Pennsylvania Turnpike

The Pennsylvania Turnpike is a toll highway system in the state of Pennsylvania, USA. The turnpike system encompasses 532 miles (855 km) in three distinct sections. Its main section, extending from the Ohio state line in the west to the New Jersey state line in the east, stretches 359 miles (578 km). Its Northeast Extension, extending from Valley Forge in the southeast to Wilkes-Barre and Scranton in the northeast, stretches 110 miles. Its various highway segments in western Pennsylvania cover 62 miles (100 km).

The highway serves most of Pennsylvania's major urban areas, with the main east-west section serving the Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, and Philadelphia areas and its Northeastern Extension serving the Allentown/Bethlehem and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre areas.

Route numbers

The turnpike system (with the exception of the shorter segments in the western part of the state) is part of the U.S. Interstate Highway System. The turnpike is signed with the following route numbers:

Interstate 76. Interstate 76 comprises the majority of the system, starting at the turnpike's western terminus at the Ohio state line. Interstate 70 joins the turnpike at New Stanton, Interchange 75, and runs concurrently with Interstate 76 until leaving the turnpike at Breezewood, Interchange 161.

Interstate 276. Interstate 76 leaves the turnpike mainline at Valley Forge, Interchange 326. At that point, the turnpike becomes Interstate 276 until it meets with a spur of the New Jersey Turnpike at the turnpike's eastern terminus at the Delaware River.

Interstate 476. The Northeastern Extension, which meets the turnpike mainline at milepost 333.5 (the interchange is designated as Exit-20, the milepost marker for I-476), is signed as Interstate 476 for the duration of its run. This section was signed, while still part of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, as Pennsylvania Route 9 before redesignation in the 1990s, concurrent with the opening of The Blue Route.

Interstate 95. The turnpike mainline now crosses Interstate 95 but does not have a direct connection to that route. An interchange is currently being constructed in this area. Once the Pennsylvania Turnpike/Interstate 95 Interchange Project northeast of Philadelphia is completed, the section of the turnpike east of that interchange (now Interstate 276) will be redesignated as Interstate 95.

PA Route 60. The James E. Ross Highway in western Pennsylvania is signed as Pennsylvania Route 60.

PA Route 66. The Amos K. Hutchinson Bypass in western Pennsylvania is signed as Pennsylvania Route 66.

PA Route 43. The James J. Manderino Highway in western Pennsylvania is signed as Pennsylvania Route 43.

PA Route 576. The Pittsburgh Southern Beltway in western Pennsylvania will be signed as Pennsylvania Route 576.

Exit list

Until October 25, 2000, exit numbers were numbered in sequence. On that day, mile-based exit numbers were added, and the old numbers were moved onto smaller "old exit" tabs. These have since been removed. This was done at the same time the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) did a similar upgrade on all of the state's Interstate Highways.

