Pennsylvania Turnpike (appointed, transfer to, high school)

[ilovephillyandcars]

Antiquated peace of crap roads. Says a lot about the old state with its old people & old ways. PA roads are a complete embarresment to the residents. I;ve reitterated many times in blogs & even sent PATC & PennDOT e-mails about road conditions & they never seem to get it. Wake up PA, wake up! All the other states are ahead of you.

[PAblackbear]

Originally Posted by ilovephillyandcars

Antiquated peace of crap roads. Says a lot about the old state with its old people & old ways. PA roads are a complete embarresment to the residents. I;ve reitterated many times in blogs & even sent PATC & PennDOT e-mails about road conditions & they never seem to get it. Wake up PA, wake up! All the other states are ahead of you.

What do you have a low rider? PA's roads are plenty good enough for me.

[BPP1999]

Actually, from US1 to the Valley Forge exit (which has been greatly improved/widened over the years), I don't have much of a problem). The Northeast Extension, which has a right lane where people drive too slow and a left lane where people drive too fast, and a 3-inch inside shoulder at most, can be scary.

I wonder: if the PAtronage Turnpike Commission got rid of 90% of the unnecessary positions, including unnecessary toll workers, how much money could be used to greatly improve the roadway? And, I wonder if the PTC realizes that improving the roadway requires jobs. There's too many unnecessary jobs and not enough necessary ones.

[Copanut]

Originally Posted by BPP1999

I wonder: if the PAtronage Turnpike Commission got rid of 90% of the unnecessary positions, including unnecessary toll workers, how much money could be used to greatly improve the roadway?

I'm thinking about 90%.

[Craziaskowboi]

Since 2000, the following segments of the Pennsylvania Turnpike have been, or are being, reconstructed from the ground up:

MM 0 to MM 10 (completed in 2009)
MM 28 to MM 31 (completed in 2004)*
MM 31 to MM 38 (underway, to be completed in 2012)*
MM 38 to MM 40 (completed in 2005)*
MM 40 to MM 48 (to begin in 2011)*
MM 57 to MM 67 (to begin in 2012)*
MM 67 to MM 75 (underway, to be completed in 2011)*
MM 76 to MM 85 (completed in 2001)
MM 85 to MM 94 (completed in 2004)
MM 94 to MM 99 (completed in 2000)
MM 109 to MM 122 (completed in 2004)
MM 123 to MM 129 (underway,
MM 129 to MM 138 (to begin in 2012)
MM 187 to MM 197 (completed in 2001)
MM 199 to MM 226 (underway, to be completed in 2015)*
MM 242 to MM 245 (to begin in 2011)
MM 320 to MM 326 (suspended, possibly revisited in 2010)*
MM 326 to MM 333 (completed in 2008)*

On all of the above segments, the medians have been, or are being, widened. The distance between the inner lanes and the median barrier is, or will be, no less than eight feet. Asterisks indicate segments that have been, or will be, widened to six lanes.

According to the [a href="http://cumberlink.com/articles/2009/11/22/news/local/doc4b08be1e74410820002759.txt"]Cumberland County Sentinel[/a], eight more reconstruction projects are in the design stages, and include segments of the Turnpike in Allegheny, Somerset, Bedford, Chester and Montgomery Counties.

Here's a cross section of the reconstructed portions of the Turnpike compared to the original:



And here's a segment of almost-complete Turnpike near New Stanton:



And another:



New bridges over the Susquehanna and Schuylkill Rivers have been built to accommodate six lanes of traffic. New Bridges over the Allegheny River are currently under construction, and will accommodate six lanes of traffic as well.

The following interchanges have been reconstructed as well:

EXIT 28 - Cranberry (completed in 2004)
EXIT 39 - Butler Valley (completed in 2005)
EXIT 236 - Gettysburg Pike (completed in 2007)
EXIT 247 - Harrisburg East (completed in 2007)
EXIT 266 - Lebanon-Lancaster (completed in 2005)
EXIT 326 - Valley Forge (completed in 2002)
EXIT 333 - Mid-County (completed in 1993)

The following service plazas have been reconstructed:

New Stanton
North Somerset
North Midway
South Midway
Blue Mountain
Plainfield
Bowmansville

Here's news of a study to realign or replace the Allegheny Mountain Tunnel:

allegheny mountain tunnel | TOLLROADSnews

And here are plans to make a direct connection between the Turnpike and I-95 near Philadelphia:

PA Turnpike / I-95 Interchange Project

Segments of the Turnpike that have yet to be addressed:

MM 10 to MM 28
MM 48 to MM 57
MM 99 to MM 109
MM 138 to MM 187
MM 226 to MM 242
MM 247 to MM 320
MM 333 to MM 359

Some of the above might be in the aforementioned design stage, for all we know.

Basically, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, in spite of their recent legal scandals, has been doing actual work over the last dozen years to improve the Turnpike. Some sections haven't been touched yet, but they appear to be serious when they say that their plan is to reconstruct the entire length of the original Turnpike from Irwin to Carlisle. The most difficult part will be between the Allegheny and Blue Mountain Tunnels, because that's where the terrain is most treacherous.

[ilovephillyandcars]

All this info. doesn't mean jack. They will do all this & the roads will be in their original state by the time you know it.

[Craziaskowboi]

Originally Posted by ilovephillyandcars

All this info. doesn't mean jack. They will do all this & the roads will be in their original state by the time you know it.

Not necessarily. I-79 between Washington and Bridgeville (Pittsburgh area) was reconstructed in segments between 1993 and 1995, and it's still in good shape. The depth in the new roadbed helps a lot.

[Ohiogirl81]

The laughable thing is, despite all this so-called "progress" by the Turnpike Commission, the road and its frightening, confusing interchanges are still woefully inadequate for the volume and type of traffic that the turnpike is asked to carry. Sorry, but the turnpike is still a treacherous piece of crap.

[Craziaskowboi]

Originally Posted by Ohiogirl81

The laughable thing is, despite all this so-called "progress" by the Turnpike Commission, the road and its frightening, confusing interchanges are still woefully inadequate for the volume and type of traffic that the turnpike is asked to carry. Sorry, but the turnpike is still a treacherous piece of crap.

That's because the Turnpike in western Pennsylvania is being reconstructed before it is in eastern Pennsylvania, where you are. Upgrading a highway takes time. In Georgia, they began widening I-75 from four lanes to six back in the early 1990's. It's 2010 now, and there's still a six-mile stretch in Crisp County, plus an 18-mile stretch in Tift and Cook Counties, that are still under construction with four lanes. I-75 in Georgia is 355 miles long, and it's taken them almost 20 years to complete their upgrades to I-75. The Pennsylvania Turnpike is 359 miles long, and by 2020, it'll be a much-improved highway from Ohio to New Jersey.

[Ohiogirl81]

and by 2020, it'll be a much-improved highway from Ohio to New Jersey.

And by 2018, it'll already be outdated before it's finished, because the Turnpike Commission (and PennDOT) is historically short-sighted when it comes to predicting future transportation needs.