It's been almost 56 years since the Pennsylvania Turnpike
opened for business. During that time, the original Turnpike has
been repaired, resurfaced, upgraded and by-passed. Now, it will
be rebuilt.
Design work has begun on a pilot project to totally rebuild
a five-mile section of the Turnpike between mileposts 94 and 99
just east of the Donegal Interchange in Westmoreland County.
Actual construction is expected to get underway in March, 1998
with completion scheduled for October, 1999.
The pilot project is the first step in a 16-year plan to
completely reconstruct the original 160-mile section of the
Pennsylvania Turnpike between the Carlisle and Irwin
interchanges. The Pennsylvania Turnpike opened for business on
October 1, 1940 as the first limited access superhighway in
America.
According to roadway design engineer Jerry Rollman, the
existing roadway will be completely removed and reconstructed
from the ground up including grading and drainage, new pavement,
new guide rail and median barrier.
A major improvement to the reconstructed Turnpike will be a
wider median area. The existing highway utilizes a ten-foot wide
median. The reconstructed Turnpike will employ an 18' median. A
two-foot wide concrete barrier will occupy the middle of the
median area. There will be eight-foot wide shoulders between the
barrier and the left lane line on each side of the barrier.
"Basically a barrier is an obstruction," said Rollman. "Anytime
you can move the obstruction further away from traffic the
driver's view will be better."
The reconstructed Turnpike will also include now-standard
safety features such as the SNAP (Sonic Nap Alert Pattern) rumble
strips along the right edge of the highway and recessed
reflectors. Guide rail and signage will remain consistent with
those currently utilized by the Turnpike.
The section of the Turnpike to be rebuilt involves no
mainline bridges and just one overhead bridge. The reconstruction
will have no impact on the overhead bridge. Two westbound and
three eastbound lanes will be rebuilt. Total estimated cost of
the five-mile rebuilt segment will be approximately $22 million.
In addition to the five mile segment of reconstruction, the
Turnpike's engineering department is evaluating additional areas
to be reconstructed. The Commission anticipates rebuilding
approximately ten miles of the Turnpike each year. There will be
minimal traffic problems as four lanes of roadway will remain
open during the reconstruction.
"The fact that the existing original Turnpike has lasted so
long is a monument to the engineers who designed the facility,
the men who built it, and the crews who have maintained it for
over five and a half decades," said James F. Malone, III,
Chairman of the Turnpike Commission. "But, with the Turnpike
carrying traffic volumes not even imagined in 1940, the time has
come to begin the process of rebuilding the roadway."
Page: 12