U.S. Route 30 in Pennsylvania
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "U.S._Route_30_in_Pennsylvania".

For details on the section of Lincoln Highway northeast of Philadelphia, see U.S. Route 1 in Pennsylvania.
content
U.S. Route 30
Lincoln Highway
Maintained by PennDOT, DRPA
Length: 324 micitation needed (521 km)
Formed: 1926 (1924 as PA 1; 1913 as the Lincoln Highway)
West end: US 30 near Chester, WV
East end: I-676/US 30 in Camden, NJ
Pennsylvania State Routes
< PA 29 PA 31 >
< US 1 PA 1 PA 2 >
Minor - Legislative

In the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, U.S. Route 30 runs east-west across the southern part of the state, passing through Pittsburgh and Philadelphia on its way from the West Virginia state line east to the Benjamin Franklin Bridge over the Delaware River into New Jersey. In Pennsylvania, US 30 runs along or near the transcontinental Lincoln Highway, which ran from San Francisco, California to New York City before the U.S. Routes were designated. (However, the Lincoln Highway turned northeast at Philadelphia, using present U.S. Route 1 and its former alignments to cross the Delaware River into Trenton, New Jersey.)

Popular places along the route include the Gettysburg Battlefield, Dutch Wonderland, the Flight 93 National Memorial, Fort Ligonier, Jennerstown Speedway, and Idlewild and Soak Zone.

Contents

Route description

West Virginia to Pittsburgh

US 30 presently crosses from West Virginia into Pennsylvania near Chester, West Virginia. It is a surface road from West Virginia to the U.S. Route 22 junction southeast of Imperial. There it joins the US 22 freeway to form the Penn-Lincoln Parkway West, which is also Interstate 279 east of Interstate 79, into downtown Pittsburgh.


Through Pittsburgh

Westbound US 30 on the Penn-Lincoln Parkway (also I-376 and US 22) in Pittsburgh.

US 30 currently passes through Pittsburgh on the Penn-Lincoln Parkway, crossing the Monongahela River on the Fort Pitt Bridge. This freeway was built from 1953 to 1960 as a bypass for both the Lincoln Highway and the William Penn Highway (U.S. Route 22). It now carries US 22 and US 30, as well as Interstate 279 west of downtown and Interstate 376 east of downtown.

At a point beyond the Squirrel Hill Tunnel, at the southern end of PA Route 8, US 30 leaves the Parkway, which continues as I-376/US 22 to Monroeville.

Pittsburgh to Lancaster

Much of this section of U.S. 30 (and the Lincoln Highway) has been supplanted by the Pennsylvania Turnpike (which is Interstate 76 between the Ohio border and the Valley Forge exit). From the Pittsburgh area, US 30 heads east through Greensburg, where it intersects U.S. Route 119. It then heads into Somerset County, where it meets U.S. Route 219 east of Jennerstown.

On September 11, 2001 United Airlines Flight 93 crashed in an empty field about two miles south of U.S. 30, near Shanksville in Somerset County. The heroism of the passengers and crew apparently thwarted the hijackers' plan to crash into either the US Capitol Building or the White House in Washington DC. There is a temporary memorial at the site while a new permanent Flight 93 National Memorial is planned.

Westbound US 30 in West Providence Township, Bedford County.

The route continues east into Bedford County, where it heads toward Bedford, the site of the route’s intersection with U.S. Route 220 a short distance south of the southern beginning of Interstate 99 at the Pennsylvania Turnpike interchange. Past Bedford, the route closely follows the Pennsylvania Turnpike, passing through Everett. It then passes through the infamous town of Breezewood, Pennsylvania, where Interstate 70 traffic must still use a short non-interstate section of U.S. 30 to go between the turnpike (which is I-70/76 to the west of Breezewood and to the east of New Stanton) and I-70 going to Maryland.