Exit numbers		Exit name	Notes
new	old	Exit name	Notes
M.P. 2.0	1	Gateway (barrier toll)	Continues west as the Ohio Turnpike. Flat-rate, eastbound-only toll
10	1A	New Castle (Turnpike 60)	Connection to James E. Ross Highway. No toll
13	2	Beaver Valley (PA 18)	No toll
28	3	Cranberry (US 19/I-79)	No toll
M.P. 30.0		Warrendale (barrier toll)	Western terminus of ticket system
39	4	Butler Valley (PA 8)
48	5	Allegheny Valley (PA 28)
57	6	Pittsburgh (I-376/US 22)
67	7	Irwin (US 30)	Original exit 1
75	8	New Stanton (I-70 west/US 119/Turnpike 66)	Original exit 2 Connection to Amos K. Hutchinson Bypass
91	9	Donegal (PA 711)	Original exit 3
Laurel Hill Tunnel (bypassed)
Quemahoning Tunnel (never used)
110	10	Somerset (US 219)	Original exit 4
Negro Mountain Tunnel (never used)
Allegheny Tunnel (still in use)
146	11	Bedford (I-99/US 220)	Original exit 5
Clear Ridge Tunnel (not planned for the railroad; planned for the Turnpike but instead built as a cut)
161	12	Breezewood (I-70 east to US 30)	Original exit 6
Rays Hill Tunnel (bypassed)
Sideling Hill Tunnel (bypassed)
180	13	Fort Littleton (US 522)	Original exit 7
Tuscarora Tunnel (still in use)
189	14	Willow Hill (PA 75)	Original exit 8
Kittatinny Tunnel (still in use)
Blue Mountain Tunnel (still in use)
201	15	Blue Mountain (PA 997)	Original exit 9
		Carlisle	Original exit 10 and east end barrier toll; no eastbound onramp; closed 1950
226	16	Carlisle (I-81/US 11)	Original exit 11 (then called Middlesex)
236	17	Gettysburg Pike (US 15)
242	18	Harrisburg West (I-83)
247	19	Harrisburg East (I-283/PA 283)
266	20	Lebanon-Lancaster (PA 72)
286	21	Reading (US 222)
298	22	Morgantown (I-176/PA 10)
312	23	Downingtown (PA 100)
		Great Valley Slip Ramp - PROPOSED (PA 23)
326	24	Valley Forge (I-76 east to I-476/US 202)
333	25	Norristown	Traffic traveling eastbound on I-276 must exit to access I-476 south (the non-tolled "Blue Route" section)
20	25A	Mid-County (I-476)	Connection to the Northeast Extension, both directions. Direct access to Exit-20 (I-476 South) can only be done by motorists traveling westbound on I-276.
339	26	Fort Washington (PA 309)
340	26A	Virginia Drive Slip Ramp	E-ZPass only; westbound offramp and onramp only. This exit was designated 26A but was never signed that way
343	27	Willow Grove (PA 611)
351	28	Philadelphia (US 1)	Located in Trevose in Bensalem Township, about 1 mile from Philadelphia.
		FUTURE I-95 INTERCHANGE
358	29	Delaware Valley (US 13)
359	30	Delaware River Bridge (barrier toll)	Continues east as a branch of the New Jersey Turnpike
Northeast Extension (I-476)
19	25A	Mid-County (I-476)	Connection to the mainline turnpike at milepost 334. Northbound traffic entering the Turnpike system cannot access the westbound mainline from this interchange.
30	31	Lansdale (PA 63)	Following interchange renumbering in 2000, this was briefly signed (incorrectly) as exit 30 but was eventually corrected.
44	32	Quakertown (PA 663)
57	33	Lehigh Valley (U.S. Highway 22)	Connects with Interstate 78
Lehigh Tunnel located at mile marker 71 (still in use)
76	34	Mahoning Valley (U.S. Highway 209)
94	35	Pocono (PA 940)	Connects with Interstate 80 to Delaware Water Gap
105	36	Wilkes-Barre (PA 115)
M.P. 112		Wyoming Valley Toll Plaza (barrier toll)	Northern terminus of ticket system
114	37	Wyoming Valley (PA 315)	Connects with Interstate 81
M.P. 121		Keyser Avenue Toll Plaza (barrier toll)
122	38	Keyser Avenue
M.P. 130		Clarks Summit Toll Plaza (barrier toll)
131	39	Clarks Summit (Interstate 81)	Original Exit 38. Known as Scranton before opening of Keyser Avenue

Toll system

The majority of the Turnpike system is operated as a ticket system toll road, in which a driver receives a paper ticket on entry and pays on exit, with the amount pre-calculated based on entrance and exit points. Most of the system's access points are simple "trumpet" interchanges, with a toll barrier located between the interchange itself and the local connector road. Between 1940 and 1997, the road had three "mainline" barrier plazas - one at Gateway (at the Pennsylvania/Ohio state line), connecting to the Ohio Turnpike, one at the Delaware River Bridge near Bristol, where the Turnpike crosses the Delaware River and connects with the New Jersey Turnpike, and one on the Northeastern Extension at Clarks Summit, where it connects with Interstate 81 near Scranton.

In 1997, the new Mid-County exit, connecting Interstate 476 with the Turnpike, opened. It doubles as a mainline and interchange barrier. In 2002, the Gateway barrier was converted to an all-cash plaza, and a new mainline barrier, at Warrendale, was added. With the opening of the new Warrendale barrier, the Turnpike between Gateway and Warrendale is toll-free and gives motorists direct access to the James E. Ross Highway, Interstate 79, and two local roads. A similar approach was used between the Wyoming Valley interchange and Clarks Summit on the Northeastern Extension, allowing for the construction of the Keyser Avenue interchange, along with a new coin-drop booth north of the exit. This will also be implemented when the Turnpike/Interstate 95 exit is completed in Bristol, allowing I-95 to access the Turnpike with a high-speed interchange.

