Interstate 80 in Pennsylvania

Interstate 80 Main route of the Interstate Highway System
Length:	311.07 mi[1] (500.62 km)
West end:	I-80 at Ohio state line
Major junctions:	I-376 near Sharon I-79 near Mercer US 322 near Brookville US 219 in Falls Creek I-99 / US 220 / PA 26 near Bellefonte I-180 / PA 147 in Milton I-81 in Hazleton I-476 / Penna. Tpk. near Hickory Run State Park I-380 in Tunkhannock
East end:	I-80 at New Jersey state line
Pennsylvania State Routes < PA 79 PA 80 > Minor - Legislative

The transcontinental Interstate 80 is designated across northern Pennsylvania as the Keystone Shortway. This route was built mainly along a completely new alignment, not paralleling any earlier U.S. Routes, as a shortcut to the tolled Pennsylvania Turnpike and New York State Thruway. It does not serve any major cities in Pennsylvania, and serves mainly as a cross-state route on the Ohio-New York City corridor. Most of I-80's path across the state goes through hilly and mountainous terrain, with relatively flat areas playing home to the freeway toward the western tier of the state.

Route description

This section requires expansion.

Sign noting the highest point on I-80 located in Clearfield County.

In Clearfield County, Interstate 80 reaches the highest elevation on the national interstate system, 2250 ft., east of the Mississippi River. This point is just east of Exit 111. A sign prominently displays this unusual fact about the Interstate.

History

I-80 near the exit for PA 611 in Stroudsburg.

The corridor now served by I-80 was originally to be a branch of the Pennsylvania Turnpike from Sharon to Stroudsburg. Planning was shifted to the Pennsylvania Department of Highways in 1956 with the passage of the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act.^[2]

In early plans for the Interstate Highway System, the connection across northern Pennsylvania would have paralleled U.S. Route 6N and U.S. Route 6 from what became Interstate 90 near West Springfield, Pennsylvania east to Scranton. (From Scranton east to Hartford, Connecticut, Interstate 84 was built parallel to US 6.) From Scranton a route went southeast along U.S. Route 611 to the Stroudsburg area, and then east along U.S. Route 46 to near New York City. On May 22, 1957, a request by Pennsylvania to move the corridor south was approved by the Federal Highway Administration.^[3] (The Scranton-Stroudsburg connection was kept, and the new alignment merged with it west of Stroudsburg.) However, when the initial numbers were assigned later that year, they were drawn on a 1947 map, and so the corridor across northern Pennsylvania became part of Interstate 84, while the Scranton-New York route became Interstate 82. (I-80 ran along the Pennsylvania Turnpike - later Interstate 80S - to Harrisburg, where it split into I-80S to Philadelphia and I-80N (later Interstate 78) to New York.)^[4] This was corrected the next year, as the Keystone Shortway became part of I-80, and the southern route became I-80S (later I-76) and I-78. I-84 was truncated to Scranton, and the Scranton-Stroudsburg connection became Interstate 81E (later renumbered Interstate 380).^[5]

The first section of present I-80 to open was the Delaware Water Gap Toll Bridge, opened December 16, 1953. This had been built as part of U.S. Route 611 and connected back to its old alignment soon after crossing into Pennsylvania. Construction on the rest of I-80 began in 1959 and was completed in 1970.^[2]

Toll proposal

In an effort to keep the Pennsylvania Turnpike system under public control, in June 2007, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission proposed tolling Interstate 80 as a means of raising transportation revenue. It is seeking the permission to put tolls on the highway through a Federal Highway Administration pilot program that allows three states to place tolls on interstates. Missouri's Interstate 70 and Virginia have already taken two of the spots.^[6] Under the plan, the PTC would assume all maintenance and toll-taking operations on I-80. The plan calls for up to ten toll plazas along the length of I-80 in Pennsylvania with a toll rate of 8 cents per mile, which would be comparable to the rate on the Pennsylvania Turnpike following a projected toll increase.^[7] Originally, I-80 was part of the PTC's 1,000 Mile Turnpike system, but with the passage of the Interstate Highway Act in 1954, the PTC abandoned the 1,000-mile (1,600 km) system and only maintained the original east-west Turnpike and its Northeastern Extension. Currently the only toll on I-80 in Pennsylvania is at the Delaware Water Gap bridge between Pennsylvania and New Jersey.^[8] Tolling on I-80 would be completed by 2010. ^[9] On October 15, 2007, the lease for the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission to toll I-80 was signed.^[7]

