November 2025
85-Year-Old Section of PA Turnpike Expands
Travelers in Somerset and Bedford counties have a reason to celebrate. A windy section between the Allegheny Tunnel and Breezewood has been straightened a bit and expanded to six lanes, but that’s not all that is in store this year for the PA Turnpike’s Total Reconstruction Program.
AI to Reduce Crash Risk
For 85 years the PA Turnpike has been striving to make America's First Superhighway the safest highway possible with the goal of zero fatalities. But what if you could prevent a crash before it happened? Some Turnpikers in IT may have found a way to do it.
Green Lights Boost Visibility on Highway
When Troy Hunt is helping motorists along a busy stretch of the PA Turnpike near Philly, he feels safer with the new green lights that have been installed on his Safety Patrol Truck.
Now that state law allows Maintenance crews to use green lights, they are being outfitted on PA Turnpike vehicles systemwide.
85-Year-Old Section of PA Turnpike Expands
A stretch of the original section of the Pennsylvania Turnpike has expanded from four lanes to six, smoothing out curves and creating a safer, more pleasant drive through Somerset and Bedford counties.
As part of Total Reconstruction, a section of the PA Turnpike between mileposts 126 and 131 has been expanded to six lanes.
The benefits of Total Reconstruction:
- Increases capacity from four to six lanes, allowing for free flow of traffic
- Meets increased PA Turnpike demand and projected growth
- Additional lanes and wider shoulders and medians improve incident clearance and first responder access, keeping traffic moving
- Straightening roadway curves, provides a smoother ride for customers
Total Reconstruction and Expansion Manager Brian Mostek said seeing these new lanes open to traffic is rewarding, but there’s little time to rest. Another expansion on the Northeast Extension is expected to open before the year’s end, and a major widening project near Philadelphia is in the process of opening bids.
The Total Reconstruction program is a decades-long, systemwide initiative to widen the Turnpike and modernize its infrastructure. The latest project covers mileposts 126 to 131 near New Baltimore -- a spot familiar to travelers for the landmark church beside the highway.
"The curves and mountainous terrain were a big reason this section was chosen," Mostek said. “It’s also part of the original Turnpike from Carlisle to Irwin, so the infrastructure was
Project Manager Wayne Shappell oversaw the challenging reconstruction, which involved removing the original 1940s concrete foundation beneath layers of asphalt and blasting through a rocky slope to make room for the new lanes and straighten some curves.
"Just like any project, I enjoyed watching it go from paper to construction and finally seeing the finished product," Shappell said.
One standout feature is the new noise wall along the westbound side in New Baltimore, designed with a window-like top section, preserving a view of that signature church.
Noise walls with a window-like top (left) are a signature feature of this newly expanded section of the PA Turnpike near New Baltimore.
Meanwhile, the Northeast Extension section between mileposts A38 and A43 near Quakertown is on track to open to six lanes before year’s end.
Up next is the expansion near Valley Forge, covering mileposts 320 to 324, which is in the process of opening bids. in the PA Turnpike’s continuing effort to alleviate Philadelphia-area traffic.
These projects take a significant amount of time. Mostek has been a part of Total Reconstruction since he joined the PA Turnpike’s Engineer Trainee Program 15 years ago and was there in the early planning stages for these projects that are coming to life now.
"The most exciting part is getting out there to drive on the new section and see it completed after years and years of effort by dozens and dozens of people," Mostek said.
With this latest completion, about 174 miles of the Pennsylvania Turnpike have now undergone Total Reconstruction.
Can Artificial Intelligence Prevent a Crash Before it Happens? PA Turnpike Team Works to Find Out
Crashes can occur in an instant, with no warning and no preparation. Emergency crews reach the scene as fast as possible to help, but what if we could prevent the crash from happening in the first place?
The PA Turnpike is working to improve the safety of customers and employees on the road through new technology that can help predict and reduce the risk of crashes.
April Rothermel, Assistant CTO-Security and Infrastructure, explained that the current system used to analyze crashes is often a lengthy process lacking the ability to identify areas that are at a higher risk of accidents, resulting in delayed safety response. She wants to change that system, looking for a more effective and accurate way for the PA Turnpike to manage roadway safety.
AI Program Manager Sandeep Chaudhary and Assistant CTO-Security and Infrastructure April Rothermel Assistant CTO-Security and Infrastructure are leading the PA Turnpike's efforts to predict crashes before they happen through artificial intelligence.
The program went live roughly three months ago, an exciting new step in making roadways safer and more efficient. Rothermel explained that the program uses data from various platforms to track speed, volume of traffic, and weather, to predict where we may see hotspots for danger along the road.
In response to the information that the program can pinpoint, the PA Turnpike can then investigate to implement potential mitigations to improve driver safety, said Rothermel.
Sandeep Chaudhary, AI Program Manager, explained that instead of reporting on troubled areas of the roadway every four years like we do currently, this new program would allow those in Traffic Engineering to run the report anytime they would like.
“We’re turning the data we collect into information to become a smarter, data-driven organization,” Chaudhary explained as one of his favorite parts of the project.