E-ZPass is accepted at all toll booths, with one operating exit (Virginia Drive near Fort Washington) and one proposed exit (Great Valley near Malvern) being accessible to E-ZPass customers only.

Turnpike history

When the Pennsylvania Turnpike opened in 1940, it was the first long-distance rural freeway in the United States and was popularly known as the "tunnel highway" because of the seven mountain tunnels along its route.

First section

The turnpike was partially constructed on an unused railroad grade constructed for the aborted South Pennsylvania Railroad project, and six of its seven original tunnels (all tunnels with the exception of the Allegheny Mountain tunnel) were first bored for that railroad.

Proposals to use the grade and tunnels for a toll road were made starting in late 1934. The road would bypass the steep grades on Pennsylvania's existing major east-west highways - US 22 (William Penn Highway) and US 30 (Lincoln Highway) - and offer a high-speed four lane route free of cross traffic. The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission was created by law on May 21, 1937, and construction began October 27, 1938 with the removal of water from the unfinished tunnels.

In October 1, 1940 the first section of Turnpike opened, running from US 11 near Carlisle (southwest of Harrisburg) west to US 30 at Irwin (east of Pittsburgh). As built, the majority of the road was four lanes, but it narrowed to one lane in each direction for the seven tunnels (the South Pennsylvania had begun work on nine, but two - the Quemahoning Tunnel and Negro Mountain Tunnel - were bypassed by the Turnpike). Despite the existence of the railroad right-of-way, much of the new Turnpike was built on a new, straighter alignment, as engineering had progressed much since the days of the railroad.

Unlike earlier U.S. freeways, mostly in the New York City area, which were restricted to cars, the Turnpike allowed all traffic. Like the German Autobahn on which it was loosely based, there was no enforced speed limit on most of the road--some cars could travel at 100 mph (160 km/h) and traverse the entire 110 mile (177 km) original segment in slightly over an hour. The phenomenon of highway hypnosis began to afflict motorists on some of the long, straight segments--especially on the 21 mile (34 km) section of Turnpike between the Blue Mountain Tunnel and the eastern terminus at Carlisle.

Planned expansions

With the success of the original 110 mile (177 km) segment, the turnpike commission planned to expand the original Turnpike to a cross-state route, connecting Philadelphia with Pittsburgh with a high-speed route. This was shelved with the onset of World War II, but with the war's end, the turnpike commission resumed construction.

Philadelphia Extension

The Philadelphia Extension took the Turnpike east to King of Prussia near Philadelphia and Valley Forge. The first phase of that expansion made the highway slightly longer, stretching it to US 15 near Harrisburg. That section opened on February 1, and the rest of the expansion, east to King of Prussia, opened on November 20, 1950. At that time the old mainline toll booth and interchange at Carlisle was closed, and the Middlesex interchange, at the old east end at US 11, was reconfigured and renamed as the Carlisle interchange. The original eastern end of the Philadelphia Extension ended at what is now the present-day interchange with Interstate 76 and U.S. Highway 202.

Western Extension

The first piece of the Western Extension, from Irwin to US 22 east of Pittsburgh, opened August 7, 1951. The remainder opened to traffic on December 26, 1951, taking the highway west almost to the Ohio state line. Traffic was diverted onto the two-lane Burkey Road just west of the western barrier toll for almost three years until a connection with the Ohio Turnpike connection opened. The interchange with Pennsylvania Route 18 at Homewood was not completed until March 1, 1952. The turnpike connected with Youngstown, Ohio, after the first section of the Ohio Turnpike opened on December 1, 1954.

Delaware River Extension

The Delaware River Extension opened on August 23, 1954 to Pennsylvania Route 611 at Willow Grove, and the intermediate Fort Washington interchange with PA 309 opening September 20. Extensions opened October 27 to US 1 near Trevose and November 17 to US 13 near Bristol. The final piece opened on May 23, 1956 with the completion of the Delaware River-Turnpike Toll Bridge, which connected to a short spur of the New Jersey Turnpike.

Northeastern Extension

The Northeastern Extension of the Turnpike, from the Mid-County Interchange northwest of Philadelphia north to Interstate 81 near Scranton, opened in stages from November 23, 1955 to November 7, 1957. This was the last segment of the Turnpike system to be built until the late 1980s, and formerly signed as PA 9.

