Interstate 476

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Blue Route
Mid-County Expressway
Northeast Extension
Veterans Memorial Highway
Route information
Length130.5 mi (210.0 km)
Existed1974–present
Major junctions
Major intersections US 1 near Springfield
US 30 near Radnor
I-76 near Conshohocken
I-276/PA Turnpike in Plymouth Meeting
I-78 via US 22 near Allentown
US 209 near Lehighton
I-80 near Hickory Run State Park
Location
CountryUnited States
StatePennsylvania
Highway system
← PA 475→ PA 477
← PA 8→ PA 10
← Error: Invalid type: Interstate→ PA 481

Interstate 476 (abbreviated I-476, portions of which are nicknamed the Blue Route and The Northeast Extension) is a 130.5-mile long combination Interstate loop and spur highway that travels between I-95 near Chester, Pennsylvania and I-81 near Scranton, Pennsylvania. Since 1996, I-476 has been the longest 3-digit interstate highway in the United States, surpassing Massachusetts' Interstate 495, which held the title before Pennsylvania Route 9, the prior designation of the Northeast Extension, was decomissioned.

Description

The first 20.5 miles is a freeway built to Interstate Highway standards, while the remaining 110 miles is part of the Pennsylvania Turnpike system as the Turnpike's Northeast Extension which was completed in 1957. The non-turnpike part generally parallels Pennsylvania Route 320, and upon the completion of an interchange between the Pennsylvania Turnpike and I-95 near Bristol Township in 2009 (The Pennsylvania Turnpike/Interstate 95 Interchange Project), will then become part of a multi-county beltway around Philadelphia. The highway is mostly four lanes, with an 11-mile section between PA Route 3 and the Mid-County barrier toll on the Pennsylvania Turnpike having six lanes. The Northeast extension portion of the interstate runs for 121 miles from Plymouth Meeting to Clarks Summit. The extension passes west of Allentown, east of Wilkes-Barre, and west of Scranton.

Major Cities

File:Exit56 I-476Overhead.jpg
Strange Overhead for Exit 56

Bolded cities are officially-designated control cities for signs.

Exit list

Until 2002, exit numbers on I-476, like that of all Pennsylvania Interstates as well as the Pennsylvania Turnpike system, were numbered in sequence. However, the exit numbers started at 31, rather than 10 on the Northeast Extension portion, as the Lansdale exit would be the 10th numbered exit on I-476. In 2002, PennDOT started changing the exit numbers to the new milepost system, while the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission did the same a short time later, along with renumbering all of the Northeast Extension's mileposts to reflect the starting of I-476 in Chester, as the Northeast Extension originally started counting its miles at the old interchange with the East-West Mainline (Interstate 276) in Norristown.

County Location Mile # Destinations Notes
Delaware Chester Township 0.0 I-95 - Philadelphia, Chester Access to Widener University, and Commodore Barry Bridge.
Ridley Township 1.1 1 MacDade Boulevard Becomes E. 22nd St. in Chester. Also is a connector to US 13.
Springfield Township 3.7 3 Media - Swarthmore The Baltimore Pike. to Swarthmore College and Pennsylvania Institute of Technology. to Longwood Gardens use Balto Pike South.
Marple Township 5.3 5 US 1 - Lima, Springfield to Penn State University's Delaware County Campus and Strayer University.
Longwood Gardens - use US 1 south. Only three-level diamond interchange in Pennsylvania.
Haverford Township 9.1 9 PA 3 - Broomall, Upper Darby West Chester University
Villanova 13.3 13 US 30 - Saint Davids, Villanova Villanova University, St. Joseph's University, and Rosemont College
Montgomery Radnor Township 15.8 16 I-76 - Valley Forge, Philadelphia
PA 23 - Conshohocken
Plymouth Meeting 18.6 18 Norristown
19.6 19 Germantown Pike east - Plymouth Meeting Northbound only. Access to Plymouth Meeting Mall.
19.9 20

Germantown Pike west to I-276/PA Turnpike west 		Northbound only. Norristown exit on PA Turnpike mainline.
Mid-County toll barrier. Southern terminus of Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Southern terminus of closed ticket system.
20.3
I-276/PA Turnpike east - New Jersey 		Mid-County Interchange on PA Turnpike mainline.
20.4
I-276/PA Turnpike west - Harrisburg 		Southbound only. Mid County Interchange on PA Turnpike mainline.
Towamencin Township 30.9 31 PA 63 (Lansdale) - Lansdale
Bucks Milford Township 44.4 44 PA 663 (Quakertown) - Quakertown, Pottstown
Lehigh Lower Macungie Twp. 56.8 Allentown service plaza.
South Whitehall Twp. 57.0 56
US 22 to I-78/PA 309 (Lehigh Valley) - Allentown, Harrisburg 		to LVI Airport and Dorney Park.
Lehigh Tunnel at mile marker 72 (still in use).
Carbon Franklin Twp. 76.1 74 US 209 (Mahoning Valley) - Lehighton, Stroudsburg To western Pocono towns including Jim Thorpe and Palmerton.
Penn Forest Twp. 89.5 Hickory Run service plaza.
Kidder Twp. 95.7 95 I-80/PA 940 (Pocono) - Stroudsburg, Hazleton Access to the Delaware Water Gap.
Luzerne Bear Creek 105.7 105 PA 115 (Wilkes-Barre) - Bear Creek
Pittston Twp. 112.5 Wyoming Valley toll barrier. Northern terminus of closed ticket system.
115.3 115 I-81/PA 315 (Wyoming Valley) - Scranton, Wilkes-Barre
Lackawanna Taylor 122.1 Keyser Avenue toll barrier.
122.8 123 Keyser Avenue
Clarks Summit 130.7 Clarks Summit toll barrier.
130.5 131 I-81/US 6/US 11 (Clarks Summit) - Scranton, Binghamton, NY Formerly exit 38.
Exit known as Scranton before opening of Keyser Avenue.