The route then climbs through the Allegheny Mountains as it passes through Fulton County, intersecting U.S. Route 522 in McConnellsburg. It then enters the scenic Cumberland Valley in Franklin County, where it passes through Chambersburg, crossing U.S. Route 11 and Interstate 81. The highway then crosses the South Mountain range through the Cashtown Gap and enters Adams County. West of Gettysburg, U.S. 30 follows much of the path of the old Chambersburg Turnpike (from Gettysburg to Cashtown), a route used by much of Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia during the Gettysburg Campaign. The route serves as the main east-west artery through Gettysburg, traversing the northwestern portion of the Gettysburg Battlefield and also intersecting U.S. Route 15. Past Gettysburg, Route 30 travels through Guldens and New Oxford before entering York County.

Just west of York, Route 30 branches off of PA 462 to bypass the cities of York and Lancaster. Several modifications to improve flow have been made in York but the route is still congested due to a series of traffic signals. It then crosses the Susquehanna River on the Wright's Ferry Bridge into Lancaster County. Along the north side of Lancaster, US 30 intersects the eastern terminus of Pennsylvania Route 283, which heads to Harrisburg and shares a brief concurrency with U.S. Route 222. From 1997 to 2004 significant work was completed to the bypass around Lancaster. Just east of Lancaster, the other end of PA 462 meets with U.S. 30 on its way to Philadelphia.

Lancaster to Philadelphia

Main article: Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike
Westbound US 30 descending a hill in Lancaster County.

U.S. 30 follows the route of the Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike, the first long-distance, paved road built in the United States, between Lancaster and Philadelphia. Between the east end of the bypass around York and Lancaster and the west end of the Coatesville Bypass in Chester County, there is a large freeway gap between these two segments that is frequently congested. PennDOT is under study to improve this last remaining section. [1] This section passes through Pennsylvania Dutch Country and is lined with many Amish tourist attractions. Between Sadsbury Township and East Whiteland Township, US 30 follows the limited-access Coatesville Bypass with U.S. Route 30 Business running along the former alignment through Coatesville, Downingtown, and Exton. Along the bypass, US 30 intersects U.S. Route 322 near Downingtown. At the east end of the bypass, it intersects U.S. Route 202 and heads east on Lancaster Avenue.

Eastbound US 30 in Paoli.

It then heads through the Main Line suburbs of Philadelphia, so named as they were located along the Pennsylvania Railroad Main Line. Within this area, the route passes through northern Delaware County, intersects with Interstate 476 in Radnor Township and Lower Merion Township, and passes through Villanova University in Montgomery County.

Through Philadelphia

US 30 along Vine Street Expressway (also I-676 in Philadelphia.

US 30 then crosses U.S. Route 1 (City Avenue) into Philadelphia. In the city, it makes a left turn onto Girard Avenue and meets U.S. Route 13 and Interstate 76 (Schuylkill Expressway) near the Philadelphia Zoo. US 30 then follows I-76 east and Interstate 676 (Vine Street Expressway) through Center City to the Ben Franklin Bridge, which carries I-676 and US 30 over the Delaware River into New Jersey.

History

The path of the Lincoln Highway was first laid out in September 1913; it was defined to run through Canton, Ohio, Beaver Falls, Pittsburgh, Greensburg, Ligonier, Bedford, Chambersburg, Gettysburg, York, Lancaster and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Camden, New Jersey.1 This bypassed Harrisburg to the south, and thus did not use the older main route across the state between Chambersburg and Lancaster. From Pittsburgh to Philadelphia, this incorporated a number of old turnpikes, some of which still collected tolls:2

This original 1913 path of the Lincoln Highway continued east from Philadelphia, crossing the Delaware River to Camden, New Jersey on the Market Street Ferry. The city of Philadelphia marked the route from the ferry landing west on Market Street through downtown and onto Lancaster Avenue to the Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike in early 1914.3 By 1915citation needed Camden was dropped from the route, allowing the highway to cross the Delaware on a bridge at Trenton (initially the Calhoun Street Bridge, later the Bridge Street Bridge).

In 1924, the entire Lincoln Highway in Pennsylvania was designated Pennsylvania Route 1.4 In late 1926 the route from West Virginia to Philadelphia (using the new route west of Pittsburgh) was assigned U.S. Route 30, while the rest of the Lincoln Highway and PA 1 became part of U.S. Route 1. The PA 1 designation was gone by 1929,5 but several branches from east to west - PA Route 101, PA Route 201, PA Route 301, PA Route 401, PA Route 501 and PA Route 601 - had been assigned by then. (PA Route 701 was assigned later as a branch of PA 101.)