Western expansions

Western extensions, that mostly serve the Pittsburgh Area were constructed from the 1990s until the present. The James E. Ross Highway and the Amos K. Hutchinson Bypass were completed by 1994, and the James J. Manderino Highway, a West Virginia-to-Pittsburgh route, (Mon/Fayette Expressway) is approximately 50% completed with the last major link to Pittsburgh under design. The first section of the Pittsburgh Southern Beltway (from the Mon/Fayette Expressway to the Pittsburgh International Airport) is nearing completion. Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) for the two remaining sections are in preparation

Competing highways

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission originally proposed a statewide system of additional toll highways, but these plans were rendered unnecessary with the inception of the U.S. Interstate Highway system in 1954. A toll-free east-west competitor - Interstate 80 - opened on August 29, 1970 across northern Pennsylvania, forming a route that was more direct for New York-Chicago traffic.

Teamsters strike

On November 24, 2004, two thousand Teamsters Union employees of the Pennsylvania Turnpike went on strike, after contract negotiations failed. This was the day before Thanksgiving, usually one of the busiest traffic days in the United States. To keep the turnpike open, tolls were waived for the remainder of the day. Starting on November 25, flat-rate passenger tolls of $2 and commercial tolls of $15 were collected by management staff of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. [http://www.pahighways.com/toll/PATurnpike.html This represented a substantial discount for most travelers, who would normally have to pay about $20 to travel along the full length of the main east-west route. The strike only lasted seven days, with an agreement reached on November 30, and tolls being collected again on December 1, 2004.

The "Tunnel Highway"

After it opened as the nation's first superhighway, the Pennsylvania Turnpike was popularly known as the "Tunnel Highway." Postcards and other souvenirs promoted this name because, immediately after opening, the original stretch of the turnpike sported seven tunnels through Pennsylvania's Appalachian Mountains. These tunnels, in order of east to west, bored through Blue Mountain, Kittattiny Mountain, Tuscarora Mountain, Sideling Hill, Ray's Hill, Alleghany Mountain, and Laurel Hill.

Modernization

While the highway was built as a four-lane, limited-access highway, the seven tunnels each held only two travel lanes. Traffic was squeezed from four lanes to two at each tunnel portal, and traffic proceeded through each tunnel without being divided from oncoming traffic. By the 1960s, this situation was creating long delays at each tunnel bottleneck. To alleviate this overcrowding, the turnpike commission studied ways to either expand or bypass each tunnel.

The result of this project was the "twinning" (construction of a second, parallel, two-lane tunnel) of four tunnels, and the outright bypass and closure of the other three. The Blue, Kittattiny, Tuscarora, and Allegheny Mountain Tunnels were expanded through the construction of new tunnels identical to the original tunnels in design, construction methods (dynamite and wooden supports), and length. After the second tunnels were completed at each location, the original tunnels were temporarily closed for rehabilitations that included upgrades in forced air ventliation and lighting systems.

The Sideling Hill, Rays Hill, and Laurel Hill tunnels were closed and bypassed. The adjacent Sideling Hill and Rays Hill tunnels were replaced with one stretch of highway that climbed over those mountains, while the Laurel Hill Tunnel was bypassed with a long rock cut through the mountain. The three bypassed tunnels are still in existence.

The 13-mile stretch that contained the Sideling Hill and Rays Hill Tunnels are now part of a popular tourist attraction known as the Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike, which most of it was sold to Southern Alleghenies Conservancy in 2001. The Laurel Hill stretch, which is much shorter at about 2 miles, is still owned by the PTC and tresspassing is prohibited.

Lehigh Tunnel

The Northeastern Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike contains the Lehigh Tunnel, a 4,461-foot tunnel through Blue Mountain. The tunnel was named "Lehigh Tunnel" so as not to cause confusion with the existing Blue Mountain tunnel on the mainline. The tunnel was originally to be named for Turnpike Commission chairman Thomas J. Evans, but this was changed due to his July 25, 1967 conviction for conspiracy to defraud the Turnpike Commission of $19 million. ^* The Lehigh Tunnel was originally a two-lane tunnel, in the manner of the highway's original seven tunnels, until it was "twinned" in the early 1990's. The new Lehigh Tunnel is the only tunnel built by the Turnpike Commission using the New Austrian Tunnelling method. With this method, tunnels are built using a special machine resembling a large electric razor blade, guided by lasers. The tunneled area is reinforced with shotcrete, a slurry mixture, as it is bored, eliminating the need for wooden supports. Because of the new construction, the new tube, which is round, contrasts sharply with the original rectangular tube, which was carved by the older dyamite blasting method.

