Street in Franklin.

Christmas came a little late this year for yours truly, at least in terms of road-related presents.  Since I did not have time to get to the DMV, I figured I would just order the 2015 official road map directly from PennDOT.  These are the changes since last year:

Carbon County
Exit 87 (E-ZPass-only) at PA 903 is now open on Interstate 476/Pennsylvania Turnpike-Northeast Extension

Westmoreland County
PA Turnpike 66‘s exit numbers are finally shown along the expressway after the highway has been open since 1993 and changed from sequential to mileage-based in 2001.

Pittsburgh Inset
PA 28 now indicated with the red expressway “stripe” from the 40th Street Bridge to the Butler Street interchange and the Millvale interchange is now shown.

The “missing link” in the limited-access roadway between the Interstate 279/Interstate 579 interchange and the 40th Street Bridge was a long time in coming. Activity began to pick up in the 2000s, with construction planned to start in 2004 and end in 2009.  However, the state shelved the plan at the time. Construction only started in 2010 and finished last year.

Those are all the changes to the 2015 official road map. It has the same dimensions as the previous year’s. However, this year’s cover features a picture of a two-lane roadway in the fall.

After hearing that there was a new state highway map, I thought I would attempt to find one myself.  Sure enough, I found the sixth official map in a row to be printed. That is something which hasn’t happened in nearly 40 years. I snagged a copy of the 2014 official road map at the Welcome Center on Interstate 70 in Warfordsburg today.

Unlike in previous years, there were no changes of note since the 2013 version.  It is not as if nothing has happened or is currently happening in the state. One blatantly obvious omission is in Somerset County. A major project that has already begun there is construction of the “missing link” of US 219 expressway between Meyersdale and Somerset. Work began on February 15, 2013; however, it is missing on this year’s map. It is odd because this is a project that has been championed for years by local officials. One politician in particular who pushed for the road was the late US Representative John Murtha.

It has the same dimensions as the previous year’s. However, the cover of the 2014 official road map features a picture of a 10-string Harp Guitar made by C. F. Martin & Company, Inc. of Nazareth.

I stopped into my local driver’s license center to see if they had the new road maps. Sure enough, they did not disappoint and in fact did have copies of the 2013 official road map.  No idea why they decided to print another in succession, even so, here are the changes since last year.

Bucks County/Montgomery County
US 202 parkway completed from PA 463 to PA 611

Chester County
Exit 320/PA 29 E-ZPass-only slip ramp completed on Interstate 76/Pennsylvania Turnpike

Fayette County/Washington County
PA Turnpike 43 completed from Exit 22 to Exit 30

The E-ZPass-only slip ramps on the Pennsylvania Turnpike are now white-on-purple circles. Previous editions up to this point used the standard white-on-red circles. Those are the same that denote interchanges on the Turnpike System. Purple is the color in the federal Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices now used to denote electronic toll facilities. These interchanges are strictly all-electronic. In other words, they do not have staffed toll booths like the other ones on the original Turnpike.

Those are all the changes to the 2013 official road map. It has the same dimensions as the previous year’s. However, this year’s cover features a picture of the Gettysburg Battlefield.

Today, I stopped by my local DMV to get my driver’s license renewed. It was an uneventful process. That probably had to do with the fact that there had been an icing event that morning and no one was out traveling as they were usually after Christmas. As I waited for the new one to finish laminating, I happen to notice down at the other end of the counter, stacks of state maps.  So, I picked up a copy of the 2012 official road map. I guess better late than never that I was able to secure a copy right under the wire.  No idea why the Department of Transportation and VisitPA decided to print another in succession, since there is only one change.

Montgomery County
US 202 Parkway shown as completed from US 202 to PA 463

The parkway is a “consolation prize” for the lack of a full expressway. Planning for, which took place in the 1960s and 1970s as the Piedmont Expressway. Rather than build an expressway, the new roadway is and will be an at-grade facility with separated trails for biking and walking along the route. This was the more favorable plan for the communities along the new US 202 alignment.

That is the only change to the 2012 official road map. It has the same dimensions as the previous year’s map. However, this year’s cover features a picture of a man kayaking on the north branch of the Susquehanna Water Trail.