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 |  Lincoln Highway from Columbia to Lower Merion PA 462 from Columbia to Lancaster
 US 30 from Lancaster to Sadsbury Township US 30 Bus. from Sadsbury Township to Frazer US 30 from Frazer to Philadelphia• SR 3012 and SR 3005 in Philadelphia • Lancaster Walk (a pedestrian walkway) in Drexel University campus between 34th and 32nd Streets • Lancaster Avenue between 32nd and Market Streets |
| Major junctions | |
| West end | PA 462 in Columbia |
| East end | 34th Street in Philadelphia PA 3 (at small stub between Market Street and 32nd Street) |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Pennsylvania |
| 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. It was later extended by the Lancaster and Susquehanna Turnpike to the Susquehanna River in Columbia.[4] The route is designated Pennsylvania Route 462 from the western terminus to U.S. Route 30 (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 current terminus at 34th Street. Historically, Lancaster Pike terminated at Market Street before Drexel University took over the stretch between 32nd and 34th Streets.[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, making it an early example of a public-private partnership for American infrastructure.[6][7] Credited as the country's first engineered road, its ground was broken in 1792.[8] 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 $572,250 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 $3,924,000 today.[9] In 1926 it was designated as part of US 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 462 west (Chestnut Street) – Wrightsville  North 3rd Street to PA 441 – Washington Boro, Marietta | Western terminus of the former Turnpike. PA 462 continues west into Wrightsville on the Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge. |
| Lancaster Township | 7.73 | 12.44 |  PA 741 (Rorherstown Road/Millersville Road) – East Petersburg, New Danville | ||
| Lancaster | 9.76 | 15.71 |  PA 23 west (College Avenue) | West end of PA 23 westbound overlap | |
| 10.48 | 16.87 |  PA 999 west (Manor Street) | Eastern terminus of PA 999; connection to King Street only[10] | ||
| 10.74 | 17.28 |   US 222 south (PA 272 south/Prince Street) | Southbound one-way pair of US 222/PA 272 | ||
| 10.86 | 17.48 |   PA 72 north (Queen Street) | Northbound one-way PA 72 | ||
| 11.10 | 17.86 | US 222 north (PA 272 north/Lime Street) | Northbound one-way pair of US 222/PA 272 | ||
| 11.84 | 19.05 |  PA 23 east (Broad Street) | East end of PA 23 westbound overlap | ||
| 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; west end of US 30 overlap | |
| Ronks | 17.03 | 27.41 |  PA 896 (Eastbrook Road/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 east (Downingtown-Coatesville Bypass) – Coatesville, Downingtown | East end of US 30 overlap; western terminus of US 30 Bus. | ||
| Coatesville | 36.59 | 58.89 |  PA 82 south (Strode Avenue) | West end of PA 82 overlap | |
| 37.00 | 59.55 | PA 82 north (1st Avenue) | East end of PA 82 overlap | ||
| 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 | West end of US 322 overlap | |
| 43.66 | 70.26 | US 322 east (Brandywine Avenue) – West Chester | East end of US 322 overlap; west end of US 322 Truck overlap | ||
| 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) | East end of US 322 Truck overlap | |||
| 45.41 | 73.08 | US 30 (Downingtown-Coatesville Bypass/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.; west end of US 30 overlap | |
| 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 Road/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 Road/Sproul Road) | |||
| Montgomery–Philadelphia county line | Lower Merion Township–Philadelphia line | 69.35 | 111.61 |  US 1 (City Avenue) | |
| Philadelphia | Philadelphia | 71.56 | 115.16 | US 30 east (Girard Avenue) | East end of US 30 overlap; western terminus of SR 3012 |
| 72.00 | 115.87 | SR 3005 (Belmont Avenue) / 44th Street | Eastern terminus of SR 3012; west end of SR 3005 overlap[5] | ||
| 73.04 | 117.55 |  US 13 (Powelton Avenue) | |||
| 73.33 | 118.01 | 34th Street | Eastern terminus of SR 3005 | ||
| 73.83 | 118.82 | Drexel University | Pedestrian walkway called “Lancaster Walk” | ||
| 74.33 | 119.62 | PA 3 (Market Street) / 32nd Street | Eastern terminus of “Lancaster Avenue” at Market Street Location of 32nd St. and Lancaster Ave. Philadelphia Armory | ||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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See also
References
- ^ a b DeLorme Street Atlas 2007, Toggle Measure Tool. Retrieved on July 2, 2007.
- ^ "PHMC Historical Markers Search" (Searchable database). Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Retrieved January 25, 2014.
- ^ "The Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike Road". Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved May 29, 2006.
- ^ "Bridges, Roads, and Turnpikes Collection, 1767-1968". LancasterHistory. Retrieved 2020-12-10.
- ^ a b Philadelphia County (PDF) (Map). Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. 2005. p. 1. Retrieved July 2, 2007.
- ^ Buxbaum, Jeffrey N (2009). Public Sector Decision Making for Public-private Partnerships. Washington, DC: Transportation Research Board. p. 9. ISBN 978-0-309-09829-8.
- ^ "Philadelphia & Lancaster Turnpike". Lifelong Learning Online. Archived from the original on August 27, 2002. Retrieved May 29, 2006.
- ^ "Philadelphia & Lancaster Turnpike". Explore Pennsylvania History. Retrieved May 29, 2006.
- ^ Butko, Brian. The Lincoln Highway: Pennsylvania Traveler's Guide. pp. 50–51. ISBN 0-8117-2497-2.
- ^ "Eastern terminus of PA 999". Google. Retrieved July 2, 2007.
External links
- Pennsylvania Highways: US 30
- Lancaster Avenue: Turn of the Millennium. Photographs along the Lancaster Turnpike in Philadelphia.