This plan faced opposition from Northern Pennsylvania politicians who fear tolls will hurt the economy in the region^[10] and who do not want their tolls going toward funding mass transit. Congressmen John E. Peterson and Phil English have proposed a federal transportation bill that would ban the tolling of I-80. The chief executive officer of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission has promised that the tolls would be used on highway projects in Pennsylvania and not on mass transit.^[11] On December 12, 2007, the FHWA rejected the plan, and returned Pennsylvania's application for tolling I-80 with questions stating why the state should place tolls on the highway. ^[6]

On September 11, 2008, the Federal Highway Administration rejected Pennsylvania's application to toll Interstate 80 for the second time.^[12]

Exit list

County	Location	Mile[13]	Exit #		Destinations	Notes
			New	Old
Mercer	Farrell	3.86	4A	1S	I-376 east  – New Castle
		4.20	4B	1N	to PA 18 – Sharon, Hermitage	access to West Middlesex
	Findley Township	14.92	15	2	US 19/PA 158 – Mercer
	Jackson Township	19.18	19A		I-79 south – Pittsburgh
		19.36	19B		I-79 north – Erie
	Worth Township	23.25	24	3A	PA 173 – Grove City, Sandy Lake
Venango	Barkeyville	29.01	29	3	PA 8 – Barkeyville, Franklin–Oil City
	Clintonville	34.76	35	4	PA 208/PA 308 – Clintonville
	Scrubgrass Township	41.94	42	5	PA 38/PA 268 – Emlenton
Clarion	Emlenton	45.77	45	6	PA 478 – Emlenton, St. Petersburg	Eastbound ramps to/from PA 478; Westbound ramps to/from PA 38/PA 208 concurrency and are in Venango County.
	Beaver Township	52.53	53	7	To PA 338 – Knox	Connection to PA 338 via Quadrant Route 3007 (May Road).
	Clarion Township	60.31	60	8	PA 66 north– Shippenville	PA 66 joins eastbound, leaves westbound.
		61.96	62	9	To US 322/PA 68 – Clarion	Access to US 322 via PA 68 or next exit.
		64.64	64	10	PA 66 south – Clarion, New Bethlehem	PA 66 leaves eastbound, joins westbound.
		70.38	70	11	US 322 – Strattanville
Jefferson	Corsica	72.97	73	12	PA 949 – Corsica
	Brookville	78.40	78	13	PA 36 – Sigel, Brookville
	Pine Creek Township	81.24	81	14	PA 28 – Hazen
	Winslow Township	86.51	86	15	PA 310/PA 830 Reynoldsville
		90.75	90		PA 830 east — DuBois Regional Airport
Clearfield	Sandy Township	96.41	97	16	US 219 – DuBois, Brockway
	Dubois	100.73	101	17	PA 255 – DuBois, Penfield
	Pine Township	110.32	111	18	PA 153 – Clearfield, Penfield
	Plymptonville	119.42	120	19	PA 879 – Clearfield, Shawville
	Lawrence Township	122.69	123	20	To US 322/PA 970 – Woodland, Shawville
	Cooper Township	132.65	133	21	PA 53 – Kylertown, Philipsburg
Centre	Snow Shoe	146.96	147	22	PA 144 – Snow Shoe
	Boggs Township	157.25	158	23	Alt US 220 to I-99/ PA 150 – Altoona, Milesburg	Alt US 220 joins eastbound, leaves westbound.
	Spring Township	160.20	161	24	I-99 / US 220 / PA 26 – Bellefonte	US 220 joins eastbound, leaves westbound; Alt US 220 ends eastbound, begins westbound.
Clinton	Porter Township	172.74	173	25	PA 64 – Lamar
	Lamar Township	177.53	178	26	US 220 – Lock Haven	US 220 leaves eastbound, enters westbound; Future I-99 North will be here or nearby (TBD)
	Greene Township	185.19	185	27	PA 477 – Loganton
		191.90	192	28	PA 880 – Jersey Shore
Union	West Buffalo Township	198.96	199	29	Mile Run Road	access to Bald Eagle State Forest
	White Deer Township	209.83	210A	30A	US 15 south – Lewisburg
		209.95	210B	30B	US 15 north – Williamsport
Northumberland	Milton	211.37	212A	31A	PA 147 south – Milton	Northern terminus of PA 147.
		211.65	212B	31B	I-180 west – Williamsport	Eastern terminus of I-180.
	East Chillisquaque Township	214.88	215	32	PA 254 – Limestoneville
