Construction news along the Pennsylvania Turnpike

[Craziaskowboi]

Originally Posted by armourereric

I look forward to when the PTC goes back and widens between the 70's.

Yeah, they're going to have to do that at some point since everything they're doing now is six lanes. I think sometime around 2005 is when the Turnpike Commission decided just to six-lane the entire highway, which is why there wasn't much reconstruction going on between 2005 and 2008: the engineers more than likely had to go back to the drawing board and upgrade the designs to accommodate six lanes.

Segments that were reconstructed prior to 2005 are mostly four lanes, so I imagine what they'll do for them is simply widen the roadbed alongside the existing roadbed that's still relatively new. This is what Georgia did when they started widening I-75 back in the 1980's and 1990's: the segment between Macon and Cordele was initially built as a four-lane highway, and the roadbed was still in pretty good shape at the time, so they simply added two more lanes inside the four existing lanes.

The Allegheny Valley interchange (Exit 39) will need some immediate attention, though. The overpass will have to be replaced since only four lanes can fit under it, and it'll have to be done in pretty short order since the segment to its west is now six lanes, and the segment to its east will be within five years.

[armourereric]

I could almoost envision the Turnpike between the 70's going to a 2-2-2-2 or 3-2-2-3 configuration whith trucks banned from the outer lane sets. Very expensive, but could be done with little impact to the existing work.

[Craziaskowboi]

Originally Posted by armourereric

I could almoost envision the Turnpike between the 70's going to a 2-2-2-2 or 3-2-2-3 configuration whith trucks banned from the outer lane sets. Very expensive, but could be done with little impact to the existing work.

Overkill.

Traffic on most of the Turnpike is lighter than it is on I-75 in Georgia, but I-75 in Georgia only needs six lanes to keep everything moving outside of metro Atlanta. And since the Turnpike doesn't go directly though either Pittsburgh or Philadelphia, it's likely not going to handle as much traffic as I-75 does through Atlanta. About the only segment of the Turnpike I can foresee needing eight lanes at any point is the segment between the Schuylkill Expressway and I-95.

Anyway, apparently engineering studies are now underway to rebuild and widen the segment between MM 180 and MM 186. That segment extends from the Fort Littleton interchange (Exit 180) to the western end of the Tuscarora Tunnel. My hunch is that all four tunnels between Somerset and Carlisle are going to either be expanded or replaced eventually.

[pman]

for the record, these ten miles will cost more than amtraks. $400 million rebuilding of. 30 miles of the nec in nj
Suburban renewal: Pa Turnpike will spend $480M to add lanes Valley Forge-Downingtown

[charlesyohan]

Originally Posted by Gnutella

DISCLAIMER: This is not a topic to talk about redundant government bureaucracy or political corruption. This is a topic to highlight the long-term efforts to upgrade the oldest highway in the United States to a modern highway. Thank you for adhering to the topic.

Since the Pennsylvania Turnpike is 359 miles long and serves more than just Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, I thought it'd be good to take a comprehensive look at the improvements that have been made to it in recent years, plus projects upcoming in the next few. There's an ongoing effort to reconstruct the entire length of the Turnpike from the ground up, and also widen it to six lanes where feasible. Here are the segments that have been reconstructed, and the year in which each project was completed:


MM 0 to MM 10 (2009)
(Widened to six lanes between MM 2 and MM 10, included new EZ Pass lanes at the eastbound toll plaza, and eliminated the westbound toll plaza.)

MM 31 to MM 38 (2012)
(Widened to six lanes.)

MM 38 to MM 40 (2005)
(Reconstructed but remained four lanes, and included a reconfiguration of Exit 38.)

MM 48 to MM 50 (2010)
(Widened to six lanes, and included a new pair of bridges over the Allegheny River.)

MM 67 to MM 75 (2011)
(Widened to six lanes, and realigned from MM 70 to MM 72.)

MM 76 to MM 85 (2002)
(Reconstructed but remains four lanes, except for truck lanes where necessary.)

MM 85 to MM 94 (2005)
(Reconstructed but remained four lanes, except for truck lanes where necessary.)

MM 94 to MM 99 (2000)
(Reconstructed but remained four lanes, except for truck lanes where necessary.)

MM 109 to MM 121 (2002)
(Reconstructed but remained four lanes.)