AI Program Manager Sandeep Chaudhary provides a look at the program the PA Turnpike is using to help analyze crash data in an effort to prevent crashes before they happen.
For Manager of Traffic Engineering Justina Wentling, it’s a great tool that can save time on what is otherwise a lengthy analysis – but it can do something more.
“We won’t have to wait,” Wentling said. “We can address a problem before it becomes a trend.”
Looking to the future, Rothermel said, “The next phase is to get real-time data in there so we can see that there is going to be a potential problem in 20 or 30 minutes on the road.”
They’re working towards a predictive approach instead of a reactive one.
f data can be analyzed in real time, traffic engineers can look at the changing weather, increased traffic due to concerts, or upcoming events nearby that can be processed and used to predict trouble points along the road, Chaudhary said.
Their work is only just getting started as they continue to develop and create life-saving technology, benefiting the customers who depend on the PA Turnpike every day.
Green Lights Boost Visibility on Highway
At first, Troy Hunt was a little concerned when he found out that green lights would be installed on his Safety Patrol truck.
“Green usually means go, right?” the Trevose Maintenance Utility Worker said.
But now that he and many others in the Pennsylvania Turnpike’s fleet are geared up with the new warning lights that flash between green and amber, he sees just what a difference they make in keeping crews safe on the highway.
Trevose Safety Patrol Driver Troy Hunt said the new flashing green and amber lights make his truck more visible on the highway.
“I think it increases visibility because everybody has the amber lights,” Hunt said. “The green lights are different, and that increased visibility is always good.”
State law went into effect last year allowing PA Turnpike, PennDOT, and municipal Maintenance crews and their contractors to use green lights along with amber to help grab drivers’ attention. That bright green seems to work particularly well in inclement weather, popping through the snow and fog when amber may get muted. The rest of the crew at Trevose seems to like the new lights, too.
“They’re great, they’re visible, they stand out, which is what we always wanted,” Trevose Foreman Ryan Conaway said. “It gives us another tool in the toolbox to keep traffic aware.”
The only problem is, as soon as the law went into effect, green lights sold like hotcakes. Despite their continued scarcity, Maintenance Fleet Supervisor Von McGee said his team has installed green lights on mostdump trucks and in all of the Safety Patrol vehicles.
Maintenance Fleet Supervisor Von McGee led the effort to install green lights on most PA Turnpike vehicles.
“It’s been a long process, but we’re finally getting green-amber lights out on the roadway,” McGee said. “People want them, and we’re going to try to get them to them as quickly as possible.”
Green is a new color, and he’s hoping travelers notice them.
And that’s just what Hunt is seeing in the heavy Philly traffic in his coverage area. He recently went out on his usual patrol and spotted a driver pulled over to the side of the road, hood popped. He flipped on his lights, flashing green and amber, and pulled in behind the driver as cars and trucks whizzed by.
“That green really shows up. It really catches your attention,” Hunt said. “When you’re out there on the road, you’re glad to have those lights.”
Composting Program Reduces Waste, Helps PA Turnpike Gardens Grow
Gardens around the PA Turnpike got a boost this past growing season from a green pilot project that introduced composters at several locations.
PA Turnpike Facilities Supervisor Bret Righter unveiled the containers used to turn lunch leftovers into fertilizer at the Newville, New Cumberland, Mt. Gretna, and Bowmansville Maintenance facilities. He worked with Engineer Project Manager Gladis Silverio, who had two composters installed next to the Giving Garden at the Central Administration Building in Middletown.
So far, about 60 pounds of lunch waste, coffee grounds, and eggshells have been broken down into 20 pounds of fertilizer at Mt. Gretna.
“Raising awareness is key to helping people realize that whether they compost at work or at home, every little bit helps,” Righter said.
PA Turnpike Facilities Supervisor Bret Righter introduced composters this year at several Maintenance facilities.
Mt. Gretna Foreman Shane Felty said the program has been working out well. Once in the composter, food waste can be mixed up and spun around, letting bugs and bacteria do their work, breaking it down into fertilizer that crews mix in with the soil around the fruit tree and garden.
The garden allows Mt. Gretna crews to literally enjoy the fruits of their labor as they spruce up their lunches with fresh apples and late-season hot peppers, all grown there.
Mt. Gretna Foreman Shane Felty said crews there turned about 60 pounds of food waste into 20 pounds of fertilizer using their composter.
And through the summer months, Silverio said the composters at the Central Administration Building’s Giving Garden composted about 65 gallons, diverting roughly 500 pounds of food waste from landfills.
The composters played a significant role in helping the Giving Garden grow more than 1,400 pounds worth of vegetables this year, all of which was donated to local food pantries, Hess said.
Silverio said the first season of composting has been a valuable learning experience, and she plans to continue the program, which she hopes to expand beyond garden use and apply to areas where the PA Turnpike currently relies on purchased fertilizer.
Righter and Silverio have combined their efforts and plan to collaborate with Penn State University to create educational programs to expand the composting program.
Though the growing season is done, the composters will remain in place through the fall and winter and are expected to return to bolster the gardens again next year.