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Pennsylvania Turnpike facts for kids

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Pennsylvania Turnpike marker

Pennsylvania Turnpike
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The East–West Mainline of the Pennsylvania Turnpike system
Route information
Maintained by Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission
Length 360.091 mi (579.510 km)
Existed October 1, 1940–present
Major junctions
West end I-76 / Ohio Turnpike at the Ohio state line
 
East end I-95 / N.J. Turnpike on Delaware River-Turnpike Toll Bridge at the New Jersey state line
Highway system
Roads in Pennsylvania
Interstate • US • State • Legislative
← PA 274 I-276 PA 276 →
← I-279 I-280 PA 280 →

The Pennsylvania Turnpike is a toll road (a road cars have to pay to drive on) operated by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in the United States. The turnpike is a limited-access highway, which means cars must use ramps to get onto the highway. It runs 360 miles (580 km) across the state. The turnpike begins at the Ohio border in Lawrence County, where it goes into that state as the Ohio Turnpike. The designation ends at the New Jersey border at the Delaware River – Turnpike Toll Bridge over the Delaware River in Bucks County, where it goes into that state as the Pearl Harbor Memorial Extension of the New Jersey Turnpike. The roadway goes east-west path through the state, going through the Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, and Philadelphia areas. As it goes across the Appalachian Mountains in the middle of the state, the turnpike goes through four tunnels. It is part of the Interstate Highway System and is signed as part of Interstate 76 (I-76) between the Ohio border and Valley Forge, I-70 and I-76 between New Stanton and Breezewood, and I-276 between Valley Forge and the New Jersey border. The road uses a ticket system of tolling, where cars get a ticket listing fares when they head onto the road and pay when they leave the road, between the Warrendale and Neshaminy Falls toll plazas. There is also an eastbound toll plaza at Gateway near the Ohio border and a westbound toll plaza at the Delaware River Bridge that uses cameras to take a picture of the car's license plate and send a bill in the mail. E-ZPass, a form of electronic toll collection, is also used at all toll plazas.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike was planned in the 1930s to make traveling by car better across the mountains of Pennsylvania. It went through seven tunnels that were created for the abandoned South Pennsylvania Railroad in the 1880s. The road opened on October 1, 1940 between Irwin and Carlisle as the first long-distance limited-access highway in the United States that led to the building of other limited-access toll roads and the Interstate Highway System. Following World War II, the turnpike was built east to Valley Forge in 1950 and west to the Ohio border in 1951. In 1954, the road was built east to the Delaware River. The mainline turnpike was done in 1956 when the Delaware River bridge was built. In the 1960s, another tube was bored at four of the two-lane tunnels while the other three tunnels were closed when a new road was built around them. This made all of the highway four lanes wide. Work continues to be done to make the road better, such as rebuilding the original section to today's standards, widening parts of the turnpike to six lanes, and adding new interchanges.

Images for kids

  • Pennsylvania Turnpike westbound

    Westbound approaching the Pittsburgh interchange with I-376/US 22

  • Laurel Hill Tunnel Bypass

    The point eastbound where the turnpike bypasses the Laurel Hill Tunnel to the left (north)

  • Breezewood Exit

    Eastbound at the Breezewood interchange, where I-70 splits from I-76

  • 2022-07-31 12 16 28 will rename and categorize soon 038

    Westbound past the PA 29 interchange in Charlestown Township

  • 2022-08-11 17 51 06 will rename and categorize soon 004

    Eastbound past the Mid-County interchange with I-476 in Plymouth Meeting

  • PA TPK WB from Gravel Hill Road overpass

    Westbound in Upper Southampton Township

  • Allegheny Mountain Tunnel West Portal I76 Dscn7191

    West portal of the Allegheny Mountain Tunnel

  • PennaPike toll plaza

    Toll plaza at Somerset interchange before conversion to all-electronic tolling

  • PA TPK ticket from Willow Grove 2013

    July 2013 Pennsylvania Turnpike toll ticket from Willow Grove (exit 343), with tolls for Class-1 vehicles (two-axle cars without trailers)

  • Sideling Hill Plaza jeh

    Sideling Hill service plaza

  • Oakmont-Plum Service Plaza, Pennsylvania Turnpike, Plum, Pennsylvania - 20200211 - 01 (interior)

    Interior of the Oakmont Plum service plaza

  • Pennsylvania Turnpike 1942 LOC

    A view of the turnpike at an overpass in 1942

  • PA TPK WB from Bodine Road overpass

    Westbound in Charlestown Township

  • Pennsylvania Turnpike eastbound at Homewood Viaduct

    Eastbound at the Homewood Viaduct in Beaver County

  • 2022-08-06 08 52 15 will rename and categorize soon 013

    Westbound approaching the Mid-County interchange with I-476 in Plymouth Meeting

  • Delaware River-Turnpike Toll Bridge EB

    Eastbound across the Delaware River–Turnpike Toll Bridge, which connects the Pennsylvania Turnpike to the Pearl Harbor Memorial Extension of the New Jersey Turnpike

  • 2022-07-31 12 02 13 will rename and categorize soon 035

    Sign at the turnpike entrance at Valley Forge showing I-76 and I-276 designations for the mainline and I-476 designation for the Northeast Extension

  • Sideling Hill Tunnel approach

    Eastern portal of the Sideling Hill Tunnel

  • Abandoned Turnpike

    The Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike

  • 2022-08-06 08 18 35 will rename and categorize soon 003

    Westbound past the Bensalem interchange with US 1

  • PA TPK EB from PA 63 overpass

    Eastbound approaching the Willow Grove interchange with PA 611

  • Pennsylvania Turnpike eastbound at I-276 exit3

    Eastbound at the Valley Forge interchange, where I-76 splits from the turnpike and I-276 begins

  • St. John's Church Pennsylvania Turnpike

    The stairs to St. John's Church in New Baltimore

  • 2022-08-06 08 43 08 will rename and categorize soon 010

    Westbound past the Virginia Drive interchange in Fort Washington

  • PA TPK Virginia Drive slip ramp

    The westbound Virginia Drive "slip ramp" in Fort Washington

  • 2022-07-31 14 04 10 will rename and categorize soon 060

    Eastbound at the PA 29 exit near Malvern

  • 2016-07-13 10 15 33 Partially constructed elevated highway ramp, planned to carry Interstate 95 southbound off of the Pennsylvania Turnpike toward Philadelphia, viewed from Pennsylvania Route 413 in Bristol Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania

    Ramp from Pennsylvania Turnpike westbound to I-95 southbound under construction in 2016

  • 2020-07-12 09 45 32 View south along Interstate 95 (Pennsylvania Turnpike Delaware River Extension) at Exit 40 (Interstate 276 WEST-Pennsylvania Turnpike, Harrisburg) in Bristol Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania

    Looking west at the split where the Pennsylvania Turnpike westbound exits I-95 southbound

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Pennsylvania Turnpike para niños

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