MM 187 to MM 197 (2001)
(Reconstructed but remained four lanes.)

MM 210 to MM 215 (2009)
(Widened to six lanes.)

MM 215 to MM 220 (2012)
(Widened to six lanes.)

MM 245 to MM 247 (2008)
(Widened to six lanes, and included a new pair of bridges over the Susquehanna River.)

MM 319 to MM 320 (2012)
(Widened to six lanes, and included a new EZPass-only interchange.)

MM 326 to MM 333 (2008)
(Widened to six lanes.)


Here are the segments that are currently being reconstructed, and the year in which each project is expected to be completed:


MM 40 to MM 48 (2017)
(To be widened to six lanes.)

MM 199 to MM 202 (2013)
(To be widened to six lanes, and includes a reconfiguration of Exit 201.)

MM 242 to MM 245 (2016)
(To be widened to six lanes.)

MM 320 to MM 326 (2016)
(To be widened to six lanes.)

MM 350 to MM 358 (2022?)
(To be widened to six lanes, and includes construction of a new toll plaza, a new bridge over the Delaware River, and a high-speed interchange with I-95 to complete the missing link between Philadelphia and New York.)


Here are the segments that are currently in their design phase, and the year in which each of them is expected to begin reconstruction:


MM 57 to MM 67 (beginning 2016)
(To be widened to six lanes.)

MM 99 to MM 109 (beginning 2014)
(To be widened to six lanes, and includes a reconfiguration of Exit 109.)

MM 129 to MM 134 (beginning 2015)
(To be widened to six lanes.)

MM 149 to MM 156 (beginning 2017)
(To be widened to six lanes.)

MM 220 to MM 226 (beginning 2014)
(To be widened to six lanes.)

MM 312 to MM 319 (beginning 2018)
(To be widened to six lanes.)


Lastly, here are the segments that have recently been bid on by engineering firms:


MM 13 to MM 14
(To be widened to six lanes, and includes a reconfiguration of Exit 13 and new pair of bridges over the Beaver River.)

MM 28 to MM 31
(To be widened to six lanes.)

MM 49 to MM 53
(To be widened to six lanes.)

MM 53 to MM 57
(To be widened to six lanes, and includes a reconfiguration of Exit 57.)

MM 298 to MM 312
(To be widened to six lanes.)

MM 333 to MM 351
(Possible reconstruction and design updates to a segment widened in 1987.)


All this leaves the following segments of the Turnpike unaccounted for in the near term:


MM 10 to MM 13
(Non-toll segment of the Turnpike between the west junction of I-376 and the Beaver River near Pittsburgh.)

MM 14 to MM 28
(Non-toll segment of the Turnpike between the Beaver River and I-79 near Pittsburgh.)

MM 121 to MM 129
(Will possibly include a realignment or replacement of the Allegheny Mountain Tunnel.)

MM 134 to MM 149
(Will probably include a reconfiguration of Exit 146.)

MM 156 to MM 187
(Will possibly include a reconfiguration of Exit 161, and realignments or replacements of the Tuscarora and Kittatinny Tunnels.)

MM 226 to MM 242
(Will possibly include reconfigurations of Exits 226 and 242.)

MM 247 to MM 298
(Will probably include a reconfiguration of Exit 298.)


In short, all but 135 miles of the Pennsylvania Turnpike should be reconstructed by the end of this decade.

Thats the great list of points of the improvement that will be in next few years.This is really a valuable information. And it will definately improve Pennsylvania at the end of the decade.

[BPP1999]

Originally Posted by pman

for the record, these ten miles will cost more than amtraks. $400 million rebuilding of. 30 miles of the nec in nj
Suburban renewal: Pa Turnpike will spend $480M to add lanes Valley Forge-Downingtown

I'm glad that they are doing this widening. It's certainly needed. However, the cost certainly makes one wonder. Hopefully the anti-public transportation contingent will be mindful of this in the future.

[pman]

Originally Posted by BPP1999

I'm glad that they are doing this widening. It's certainly needed. However, the cost certainly makes one wonder. Hopefully the anti-public transportation contingent will be mindful of this in the future.

yes its a lot kore than the $250 million penndoy said was needed for the keystone corridor which improved trip times and reliability. its useful life is a good hit shorter as well