Montour	Valley Township	226.56	224	33	PA 54 – Danville
Columbia	Buckhorn	231.80	232	34	To US 11/PA 42/PA 44 – Buckhorn
	Bloomsburg	235.38	236A	35A	PA 487 south – Bloomsburg	Eastbound combined to single exit 236; single entrance ramps eastbound and westbound.
		235.46	236B	35B	PA 487 north – Light Street	Eastbound combined to single exit 236; single entrance ramps eastbound and westbound.
	South Centre Township	240.23	241A	36A	US 11 south – Lime Ridge	Westbound combined to single exit 241
		240.37	241B	36B	US 11 north – Berwick	Westbound combined to single exit 241 which splits.
	Main Township	241.45	242	37	PA 339 – Mifflinville, Mainville
Luzerne	Sugarloaf Township	255.54	256	38	PA 93 – Conyngham, Nescopeck
	Butler Township	259.56	260A		I-81 south – Harrisburg
		259.70	260B		I-81 north- Wilkes-Barre
		262.13	262	39	PA 309 – Mountain Top, Hazleton	Access to Nescopeck State Park.
	White Haven	272.05	273	40	PA 940 to PA 437 – White Haven, Freeland
Carbon	Kidder Township	273.54	274	41	PA 534 – Hickory Run State Park
		276.26	277	42	PA 940 – Lake Harmony I-476 - PA Tpk. – Wilkes-Barre, Allentown	Pocono Exit of PA Turnpike
Monroe	Tunkhannock Township	283.10	284	43	PA 115 – Blakeslee
	Jackson Township	292.74	293		I-380 north – Scranton	Southern terminus of I-380.
	Pocono Township	297.26	298	44	PA 611 – Scotrun	Westbound exit, eastbound entrance only.
		298.20	299	45	PA 715 – Tannersville	Westbound entrance via Quadrant Route 3004 (Sullivan Trail)
	Stroud Township	302.00	302A	46A	PA 33 to US 209 – Snydersville
		302.10	302B	46B	PA 611 – Bartonsville	Single westbound exit 302 to PA 611 only; eastbound entrance and westbound exit to/from south via exit 304.
	Arlington Heights	303.87	303	47	PA 611	Eastbound exit, westbound entrance only
		304.84	304	46A	US 209 to PA 33 – Snydersville	US 209 joins eastbound, leaves westbound Also Lehighton, Bethlehem
	Stroudsburg	305.14	305	48	BUS US 209- (Main Street)
		305.79	306	49	Dreher Avenue	Eastbound entrance, westbound exit only
		306.22	307	50	PA 611 to PA 191 (Park Avenue)	Eastbound exit to/from PA 611
		306.74			PA 191- (Broad Street)	Westbound exit to/from PA 191
	East Stroudsburg	307.62	308	51	East Stroudsburg
		308.70	309	52	US 209 to PA 447 – Marshalls Creek	US 209 leaves eastbound, joins westbound; southern terminus of PA 447 is just north of interchange on US 209.
	Delaware Water Gap	309.72	310	53	PA 611 – Delaware Water Gap	All ramps via Broad Street and Gap Road; potential commuter rail park & ride to New York City and Scranton via the Lackawanna Cutoff.
		310.77	Delaware Water Gap Toll Bridge over the Delaware River. Westbound: $0.75 or E-ZPass.[14]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Interstate 80 in Pennsylvania

• I-80 Interchange Browser - Central PA/MD Roads

Interstate 80
Previous state: Ohio	Pennsylvania	Next state: New Jersey

v • d • e Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission Completed highways Mainline Turnpike • Northeast Extension • James E. Ross Highway • Amos K. Hutchinson Bypass (Turnpike 66) Partially-completed highways Mon/Fayette Expressway (Turnpike 43) • Southern Beltway (Turnpike 576) Tunnels Allegheny Mountain Tunnel • Blue Mountain Tunnel • Kittatinny Mountain Tunnel • Lehigh Tunnel • Tuscarora Mountain Tunnel Aborted expansion plans Chester Extension • Erie Extension • Gettysburg Extension • Keystone Shortway • Northwest & Southwest Extension • Philadelphia Loop Extension • Scranton Extension Historical Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike • Laurel Hill Tunnel • Negro Mountain Tunnel • Quemahoning Tunnel • Rays Hill Tunnel • Sideling Hill Tunnel • South Pennsylvania Railroad Tolling systems E-ZPass