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A brief documentary on the history and construction of the PA Turnpike. The PA Turnpike was America's First Superhighway, creating the standard for superhighway design and engineering. Today, we continue our legacy of innovation.
It was one of the earlier long-distance limited-access highways in the United States and served as a precedent for additional limited-access toll roads and the Interstate Highway System. The Pennsylvania Turnpike was extended east to Valley Forge in 1950 and west to the Ohio state line in 1951.
- October 1, 1940–present
- 360.09 mi (579.51 km)
- Completed on May 23, 1956
Apr 8, 2020 · Pennsylvania’s highway system started in 1731 when the Provincial Council provided funds to build a road between Philadelphia and Lancaster. Additional roads were then constructed between Easton, Allentown, Reading, and from Harrisburg thru York to the Potomac.
The Pennsylvania Turnpike, begun during the Great Depression, opened on October 1, 1940, with a 160-mile stretch of road between Carlisle and Irwin, Pennsylvania. This photograph captured cars passing through a toll booth onto the turnpike in 1942. (Library of Congress)
Oct 5, 2015 · The Pennsylvania Turnpike turned 75 on Thursday. America’s first superhighway changed Pennsylvania’s landscape significantly. Breezewood, Pennsylvania has been called the “town of motels,” the “travelers’ oasis,” and, most colorfully, “an Emerald City to the Pennsylvania Turnpike’s yellow brick road.”.
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. It links Lancaster, Pennsylvania , and Philadelphia at 34th Street, stretching for sixty-two miles.