History

The portion of Interstate 476 between Interstate 95 and Interstate 276, running north-south through Delaware County, Pennsylvania is nicknamed the Blue Route, but is officially called the Mid-County Expressway. Originally planned as far back as 1928, I-476 was later incorporated as a so-called "Chester Extension" of the Pennsylvania Turnpike in the late 1940's. Since the beginnings of the Interstate Highway system, the PA Turnpike Commission dropped the Chester Extension project and the forerunner to the present-day Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) picked up the project, designating it first as Interstate 480 (as I-76 back then was designated as I-80S), and later as I-495. The present-day I-476 designation was given in 1974 when I-80S became I-76.

File:Exit44 476.jpg
Standard Guide Sign on I-476

As one of the most controversial Interstate Highways in Pennsylvania, construction of I-476 began in 1968, but was not completed until 1991, due mainly to litigation between the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and residents in Marple Township, Pennsylvania. An agreement in 1984 led to the present lane configuration. The compromise, due to Swarthmore residents' desire to limit pollution to its district, led to the throttling down from three lanes of traffic in each direction to two. Ironically, this has led to bottleneck conditions in the area, and ultimately, more pollution from slowed down vehicles spending more time in this stretch of roadway [citation needed]. The connection with the Pennsylvania Turnpike was not completed until 1994.

File:I476 Blue Route Map.jpg
The birth of the "Blue Route" nickname.

The highway is designated as a federal scenic route, thus prohibiting the erection of advertisement billboards along the entire 20.5-mile length of the Blue Route portion of the highway.

This designation was tested shortly after 9/11 when two local residents took it upon themselves to erect a flagpole bearing the American Flag at the Pennsylvania Route 3 interchange of the roadway, which officials initially believed was a violation of the prohibition. However, the flag remains erect to this day. High above the northbound lanes near the interchange with U.S. Route 1 in Marple Township, a private resident displays illuminated "Jesus" signage, narrowly avoiding violation since the sign is technically on private property that just happens to face the Blue Route.

The 'Blue Route' name derives from a 1958 location report indicating various proposed geographic configurations of a proposed north-south mid-county expressway with lines of various colors on a map. The "blue route" won out over other contenders, which included a more easterly "red route" and "yellow route" and a more westerly "green route". Prior to receiving the current Interstate highway designation, it was numbered as I-480 (as I-76 was designated as I-80S before 1974), and I-495 on planning maps.

The portion of Interstate 476 north of the I-276 interchange is the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, and was formerly designated Pennsylvania Route 9 until being redesignated as an interstate highway on November 1, 1996.

In 2005, the Blue Route began a massive, yet much-needed, rehabilitation between Interstate 95 and Pennsylvania Route 3. Paving, bridge repair, and ramp maintenance were just a sampling of the improvements performed on the roadway. Construction continued in 2006 with the section between PA Rt. 3 and Interstate 76, with 2007 being slated for the total rehabilitation of the origial pre-1970 section between I-76 and the PA Turnpike. Long-term solutions for the Marple Township/Swarthmore bottleneck conditions includes an extension of the Norristown High Speed Line connecting Montgomery County with the Media-Sharon Hill Trolley, via 69th Street Terminal in Upper Darby, to an outright widening project favored by Congressmen Curt Weldon and Jim Gerlach (I-476 lies mostly within their districts), U.S. Senator Arlen Specter, and local state politicians.

It remains one of the few highways in the Philadelphia region to feature ramp meters, which utilize a type of traffic signal that controls the amount of vehicles entering the road during rush hours. Deactivated for a lengthy period of time shortly after their initial installation, PennDOT recently decided to reintroduce the meters to ease massive traffic flow from the MacDade Boulevard, Baltimore Pike, U.S. Route 1, Pennsylvania State 3, and U.S. Highway 30 interchanges.


Notes

  • Ever since Pennsylvania Route 9 was decomissioned, Interstate 476 has been America's longest three digit interstate with 130.5 miles (209 km) in length. Pennsylvania Route 9 was what is now the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike which covers about 110 miles in length. Surpassing I-495 in Massachusetts, with a total distance of just under 130 miles. The average length of a three-digit interstate is 21 miles (34 km). Nevertheless, no three-digit interstate is longer than its parent (to compare, this road's parent, the eastern Interstate 76, runs 434 miles--almost 700 km).
  • The closed ticket system lasts for 92 miles. From the Mid-County Interchange to a toll barrier south of the Wyoming Valley Exit. North of the ticket system, passengers have to pay through two more toll booths.

See also


References

1. Pennsylvania Tourism & Transportation Map
2. Rand McNally's Motor Carriers Deluxe Atlas 2007 Pages: 88 and 89

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