Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike

Lancaster Avenue
Route information
Maintained by PennDOT
Length73.33 mi[1] (118.01 km)
Route to Columbia included (10.86 mi)
Existed1792 (first used 1795)–present
Component
highways
Lincoln Highway from Columbia to Lower Merion
PA 462 from Columbia to Lancaster

PA 23 in 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 end34th Street in Philadelphia
PA 3 (at small stub between Market Street and 32nd Street)
Location
CountryUnited States
StatePennsylvania
CountiesLancaster, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, Philadelphia
Highway system
DesignatedNovember 20, 1999[2]
Old Lancaster Road and Lancaster Avenue in Lower Merion Township

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 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]

Share of the "Company of the Lancaster and Turnpike Road", issued 16 March 1795

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.

Near the end at 34th Street. Lancaster Avenue ends as a road, but continues as the “Lancaster Walk” pedestrian walkway on the campus of Drexel University

In 1876, the parallel Pennsylvania Railroad bought the turnpike from 52nd Street in Philadelphia west to Paoli for $20,000 (equal to $549,625 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 $3,768,857 today.[9] In 1926 it was designated as part of U.S. Route 30 along with the rest of the original United States Numbered Highways.

Major intersections

CountyLocationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
LancasterColumbia0.000.00
PA 462 west (Chestnut Street) Wrightsville

North 3rd Street to PA 441 Washington Boro, Marietta
Western terminus of the former Turnpike.
40°02′02″N 76°30′17″W / 40.033907°N 76.504755°W / 40.033907; -76.504755 PA 462 continues west into Wrightsville on the Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge.
Lancaster Township7.7312.44 PA 741 (Rorherstown/Millersville Road) East Petersburg, New Danville
Lancaster9.7615.71
PA 23 west (College Avenue)
West end of PA 23 westbound overlap
10.4816.87
PA 999 west (Manor Street)
Eastern terminus of PA 999; connection to King Street only[10]
10.7417.28
US 222 south (PA 272 south / Prince Street)
Southbound one-way pair of US 222/PA 272
10.8617.48
PA 72 north (Queen Street)
Northbound one-way PA 72
11.1017.86
US 222 north (PA 272 north / Lime Street)
Northbound one-way pair of US 222/PA 272
11.8419.05
PA 23 east (Broad Street)
East end of PA 23 westbound overlap
12.7420.50
PA 340 east (Old Philadelphia Pike)
Western terminus of PA 340
East Lampeter Township14.5423.40


US 30 west to PA 283 west York, Harrisburg
Eastern terminus of PA 462; west end of US 30 overlap
Ronks17.0327.41 PA 896 (Eastbrook/Hartman Bridge Road) Strasburg
Gap25.9241.71
PA 772 west (Newport Road)
Eastern terminus of PA 772
26.3242.36
PA 41 south (Gap-Newport Pike) Wilmington, DE
Northern terminus of PA 41
26.6642.91
PA 897 north (White Horse Road)
Southern terminus of PA 897
ChesterWest Sadsbury Township31.1050.05 PA 10 (Octorara Trail) Honey Brook, Parkesburg
31.5050.69
US 30 east (Downingtown-Coatesville Bypass) Coatesville, Downingtown
East end of US 30 overlap; western terminus of US 30 Bus.
Coatesville36.5958.89
PA 82 south (Strode Avenue)
West end of PA 82 overlap
37.0059.55
PA 82 north (1st Avenue)
East end of PA 82 overlap
Thorndale41.2466.37
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.
Downingtown43.4869.97

US 322 west (Manor Avenue) to US 30
West end of US 322 overlap
43.6670.26
US 322 east (Brandywine Avenue) West Chester
East end of US 322 overlap; west end of US 322 Truck overlap
43.8070.49
PA 282 west (Green Street)
Eastern terminus of PA 282
44.1871.10

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
45.4173.08 US 30 (Downingtown-Coatesville/Exton Bypass) Coatesville, Lancaster, King of PrussiaInterchange
Exton47.9877.22 PA 100 (Pottstown Pike) Pottstown, West Chester
West Whiteland Township50.2980.93
US 30 west / US 202 Downingtown, King of Prussia, West Chester
Eastern terminus of US 30 Bus.; west end of US 30 overlap
Frazer51.6583.12
PA 352 south (Sproul Road) Chester
Northern terminus of PA 352
Malvern53.2185.63
PA 401 west (Conestoga Road) Elverson
Eastern terminus of PA 401
53.6286.29

PA 29 north (Morehall Road) to US 202
Southern terminus of PA 29
Paoli56.1490.35 PA 252 (Bear Hill/Leopard Road) Valley Forge, Newtown Square
DelawareVillanova62.93101.28 I-476 (Blue Route) Plymouth Meeting, ChesterInterchange
63.26101.81 PA 320 (Spring Mill/Sproul Road)
MontgomeryPhiladelphia
county line
Lower Merion TownshipPhiladelphia line69.35111.61 US 1 (City Avenue)
PhiladelphiaPhiladelphia71.56115.16
US 30 east (Girard Avenue)
East end of US 30 overlap; western terminus of SR 3012
72.00115.87SR 3005 (Belmont Avenue) / 44th StreetEastern terminus of SR 3012; west end of SR 3005 overlap[5]
73.04117.55 US 13 (Powelton Avenue)
73.33118.0134th StreetEastern terminus of SR 3005
39°57′32″N 75°11′28″W / 39.958767°N 75.191009°W / 39.958767; -75.191009
73.83118.82Drexel UniversityPedestrian walkway called “Lancaster Walk”
74.33119.62 PA 3 (Market Street) / 32nd StreetEastern terminus of “Lancaster Avenue” at Market Street
Location of 32nd St. and Lancaster Ave. Philadelphia Armory
39°57′19″N 75°11′15″W / 39.9553841°N 75.1875208°W / 39.9553841; -75.1875208
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

References

  1. 1 2 DeLorme Street Atlas 2007, Toggle Measure Tool. Retrieved on July 2, 2007.
  2. "PHMC Historical Markers Search" (Searchable database). Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Retrieved January 25, 2014.
  3. "The Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike Road". Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved May 29, 2006.
  4. "Bridges, Roads, and Turnpikes Collection, 1767-1968". LancasterHistory. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  5. 1 2 Philadelphia County (PDF) (Map). Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. 2005. p. 1. Retrieved July 2, 2007.
  6. 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.
  7. "Philadelphia & Lancaster Turnpike". Lifelong Learning Online. Archived from the original on August 27, 2002. Retrieved May 29, 2006.
  8. "Philadelphia & Lancaster Turnpike". Explore Pennsylvania History. Retrieved May 29, 2006.
  9. Butko, Brian. The Lincoln Highway: Pennsylvania Traveler's Guide. pp. 50–51. ISBN 0-8117-2497-2.
  10. "Eastern terminus of PA 999". Google. Retrieved July 2, 2007.

40°02′12″N 76°18′44″W / 40.0367°N 76.3122°W / 40.0367; -76.3122

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