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
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.
Today I received an order from PennDOT which included a copy of the 2011 official road map. It is not surprising PennDOT went to the trouble of printing one, since we elected a new Governor last year and therefore have a new Secretary of Transportation. These are the changes since the 2010 edition:
Fayette County PA Turnpike 43 completed from West Virginia to Exit 2 and the US 119/PA 51 interchange to Exit 15
Indiana County US 22 is now a four-lane, divided highway from just east of Blairsville to Armagh
Lycoming County US 15 upgraded to an expressway from north of PA 14 to PA 184
Philadelphia Inset Street Road E-ZPass-only slip ramp completed
Those are all the changes to the 2011 official road map. For most of the URLs on the map, there is a likewise corresponding Microsoft Tag to scan with a smartphone. However, the link for VisitPA uses a regular QR Code.
No longer appearing on the map is the yellow shading of “Selected Built Up Areas.” Meanwhile, the dark, shaded areas of urban concentrations remain. State Game Lands have changed from a peach coloring to a tan one. The State Park textured color used to indicate the extent of said park has been removed, but it remains in the city insets.
Above all, the US 22/US 322 shield error on the 2010 map on the Penn-Lincoln Parkway at PA 60 is now the correct US 22/US 30 shield. There is now an inset for the Elk Scenic Drive in the upper left corner over Lake Erie. A yellow highlight instead of an orange one indicates its path on the main map.
It has the same dimensions as the previous year’s map. However, this year’s cover features a picture of Independence Hall.
Today, the ribbon-cutting event for the latest section of Mon-Fayette Expressway occurred. Not only did I pick up several free bottles of water compliments of the Turnpike Commission, I picked up something I haven’t seen in years: a new 2011 official Turnpike map.
The PTC’s “belt-tightening” in recent years led to them not printing a map. It is evident by looking at this one, as it is much smaller than its 2004 ancestor. The reason for this change is in a note below the legend:
To conserve natural and fiscal resources, our Travel Guide and Map is half the size of earlier editions. The new size also responds to a shift in how travelers — in an age of online maps and GPS devices — use printed maps today.
In addition, the map is not a PennDOT official. The Turnpike System is not highlighted in green, with a white-on-green Keystone shield denoting the route number. That was the standard since the 1980s. It appears with these two changes that the Turnpike map is returning to its ones from the 1960s and 1970s, which were printed by Rand McNally and General Drafting.
The main map of Pennsylvania features images of postcards of the Turnpike at the top of the map. A mention of the 70 years of the Turnpike is in the corner, the milestone celebrated the year before. One change I like is that the background of the border states are not pink or purple as they were on the 2004 map.
The back side of the map still includes information on E-ZPass and commercial trucking regulations. There is toll information but just like the first run of tickets this year, there is no fare schedule. There are strip maps for the system. However, the insets of cities which the Turnpike passes through are no longer. The following are changes since the 2004 edition:
Allegheny County/Washington County PA Turnpike 576 completed between Interstate 376 and US 22
Beaver County/Lawrence County Interstate 376 replaced PA Turnpike 60
Fayette County PA Turnpike 43 completed from Exit 15 to Exit 22
Fayette County/Washington County PA Turnpike 43 under construction from US 40 to PA 88
The cover of the 2011 official Turnpike map features three postcards of various sections from the original Turnpike, with the logo of the 70th anniversary in the middle.
Today, I stopped at the welcome center on Interstate 70 at the Maryland state line in Warfordsburg and picked up a copy of the 2010 official road map. I am surprised PennDOT even bothered to print one this late in the year that isn’t a “B” version, especially since there will be a new governor come Tuesday. These are the changes since the 2009 edition, all of which involve the extension of Interstate 376:
Allegheny County/Pittsburgh Inset Interstate 376 extended west beyond I-279 to multiplex with US 22/US 30 and replace PA 60 Interstate Business Loop 376 replaced Business PA 60
Beaver County/Lawrence County/New Castle Inset Interstate 376 replaced PA 60 and PA Turnpike 60
Mercer County Interstate 376 replaced PA 60 PA 760 replaced PA 60 from I-80 to Sharon
Those are all the changes to the 2010 official road map. In addition, there are two mentions of the new 511 system: one on the back cover under the list of welcome centers and another at the top next to the legend.
