America’s First Superhighway Celebrates 85th Birthday
America’s First Superhighway Celebrates 85th Birthday
PA Turnpike commemorates legacy as transportation leader, focuses on mission of modernization and innovation
Middletown, Pa. — When it opened on Oct. 1, 1940, the Pennsylvania Turnpike (PA Turnpike) received nationwide acclaim as a first-of-its-kind, engineering marvel. Today, 85 years later, the PA Turnpike is celebrating the innovators who built “America’s First Superhighway” and honoring their legacy by advancing superhighway design, engineering and technology.
The original PA Turnpike stretched just 160 miles, from Carlisle to Irwin. Today, its dedicated workforce is responsible for improving, operating and maintaining 565+ miles of roadway statewide, as well as numerous facilities and service plazas. More than 500,000 customers choose to use it daily.
“The PA Turnpike has been a transportation leader since our opening day. Eight and a half decades later we are still in growth mode, continuing to deliver ‘best in class’ operations that reinforce our mission of providing a safe, reliable, customer-valued toll road system that supports national mobility and commerce,” said PA Turnpike CEO Mark Compton. “I’m proud to help this organization advance excellence as it becomes a leader in mobility services and reinvigorates transportation, safety and customer experience.”
The PA Turnpike paved the way for the nation’s Interstate Highway System, while serving as an economic engine encouraging growth and development. Over the past decade, the PA Turnpike rebuilt 164 miles of roadway through its Total Reconstruction program, while adding 13 miles with the Southern Beltway and working to construct approximately 14 miles on the Mon/Fayette Expressway. New interchanges, including Interstate 95, State Route 29 and State Route 903 , continue to improve access.
In its early days, stylized toll booths served as gateways to the PA Turnpike’s roadway; this year’s successful conversion to Open Road Tolling (ORT) launches a new chapter in the pursuit of seamless, nonstop travel. Overhead gantries – equipped with technology that permits drivers to pass at highway speeds without slowing down or stopping – span the road. Coupled with E-ZPass, launched at the turn of the millennium and now responsible for 85% of toll transactions, the PA Turnpike continues to keep customer convenience at the forefront.
The roadway isn’t the PA Turnpike’s only innovative contribution to American transportation. The Sonic Nap Alert Pattern (SNAP) rumble strips invented by a PA Turnpike engineer are now found on roadways nationwide. In recent years, safety and sustainability initiatives received industry recognition, including multiple Toll Excellence Awards from the International Bridge, Tunnel & Turnpike Association. The PA Turnpike is also bringing online a 500-mile Fiber Optic Broadband Network to empower electronic tolling and connected and autonomous vehicle technology. The Network with built with additional capacity to generate additional non-toll revenue and potentially provide access to underserved communities.
“The PA Turnpike is dedicated to safely improving and maintaining our roadway for all who ride and work on it,” said PA Turnpike Chief Operating Officer Craig Shuey. “Mixing modern and established techniques to preserve our historic roadway creates the best ride possible while preparing for future needs. We take immense pride in maintaining the PA Turnpike and setting the pace for industry innovation. I’m confident we’ll continue to be a trendsetter for decades to come.”
That innovative spirit includes the goal of becoming America’s First Sustainable Superhighway in 2040 – just in time for our centennial celebration. Already, the Commission is building microgrids for energy independence and examining pilot projects for in-road, inductive wireless charging. It manages environmental challenges, such as stormwater runoff, with its Stormwater Asset Management Program (SWAMP) and Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4) programs. And it’s built six pollinator habitat initiatives across the system, including at the Middletown headquarters, to preserve agricultural and biological diversity. Consequently, the PA Turnpike is the first and only Commonwealth agency to achieve three consecutive perfect scores from the PA GreenGov Council, based on a wide-ranging set of sustainability guidelines.
These ambitious initiatives are possible thanks to the hard work and determination of 1,400 employees, who also work every day to deliver value for customers. Toll rates remain competitively priced, with passenger car rates below the national average. Traffic data shows the PA Turnpike is safer, more reliable, less congested and less variable compared to similar roadways throughout Pennsylvania.
A national transportation leader, the Pennsylvania Turnpike (PA Turnpike) is the second largest tolling facility in the United States with the most miles. The PA Turnpike proudly supports safety and convenience for its more than 550,000 daily customers through 24-7 roadside assistance, round-the-clock food and fuel at 17 service plazas and a dedicated maintenance force and State Police Troop. The PA Turnpike’s approximately 1,400-person local workforce is unified in its mission; to operate a safe, reliable, customer-valued toll road system that supports national mobility and commerce. For more information about the PA Turnpike’s mission, vision and values, please visit Home | PA Turnpike.
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Media Contacts:
Marissa Orbanek, Press Secretary: (267) 408-5151, morbanek@paturnpike.com