Ohio to Pittsburgh

As defined in 1913, the Lincoln Highway ran east-northeast from Canton, Ohio to Alliance and east via Salem, crossing into Pennsylvania just east of East Palestine. From there it continued southeasterly to Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, crossing the Beaver River there and heading south along its left bank to Rochester and the Ohio River's right bank to Pittsburgh.2

By 1915, the highway had been realigned to the route it would follow until the end of 1927. It ran east from Canton, Ohio to Lisbon and then southeast to East Liverpool on the Ohio River. After crossing into Pennsylvania, it turned north away from the river at Smiths Ferry, taking an inland route to Beaver, where it rejoined the Ohio River. It crossed the Beaver River into Rochester, joining the 1913 alignment, and turned south with the Ohio to Pittsburgh.2

This route entered Pennsylvania along PA Route 68. After crossing Little Beaver Creek, it turned south on Main Street, passing under the Cleveland and Pittsburgh Railroad (PRR) into Glasgow. After passing through that community on Liberty Street, the highway turned north and passed under the railroad again at Smiths Ferry, merging with Smiths Ferry Road.2 This alignment through Glasgow carried the Lincoln Highway until ca. 1926, when the present PA 68 was built on the north side of the railroad.6

The Lincoln Highway left the banks of the Ohio River on Smiths Ferry Road, which includes an old stone bridge over Upper Dry Run. It turned east on Tuscarawas Road through Ohioville, entering Beaver on Fourth Street and turning south on Buffalo Street to reach Third Street (PA Route 68).2 By 1929 this inland Glasgow-Beaver route was numbered PA Route 168, while the route along the river - never followed by the Lincoln Highway - was PA 68.5

Where PA 68 - Third Street - crosses the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad from Beaver into Bridgewater, soon crossing the Beaver River on the ca. 19636 Rochester-Bridgewater Bridge, the Lincoln Highway instead ran along Bridge Street, just to the north, and crossed the Old Rochester-Bridgewater Bridge into Rochester.2

Continuing through Rochester to Pittsburgh, the Lincoln Highway left the Old Rochester-Bridgewater Bridge on Madison Street, turning onto Brighton Avenue, and then crossing the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway (PRR) on New York Avenue. After running alongside the Ohio River on Railroad Avenue, the highway crossed the railroad again in Freedom (about a block north of Third Street7), running through Freedom on Third Avenue.2

South of downtown Freedom, Third Avenue merges into PA Route 65, which runs along the old Lincoln Highway into Conway. There a section of old highway is First Avenue and State Street, rejoining PA 65 in Baden. Further into Baden, PA 65 splits again, and the old highway splits onto State Street, becoming Duss Avenue in Harmony Township. At the Ambridge limits, this becomes PA Route 989, but the old highway turned west at 14th Street and then south on Merchant Street.2

Crossing Big Sewickley Creek from Ambridge, Beaver County into Leetsdale, Allegheny County, Merchant Street becomes Beaver Street, a brick road. Beaver Road and Beaver Street continues through Edgeworth, Sewickley, and Osborne, merging back into PA 65 at the border with Haysville. Sewickley officially changed the name of its piece to Lincoln Highway by an ordinance in January 1916, and Osborne, Edgeworth and Leetsdale soon followed suit, but that name is no longer used.2

In Glenfield, the highway crossed the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway (PRR) twice, once near the present overpass and again west of Toms Run Road.8 The old road next to the Ohio River - Beaver Street - is still a yellow brick road, now used only by local traffic.2

The old road leaves PA 65 again in Emsworth as Beaver Road, becoming Brighton Road in Ben Avon before re-merging with PA 65. It splits yet again, also in Ben Avon, onto Brighton Road, another yellow brick road. In Avalon it is California Avenue, and in Bellevue it is Lincoln Avenue, coincidentally named after Lincoln soon after the U.S. Civil War.92