Rarely do I find an error on the official maps, but this year there is a blatant one near the junction of the Penn-Lincoln Parkway and PA 60 west of Pittsburgh. A US 22/US 322 shield is located where there should be, and last year was, a US 22/US 30 shield.
It has the same dimensions as the previous year’s. However, this year’s cover features a view of Johnstown from the Inclined Plane station above the city in Westmont.
This past weekend, I stopped at the welcome center on Interstate 70 at the Maryland state line in Warfordsburg. In doing so, I picked up a copy of the 2009 official road map. Here are the changes since the 2007 editions:
Berks County/Chester County PA 82 removed between Elverson and Birdsboro
Blair County/Centre County/State College Inset Interstate 99 completed from Bald Eagle to State College in addition to being signed from there to Interstate 80
Fayette County PA Turnpike 43 completed between Exit 15 and Exit 22 and shown under construction between Exit 22 and PA 88
Lehigh County/Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton Inset US 222/Trexlertown Bypass completed from PA 100 to Interstate 78
Tioga County US 15 finished from PA 287 to New York and PA 287 extended further along old US 15 to Lawrenceville
New Castle Inset US 224 extended further than US 422/PA 60 eastward on State Street and Falls Street
In conclusion, those are all the changes to the 2009 official road map. It has the same dimensions as the previous year’s; however, this year’s cover is of an Amish buggy driving on one of the newly designated Civil War Trails. You can view the map at PennDOT’s GIS page.
If the Departments of Transportation and Tourism would have waited, they could have given a shout-out to our three professional sports teams that won championships in the past year. The North Carolina Department of Transportation did that for the Carolina Hurricanes on the cover of their 2007 map.
Last month, I received a copy of the 2007 official road map from the Department of Transportation’s Map Sales office. I was fortunate to be able to receive it just before the state shut down due to not being able to pass a budget. Here are the changes since the 2006 edition:
Allegheny County/Washington County/Pittsburgh inset: PA Turnpike 576 completed and open to traffic between US 22 and PA 60
Berks County: US 222 completed and now indicated with the red “expressway stripe” between PA 272 and Shillington
Fayette County: PA Turnpike 43 shown as under construction north of US 40 from US 119 to Brier Hill
Tioga County: US 15 shown as under construction from PA 49 to the New York state line
Altoona inset: Osgood Drive completed on the eastern side of I-99/US 220 between Exit 32 and Exit 33
New Castle inset: PA 65 extended from Business US 422 to end at PA 108/PA 168
The map has the same dimensions as the previous year’s. However, this year’s cover is from America’s Most Livable City, Pittsburgh, with a man creating a mural in chalk on the West End overlook. You can view the 2007 official road map at Department of Transportation’s Graphical Information System page.
It’s that time of the year when I receive in the mail a copy of the new 2006 official road map. The following are the changes since the 2005 edition:
Erie County/Erie Inset PA 290 now signed on the Bayfront Connector and East 12th Street between Interstate 90 and Interstate 79.
Jefferson County PA 949 extended from its previous terminus in Corsica south to Summerville
Lehigh County/Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton Inset PA 100 removed from Trexlertown Road through Trexlertown and signed on its bypass
Mifflin County Northern Lewistown Bypass completed with US 22 rerouted off of William Penn Highway, Fourth Street, and Juniata Street through the borough and Business US 22 signed to take its place
Tioga County US 15 (I-99) under construction from PA 287 to PA 49
Those are all the changes to the 2006 official road map. It seems that practically every state agency has some advertisement on the back of the map now. I am surprised that one of those advertisements was not for our new Gaming Control Board in order to get people ready to drop some money at one of our casinos. Whenever we get them. I guess we just have to wait for that to come in a future edition.