Allegheny Tunnel modernization

The Allegheny Mountain Tunnel, currently the longest tunnel complex on the entire Turnpike system (only the bypassed Sideling Hill Tunnel was longer), and the only one of the original seven tunnels not to have been originally bored for the aborted Southeast Pennsylvania Railroad project, is currently the most problematic tunnel for the turnpike. In 1996, the turnpike commission began a study on how to address this tunnel, which was suffering from a low traffic capacity and deterioration. The study recommended that a bypass be blasted through the adjacent mountain, but a high pricetag and opposition from landowners and environmental groups shelved this project. The commission is currently realigning the approach roads to the tunnel while examining more acceptable ways to address the capacity and age-related issues of the tunnels.

Aborted extensions and expansions

Soon after the mainline was built, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission proposed a number of extensions as part of a 1,000 mile (1,600 km) Turnpike network. These plans were dropped in the mid-1950s in favor of the Interstate Highway System. The proposed network included the following:

Chester Extension--now Interstate 476 or the Blue Route between Chester and the Northeast Extension
Erie North-South Extension--now Interstate 79, this would connect with the New York State Thruway near Erie.
Gettysburg Extension--now the U.S. Highway 15 Gettysburg Bypass
Northeast Extension (Clarks Summit to New York State Line)--now Interstate 81. This would also connect with the New York State Thruway in Rochester.
Philadelphia Loop Connection--now Interstate 95 between Interstate 76 at the Walt Whitman Bridge and Interstate 276
Sharon Lateral Connection--now Interstate 80

Although the extensions were dropped, the commission also looked into a major expansion project in the early 1970s in which the east-west mainline would be expanded into a "dual-dual" eight-lane highway similar to that of the New Jersey Turnpike between Jamesburg and Newark. With the dual-dual configuration, the inner two lanes would be car-only lanes while the outer lanes would be for trucks, buses, and trailers.

The dual-dual would have required major realignments, similar to that of the Sideling Hill relocation, but most of the original infrastructure would have remained intact in most places. This plan was dropped by 1976, but since 1980, most of the original plan was implemented on a smaller scale. Truck climbing lanes were built on the Allegheny Ridge, and the roadway was expanded to six lanes between the Norristown and Philadelphia exits. The six-lane configuration was planned or in the process of being constructed between the proposed Great Valley Slip Ramp and Norristown, between Philadelphia and the New Jersey Turnpike, and on the Northeast Extension between Mid-County and Lansdale.

Shunpiking

Shunpiking the Interstate 70 portion of the Pennsylvania Turnpike via Interstate 68 and Interstate 79 is only eight miles longer than using the Turnpike. From Hancock, Maryland to Washington, Pennsylvania using the Turnpike the route is 150 miles, while the Shunpiking route from Hancock, Maryland to Washington, Pennsylvania via Morgantown, West Virginia is 158 miles. However, the speed limit is higher on the Shunpiking route, as West Virginia has a speed limit of 70 mph. Google Maps defaults to this I-68/I-79 route rather than following I-70 through Breezewood.

However, heavy trucks may well be better served by remaining on the Turnpike, as I-68 is full of steep mountain grades that are anything but truck-friendly. There is a five-mile long, 7% grade -- climbing eastbound, descending westbound -- at Cheat Lake, WV, about 10 miles east of Morgantown, and there is a 13-mile long grade (climbing westbound, descending eastbound), parts of which get as steep as 6%, between Big Savage Mountain and Cumberland in Maryland. This 13-miler is notorious for its length as well as the 40-mph truck speed limit through the last few miles of the downgrade, as one approaches downtown Cumberland.

Another possible Shunpiking route that utilizes largely four-lane expressways and freeways to avoid the Turnpike actually starts in Ohio, at the Interstate 76/Interstate 80 split. Enter Pennsylvania on I-80 rather than on the Turnpike, and go all the way to Exit 161 (PA 26, the State College exit). Take PA 26 roughly 10 miles down to U.S. Route 322, and go east. From State College to Harrisburg, about 90% of the length of US 322 is full freeway; a short segment immediately east of State College is two lanes, and the Lewistown Narrows segment and a short stretch north of Harrisburg are four lanes with driveway accesses. Between Harrisburg and the Philadelphia area, the best Shunpiking route is probably I-283 east out of Harrisburg to PA 283, then PA 283 east to Lancaster, then US 30 east to US 202 east to I-76/Schuylkill Expressway east.