The highway crosses into Pittsburgh on a high concrete arch bridge over Jack's Run, built in 1924 to replace an earlier bridge built for a streetcar line, and returns to the California Avenue name.9 It crosses Woods Run on a similar 1928 bridge next to a newer bridge built for the Ohio River Boulevard (PA Route 65).10 Where California Avenue curves away from PA 65, the Lincoln Highway continued next to it on Chateau Street, turning east on Western Avenue and then south on Galveston Avenue onto the 1915 Manchester Bridge to the Point.2

The Boulevard of the Allies opened east from downtown Pittsburgh in 1923, and in 1924 it was designated as an alternate route.11 At least in 1930, this bypass ran along the Boulevard of the Allies, Forbes Avenue, Beeler Street, Wilkins Avenue and Dallas Avenue, rejoining the Lincoln Highway at Penn Avenue, west of Wilkinsburg.12

From Rochester to Pittsburgh, the pre-December 1927 Lincoln Highway generally parallels the ca. 1930 Ohio River Boulevard (PA Route 65). Outside Allegheny County, present PA 65 was PA Route 837 by 1929.5 However, during the time that the Lincoln Highway ran through Rochester, the Rochester-Pittsburgh segment was locally maintained. It was often foggy, and a July 1926 Lincoln Highway Association road report states that it was "paved city streets, mostly poor", in stark contrast to the good paving east of Pittsburgh. By 1924, reports recommended following an alternate on the other side of the river between Pittsburgh and Rochester.2

The route west of Rochester had similar problems; it was a dirt road, despite being a state highway.13 By 1922 an official detour was recommended via Beaver Falls and East Palestine, Ohio, largely identical to the initial 1913 plan. Work began in the mid-1920s on a new route to the south, passing through West Virginia and bypassing the problematic sections on both sides of Rochester; the Lincoln Highway was moved to it December 2, 1927.2 This new route had already been numbered US 30 in late 1926.14

The new Lincoln Highway bypassed the community of Imperial on a bypass built for it.6 Just southeast of Imperial, the highway turned east on Steubenville Pike, joining what was U.S. Route 22 before the present freeway was built ca. 1964.6 Steubenville Pike runs alnog the north side of the freeway, crossing to the south side and then merging with it just west of the PA Route 60 interchange.

At PA 60, US 22 and US 30 turn southeast, but the Lincoln Highway (and US 22/30 before the Penn-Lincoln Parkway West opened in 1953) continued east with PA 60 through Robinson Township. In 1950, the Twin Hi-Way Drive-In Theater opened along the Robinson Township stretch, its name derived from the road's former designation of dual U.S. Route 22/30. Through Crafton, the highway used Steuben Street, Noble Avenue, Dinsmore Avenue, and Crafton Boulevard,citation needed now northbound PA 60. In Pittsburgh, the highway ran along Crafton Boulevard, Noblestown Road, and South Main Street, as PA 60 still does. It turned onto Carson Street (now PA Route 837) at the West End Circle, crossing the 1927 Point Bridge into the Point.2

From 1915 to late 1927, the Lincoln Highway crossed the Allegheny River on the Manchester Bridge to the Point, touching down at the foot of Penn Avenue after meeting the Point Bridge.15 It made its way through downtown to Bigelow Boulevard (now PA Route 380), possibly using Water Street, Liberty Avenue and Seventh Avenue.16 It continued to follow present PA 380 onto Craig Street and Baum Boulevard to East Liberty. The highway left East Liberty and Pittsburgh on Penn Avenue - the old Pittsburgh and Greensburg Turnpike, also part of PA 380, and further east part of PA Route 8. (PA 380 however bypasses the center of East Liberty.)2

The Lincoln Highway left the Pittsburgh area along the old Pittsburgh and Greensburg Turnpike (now U.S. Route 30) from Greensburg. The borough of White Oak had named their main street Lincoln Way in an attempt to convince the Lincoln Highway Association to use it,17 but instead the Highway continued along the old turnpike to North Versailles.

