Pennsylvania Turnpike......... (Carlisle, Indiana, Railroad: coupon, motels, restaurants)

[Gerania]

LOL, maybe you should keep two hands on the wheel. Construction is my biggest complaint about the NE Extension. I'm glad that they spend the time and money to fix it, but there's always a bottleneck somewhere. I didn't think that they did anything other emergency repairs in the winter; you can't do any real roadwork in the cold.

Originally Posted by Love2Golf09

The turnpike is an overpriced piece of crap that seems like it's 1 lane 80% of the way because of constant construction. Going through the Blue Mountain area during the winter is a freakin' death wish. There have been several times where it has been a whiteout, barriers on each side of me because only one lane was open due to construction, and I'm sandwiched in between a half dozen massive trucks. It's a white-knuckle right from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia and I constantly have one hand on the Bible until I get into NJ, which has a turnpike that's a complete pleasure to drive...and cheaper......and they pump my gas! And the gas is cheaper!!!!!!

[pcity]

Originally Posted by ckhthankgod

When my wife was driving in the Philly area, there was a way where she was on 76 and still got on the Penn. Turnpike. She got to the end of the Turnpike and had to pay a little over $28 dollars for that drive because of bypassing the tolls by mistake. In NY, you can't bypass the tolls to get on the Thruway. So, how did that happen?

OK, now I think I understand what happened. Your wife went through the toll, but she chose the high-speed EZPass lanes by mistake. She didn't have to stop so she thought she "bypassed" the toll.

These lanes are not just a PA Turnpike thing. They're all over the country. I've come across them in New Jersey, Delaware, and Virginia, though I'm not sure if the NY Thruway has them yet.

[BPP1999]

Originally Posted by FlyerNation

There were supposedly plans in the works to add interchanges to the NE Ext. in Montgomery County. I'm not sure what the status of this is, but in conjunction with widening the stretch from Allentown to Plymouth Mtg., it would help alleviate traffic.

That would make too much sense. It's the PA TPK and PTC afterall.

One was going to be added near Township Line Road in Blue Bell, right near Unisys and AETNA. Great idea to most people, but of course the locals in Blue Bell were afraid of more traffic, so they fought it.

The other was going to be in Worcester, in a still somewhat rural section, at Schultz Road. It would have been near the intersection of Broad Street and Morris Road. That was primarily to serve Merck. The locals in Worcester fought that one, afraid that it would hurt their quality of life.

The concept of regionalization and highway improvements that benefit an entire area are frowned upon here. It seems that in this area decisions that are good for the entire region are shot down by short-sighted people who are afraid of change. What's even worse is that we have a complete lack of big-picture state and local politicians who will champion good projects because they are afraid of offending the small-minded vocal minorities who fight these projects.

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by Gerania

I know; it happened to me. I was traveling north on the Blue Route (476) headed toward Rt. 276 east. It was dark and visibility was terrible, but I managed to find the correct exit, 20 I believe. Concrete barriers divided the road into two lanes; I was on the left. I noticed, too late, that the two cars which had been ahead of me had stayed toward the right...and were entering the toll plaza. There was no way to get over there. I certainly wasn't going to try to back up at night in the rain.

Exactly! When we got to the end of the NE Extension by Scranton and it said $28.95 or something like that we were like what the heck?

[ilovephillyandcars]

Dead on everyone seems to agree that PATP is a ultra crapy road. You can probably lay a long stretch of fine grade carpet on grass & drive smoother than the PATP, wheather it be 476 or 276...lol. Everythime there is 1 person who comments on how it was a freaken marvel when it was 1st built but that don't mean nething! You have to go by latest standards & its not like other older roads in older cities & states r kept like that. NJ & NY have old interstates as well but they are in magnificant condition, toll or non-toll. Not only our bridges (just look at the 1 between PA-Rt.1 & Bristol exits on I-276) rusted with old paint, none of them are lit properly, have reflectors between lanes, fresh STRAIGHT paint lines, close concrete barrier next to express lane. I also can't entirely blame the PTC since the people surrounding the road like I-476 r so conservative & don't want ne change. This part of the suburbs is like ghost town for God's sake! The only time 476 gets used most is during rush hours & weekends. Its not like its always busy. There are plenty of TREES in these country like suburbs to isolate the noise. PA should just implement the eminent domain on these old conservative folks...this state needs a change...way too stuck in the past.