Yet another alternative is to take I-68 Westbound to Maryland Exit 14. Go north to U.S. 40 and continue west on U.S. 40 toward Uniontown, PA. Cross the Monongahela River on U.S. 40 and then go north on PA 43 to rejoin I-70. Again, this is a much better alternative for cars than for heavy trucks, not only because of the steep grades on I-68, but also because of at least two more steep grades -- one 8%, the other an amazing 13% -- on that part of US 40.

Current events

Today, the Turnpike is controlled by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, handles over 172 million vehicles per year, and employs nearly 2,200 people.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission is currently reconfiguring and expanding the Turnpike to meet modern traffic needs. Parts of the original Irwin-Carlisle section is being rebuilt with new roadbeds (using the original concrete and later macadam paving), and long-duration "Superpave" macadam asphalt (similar to a process used on I-95 in Delaware between U.S. Highway 202 and the Pennsylvania State Line in 2000).

Between Valley Forge and the Northeast Extension, the highway is being expanded from four lanes to six, and with the completion of the entire I-95/Turnpike exit (along with the building of the paralleling Turnpike Connector Bridge), the entire Delaware River Extension will have six lanes.

Other projects include the conversion of the Gateway Toll Plaza from a traditional toll booth to an all-cash plaza with high-speed lanes, for E-Z Pass tag users, and the relocation of the ticket system at a new toll plaza in Warrendale. "Slip Ramps," for E-Z Pass tagholders, have been built near Fort Washington (Virginia Drive), with another planned for the Great Valley Corporate Center near Malvern. A similar six-lane expansion has also been planned for the Northeast Extension between its junction in Norristown to Lansdale, and on the mainline turnpike between Valley Forge and the planned Great Valley slip ramps.

On Memorial Day Weekend, 2005, the Pennsylvania Turnpike system became the first highway system in Pennsylvania to have a 65 mph speed limit on the entire length (except for the tunnels themselves, and the winding 5.5-mile (9 km) eastern approach to the Allegheny Mountain Tunnel) of both the mainline turnpike and the Northeast Extension. This is the first time since the mandated 55 mph (88 km/h) speed limit was implemented in 1974 that a motorist can cross the entire state of Pennsylvania at 65 mph (105 km/h) without having to travel at lower speeds for extended periods.

Interchange with Interstate 95 project

Interstate 95 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike now cross each other without an interchange. This is related to (but not because of) a gap in Interstate 95 in New Jersey, where local opposition groups managed to stop construction of the Somerset Freeway through the area. Heading northbound from Pennsylvania into Ewing Township (by Trenton, New Jersey), Interstate 95 abruptly ends at its intersection with U.S. Route 1. From there, the highway is then signed as Interstate 295, and turns south. To continue on Interstate 95 northbound, one must travel south on Interstate 295 then east on Interstate 195 (or use a non-freeway section of US 1) in order to reach the northern section of the New Jersey Turnpike, which is signed as Interstate 95.

A project ^* is currently planned to install a high speed interchange between the two highways. In addition to the new interchange, the PTC will expand the existing four-lane road to six lanes east of the Philadelphia interchange (U.S. Highway 1), build a new facility at milepost 353 to 355 to collect toll tickets, build a new eastbound-only exact-change facility between the new exit and the Delaware Valley interchange (U.S. Highway 13), and convert the present Delaware River Bridge toll barrier (which currently collects tickets) to a westbound-only exact-change facility. In addition, both the PTC and the New Jersey Turnpike Authority will build a twin parallel bridge over the Delaware River, with the NJTPA itself expanding the mainline Turnpike itself from its current six lanes to a dual-dual configuration like that found north of Jamesburg. This project will complete I-95 from Miami, FL to Houlton, ME. Construction is expected to start in late 2006 or early 2007 and will cost approximately $500 million.

External links

References

Historic civil engineering landmarks | Toll roads in Pennsylvania | Tolled sections of Interstate Highways | Interstate 95