In North Versailles, the Lincoln Highway and old turnpike left current US 30 onto the road named Greensburg Pike, heading downhill into Turtle Creek. The original bridge over Turtle Creek and the Pennsylvania Railroad main line curved right and ran to Airbrake Avenue west of 11th Street; a 1925 replacement continued straight to meet Airbrake Avenue at Monroeville Avenue.18 The alignment continued west on Penn Avenue, turning south at Braddock Avenue. (The old turnpike left the Lincoln Highway there, cutting southwest to cross the railroad at McDonald Street, and then heading northwest along Penn Avenue Extension and Greensburg Pike.) After a short while on Braddock Avenue, the Lincoln Highway turned northwest on Electric Avenue, which becomes Ardmore Boulevard to Wilkinsburg. The George Westinghouse Bridge opened in 1932 as a bypass of the grades into and out of Turtle Creek, running from the Greensburg Pike in North Versailles to Ardmore Boulevard in Chalfant.

The Lincoln Highway joined the William Penn Highway and rejoined the Greensburg Turnpike at Penn Avenue in Wilkinsburg. After entering Pittsburgh and crossing the Pennsylvania Railroad main line, it turned west on Baum Boulevard, following present Route 380 onto Craig Street and Bigelow Boulevard to downtown.19

Bannered routes

Chester County business loop



U.S. Route 30 Business
Location Chester County, Pennsylvania
Commissioned 1963-present

U.S. Route 30 Business is a business route of U.S. Route 30 in Chester County, Pennsylvania. The route preserves the former alignment of US 30 between Sadsbury Township and East Whiteland Township. U.S. Route 30 follows a limited-access bypass between these two points.

U.S. Route 30 Business runs east from the west end of the US 30 bypass in Sadsbury Township on the Lincoln Highway, a short distance east of Pennsylvania Route 10. It heads east into Valley Township and into the city of Coatesville. In Coatesville, US 30 Business shares a brief concurrency with Pennsylvania Route 82. It runs through the heart of the city before crossing into Caln Township. Through Caln Township, between Coatesville and Downingtown, the route parallels the Amtrak Philadelphia to Harrisburg Main Line to the north. In Thorndale, US 30 Business intersects the eastern terminus of Pennsylvania Route 340.

Eastbound US 30 Business in Exton.

US 30 Business continues into Downingtown, where it is known as Lancaster Avenue. In the center of Downingtown, the route features a brief concurrency with U.S. Route 322. The route then runs concurrent with U.S. Route 322 Truck, which provides a truck bypass of a low clearance underpass on US 322. The two routes intersect the southern termini of both Pennsylvania Route 282 and Pennsylvania Route 113 before splitting and the intersection with Quarry Road in East Caln Township, where US 322 Truck turns south. At that intersection, US 30 Business features an interchange with the US 30 bypass, with access to and from eastbound US 30 provided by Quarry Road.

The road then enters West Whiteland Township, where it resumes the name of Lincoln Highway. In Exton, it intersects Pennsylvania Route 100 near the Exton Square Mall. U.S. Route 30 Business then continues into East Whiteland Township, where it ends at an interchange with the eastern end of the US 30 bypass and the U.S. Route 202 expressway.

Junction list

County Location Mile20 Road Notes
West Virginia state line
Beaver Greene Township 2.3 PA 168
4.9 PA 151 Western terminus of PA 151
Hanover Township 7.7 PA 18
Allegheny Findlay Township 17.6 PA 576 Interchange, PA 576 exit 2
Fayetteville 20.9 US 22/PA 978 Interchange, northern terminus of PA 978, western terminus of concurrency with US 22
Robinson Township 25.1 PA 60 Interchange, PA 60 exits 1A and 1B
Pennsbury Village 28.7 I-79/I-279 Interchange, I-79 exit 59, western terminus of concurrency with I-279
Carnegie 30.4 PA 50 Interchange; I-279 exit 2
Green Tree 32.3 PA 121 Interchange; I-279 exit 4A
Pittsburgh 33.7 US 19 Interchange; I-279 exit 5A; southern end of concurrency with US 19
33.9