[Tiger Beer]

I just took the Ohio Turnpike and Pennsylvania turnpike across last weekend. Both were major disappointments. First off, they need repair, and second off, the speed limit is low. (I thought part of the point is you pay money to drive a bit faster and get across the state quicker).

A regular highway in MI is 70mph...I get to the Ohio turnpike and have to slow down to 65mph on unkept roads. Crossing over to the Pennsylvania turnpike....they charged me nearly $4 to enter on to it, although I was only going 20 miles or so before turning south to Pittsburgh.

No service stations either between the PA/OH border and the highway to Pittsburgh. This seemed odd, as the Ohio ones were incredibly overpriced and had a ton of Ohio souvineers everywhere. No idea why PA wouldn't want to capitalize on that with a service center on the PA side with PA stuff.

[danwxman]

Originally Posted by ilovephillyandcars

Dead on everyone seems to agree that PATP is a ultra crapy road. You can probably lay a long stretch of fine grade carpet on grass & drive smoother than the PATP, wheather it be 476 or 276...lol. Everythime there is 1 person who comments on how it was a freaken marvel when it was 1st built but that don't mean nething! You have to go by latest standards & its not like other older roads in older cities & states r kept like that. NJ & NY have old interstates as well but they are in magnificant condition, toll or non-toll. Not only our bridges (just look at the 1 between PA-Rt.1 & Bristol exits on I-276) rusted with old paint, none of them are lit properly, have reflectors between lanes, fresh STRAIGHT paint lines, close concrete barrier next to express lane. I also can't entirely blame the PTC since the people surrounding the road like I-476 r so conservative & don't want ne change. This part of the suburbs is like ghost town for God's sake! The only time 476 gets used most is during rush hours & weekends. Its not like its always busy. There are plenty of TREES in these country like suburbs to isolate the noise. PA should just implement the eminent domain on these old conservative folks...this state needs a change...way too stuck in the past.

If you want to experience what the Turnpike commission eventually wants the entire stretch to look like drive through western Cumberland county. Construction is finished (I think). Very wide, new bridges, six lanes.... of course it will take decades I'm sure to update the entire highway.

[DarkWolf]

I don't understand how I-276 is always under construction, everytime i visit my Ant's Farm , each year there is new Construction works. It makes my head spin , the road is dangerous narrow , not lite outside the Interchanges trucks are hoggers. I-476 is at least straighter but still to narrow and not light that great, + the Guard rails in some areas are as old as the original road. Traffic Congestion on I-276 each year continues to get very bad, and they won't encourage private investment on a new Rail network that would help the congestion. The Max design speed on the PA TPK is 55-60mph, but on the NJTPK it was built for speeds 120mph. The NJTPK was also modeled after the European Highways and has 10 ft wide shoulders its entire length and extensions. I don't understand why PA could't follow that , they were built around the same time periods. But PA roads as a whole are terrible , way too narrow for today's cars and traffic volume.

~Corey

[danwxman]

Originally Posted by Nexis4Jersey

I don't understand how I-276 is always under construction, everytime i visit my Ant's Farm , each year there is new Construction works. It makes my head spin , the road is dangerous narrow , not lite outside the Interchanges trucks are hoggers. I-476 is at least straighter but still to narrow and not light that great, + the Guard rails in some areas are as old as the original road. Traffic Congestion on I-276 each year continues to get very bad, and they won't encourage private investment on a new Rail network that would help the congestion. The Max design speed on the PA TPK is 55-60mph, but on the NJTPK it was built for speeds 120mph. The NJTPK was also modeled after the European Highways and has 10 ft wide shoulders its entire length and extensions. I don't understand why PA could't follow that , they were built around the same time periods. But PA roads as a whole are terrible , way too narrow for today's cars and traffic volume.

~Corey

The new mainline in Cumberland County is being built with similar standards.

It's a little different with the hilly terrain in Pennsylvania and the fact that the Turnpike was one of the oldest highways in the country.

[sakko]

Originally Posted by ckhthankgod

Are people generally comfortable driving on it in the area that is between Scranton and Philly? I don't know why, but it seems like an uncomfortable road to drive on, in certain parts of that stretch of the Turnpike.

Also, why is there a way for a person to bypass tolls in the Philadelphia area? Ther eis a confusing section where I believe 76 or 476 becomes the Turnpike, but there is a way you can get on without going through tolls. Why is that?

They are not bypassing the tolls. They have EZpass which electronically scans the car and they will get a montly bill.