US 19 TRK/US 19/PA 51		 Interchange; Eastbound access only; I-279 North exits 5B, 5C; northern end of concurrency with US 19; northern terminus of US 19 TRK
34.8 PA 837 Interchange; Westbound only access to northbound PA 837 only; I-279 South exit 5C
35.0 I-279/I-376 Interchange; eastern end of concurrency with I-279; western end of concurrency with I-376; I-279 exit 6A
37.9 PA 885 Interchange; westbound access only; I-376 exit 3
Wilkinsburg 42.9
I-376/US 22/PA 8		 Interchange; eastern ends of concurrencies with I-376 and US 22; southern terminus of PA 8; I-376 exit 6
East McKeesport 48.1 PA 148 Northern terminus of PA 148
North Versailles Township 50.0 PA 48
Westmoreland North Huntingdon Township 57.0 I-76/PA TPK Pennsylvania Turnpike Irwin interchange, I-76 exit 67
Hempfield Township 61.5 PA 66 Interchange, PA 66 exit 6
Greensburg 63.9 PA 136 Interchange, eastern terminus of PA 136
Southwest Greensburg 64.9

PA 66 BUS/PA 819/US 119		 Interchange, southern terminus of PA 66 BUS
Stonevilla 66.8 PA 130
Unity Township 74.0 PA 981
75.3 PA 982 Interchange
Kingston 76.9 PA 217 Southern terminus of PA 217
Millbank 81.6 PA 259 Southern terminus of PA 259
Ligonier 83.9 PA 711
Ligonier Township 85.8 PA 381 Northern terminus of PA 381
Somerset Jennerstown 95.1 PA 985
Ferrellton 96.6 PA 601
Jenner Township 98.4 US 219 Interchange
Stoystown 103.0 PA 281 Interchange, northern terminus of PA 281
Quemahoning Township 103.5 PA 403 Southern terminus of PA 403
Reels Corners 110.4 PA 160
Bedford Schellsburg 121.5 PA 96
Napier 126.1
I-70/I-76/PA TPK		 No access, passes under PA TPK
126.3 PA 31 Eastern terminus of PA 31
Bedford Township 126.9 PA 56 Eastern terminus of PA 56
Bedford 129.7 US 220 Interchange
130.5
US 220 BUS		 No access, passes over US 220 BUS
Snake Spring Township 132.1 PA 326 Northern terminus of PA 326
132.3
I-70/I-76/PA TPK		 No access, passes under PA TPK
Everett 137.0
US 30 BUS		 Western terminus of US 30 BUS
138.9 PA 26 Interchange
140.2
US 30 BUS		 Eastern terminus of US 30 BUS
Breezewood 147.1 I-70 Western end of wrong way concurrency with I-70
147.4
I-70/I-76/PA TPK		 Eastern terminus of wrong way concurrency with I-70; PA TPK Breezewood interchange, exit 161
Fulton Brush Creek Township 150.5 PA 915 Western end of concurrency with PA 915
151.9 PA 915 Eastern end of concurrency with PA 915
Harrisonville 158.1 PA 655
Todd Township 164.6 US 522 Interchange
Franklin Fort Loudon 172.4 PA 75
St. Thomas Township 177.3 PA 416 Northern terminus of PA 416
Hamilton Township 184.2 PA 995 Northern terminus of PA 995
Chambersburg 186.1 US 11 US 11 south only
186.2 US 11 US 11 north only
187.6 I-81 Interstate 81 exit 16
Greenwood 193.9 PA 997 Western end of concurrency with PA 997
194.0 PA 997 Eastern end of concurrency with PA 997
Caledonia 196.2 PA 233
Adams Franklin Township 199.1 PA 234 Western terminus of PA 234
Gettysburg 210.9
US 15 BUS/PA 116		 Western end of concurrency with PA 116
211.1 PA 116 Eastern end of concurrency with PA 116
Straban Township 213.1 US 15 Interchange
Cross Keys 222.3 PA 94
Abbottstown 224.8 PA 194
York West Manchester Township 234.1 PA 116 Eastern terminus of PA 116
235.0 PA 616 Northern terminus of PA 616
235.3 PA 462 Interchange, western terminus of PA 462
236.6 PA 234 No access, passes under PA 234
238.3 PA 74 Interchange
North York 240.8 I-83 BUS/PA 181 Southern terminus of PA 181
241.1 I-83 Interstate 83 exit 21
Springettsbury Towns