Interstate 70 in Pennsylvania

Interstate 70
Route information
Maintained by PennDOT and PTC
Length:	167.92 mi[1] (270.24 km)
Major junctions
West end:	I‑70 at the West Virginia state line
	I-79 in Washington Toll PA 43 in Fallowfield Township PA 51 in Rostraver Township I-76 / Penna Turnpike / US 119 / Toll PA 66 in New Stanton I-99 / US 220 in Bedford I-76 / Penna Turnpike / US 30 in Breezewood US 522 near Warfordsburg
East end:	I-70 / US 522 at the Maryland state line
Location
Counties:	Washington, Westmoreland, Somerset, Bedford, Fulton
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business Pennsylvania State Route System Interstate US State Scenic Byways Legislative ← PA 69 PA 70 → ← PA 125 PA 126 PA 127 →

In the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, Interstate 70 (I-70) runs east–west across the southwest part of the state serving the southern fringe of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. About half of the route is concurrent with Interstate 76 on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. This is the oldest segment of I-70 in Pennsylvania, having been completed in 1940, and is only one of two segments of I-70 that are tolled, with the other being the Kansas Turnpike. I-70 is one of only a few Interstate Highways to have a traffic signal—in this case, with U.S. Route 30 (US 30) in Breezewood, where it leaves the Turnpike and heads toward Maryland.^[2]

Route description

Interstate 70 (on top) merges with Interstate 79 going through Washington, Pennsylvania, shown in 2008 before reconstruction and flyover construction

Two segments of I-70 in Pennsylvania are not designed to modern Interstate standards: a 37-mile segment from Washington to New Stanton, and the aforementioned half-mile signalized segment in Breezewood.

For 37 miles between the eastern end of its concurrency with I-79 in Washington and the western end of its concurrency with the Pennsylvania Turnpike in New Stanton, I-70 has several dated design features. The median narrows to the point that there are no shoulders between the median barrier and the passing lanes on both sides. On- and off-ramps at many of the interchanges are substandard in both length and geometry, which requires vehicles to decelerate in the travel lanes before entering the off-ramps, and also necessitates the use of stop signs on the on-ramps instead of yield signs. Several overpasses do not meet minimum clearance requirements, which has resulted in damage to, and from, overheight trucks. Total reconstruction efforts are ongoing that will upgrade most of this segment of I-70 and its interchanges to modern Interstate standards, and various projects are scheduled through the early 2020s.

Interstate 70 through Buffalo Township in Washington County, Pennsylvania

I-70 crosses the Monongahela River on the Speers-Belle Vernon Bridge and the Youghiogheny River on the Smithton High Level Bridge. In New Stanton, I-70 exits the main highway alignment to merge with the Pennsylvania Turnpike (I-76). The main alignment itself continues as a very short spur with no route number, then picks up U.S. 119 at an interchange with PA 66.

For 86 miles from New Stanton to Breezewood, I-70 shares a concurrency with I-76 along the Pennsylvania Turnpike. I-70 passes through a wind farm in Somerset County, and close to the 9/11 Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville. It then intersects I-99 in Bedford County before reaching the eastern end of its concurrency with the Turnpike in Breezewood.

In Breezewood, I-70 exits the Pennsylvania Turnpike and begins a half-mile wrong-way concurrency with U.S. 30. This is the other segment of the highway in Pennsylvania that is not designed to Interstate standards since it lacks grade separation and access control. I-70 then takes a north/south alignment between Breezewood and the Maryland state line, with the eastern terminus of I-68 less than a mile past the state line near Hancock. U.S. 522 also forms a four-mile concurrency with I-70 between Warfordsburg (Pa.) and Hancock (Md.).

History

PA Route 126
Location:	Warfordsburg–Breezewood
Existed:	1928–1964

PA Route 71 Alternate
Location:	Washington–New Stanton
Existed:	1957–1963

By 1947, present Interstate 70 across Pennsylvania was included in the planned Interstate Highway System. The route from West Virginia split at Washington, with one branch heading northeast to meet the Pennsylvania Turnpike near Pittsburgh and the other heading east, bypassing Pittsburgh to the south (via a planned bypass of Pennsylvania Route 71) to the New Stanton interchange. The piece south from the Breezewood interchange into Maryland was also in the network.^[3] The route between US 30 in Breezewood and US 522 in Warfordsburg was originally known as Pennsylvania Route 126. In 1957, preliminary numbers were assigned; the longer route via Pittsburgh (now Interstate 79 and Interstate 376) became the main line of I-70, while the southern bypass (now I-70) became Interstate 70S.^[4] The section of present-day I-70 between PA 519 near Washington and New Stanton was built as a four-lane divided highway known as the "Express Highway"; this road was assigned the temporary PA 71 Alternate designation in 1957 and would be designated as I-70S following the completion of additional connecting roads in the Interstate Highway System.^[5][6] On July 15, 1960, I-70 was designated onto the Penn-Lincoln Parkway.^[7] A southern extension of Interstate 79 (which had previously only run from Erie south to Pittsburgh) to Charleston, West Virginia in 1963 resulted in changes to I-70. On February 26, 1964, as part of the formation of Interstate 76 (east of downtown Pittsburgh), AASHTO approved a rerouting of I-70 along I-70S. The former I-70 became I-79 from Washington to downtown Pittsburgh and I-76 to and along the Turnpike to New Stanton.^[8] This brought the routing of I-70 to its present form.

Future

In 2011, PennDOT began preliminary work for a total reconstruction of I-70 between the West Virginia state line and New Stanton. Approximately $500 million will be spent on this 58-mile segment of highway in order to improve it to modern Interstate standards, half of which will be spent redesigning eight interchanges. Other planned improvements include six overpass replacements, a new roadbed, a wider median, electronic ITS signage, and widening the I-70/I-79 concurrency in Washington to six lanes.^[9]

Two noteworthy interchange projects will occur in conjunction with the I-70/I-79 widening. Underway is a reconfiguration of the east/south split between I-70 and I-79, which will eliminate the notorious one-lane, low-speed loop ramp from I-79 northbound to I-70 westbound, replacing it with a two-lane, high-speed flyover ramp.^[10] Preliminary design work has also been completed for a redesigned interchange between I-70/I-79 and Murtland Avenue (U.S. 19), and involves replacing the existing substandard cloverleaf in favor of the first diverging diamond interchange in Pennsylvania.^[11]

Exit list

County	Location	mi	km	Old exit [12]	New exit [12]	Destinations	Notes
Washington	Donegal Township					I‑70 west – Wheeling	West Virginia state line
				1	1	West Alexander
				2	6	To PA 231 – Claysville
	Buffalo Township			3	11	PA 221 – Taylorstown
	North Franklin Township			4	15	US 40 (Chestnut Street)
	Canton Township			5	16	Jessop Place
	Washington			6	17	PA 18 (Jefferson Avenue)
	South Strabane Township			—	18	I-79 north – Pittsburgh	West end of I-79 overlap
				7	19	US 19 (Murtland Avenue)	Signed as exits 19A (south) and 19B (north)
				8	20	PA 136 (Beau Street)
				—	21	I-79 south – Morgantown	East end of I-79 overlap; also signed for Waynesburg
	Somerset Township			9	25	PA 519 – Eighty Four, Glyde
				10	27	Dunningsville
				11	31	Kammerer
				12A	32A	PA 917 – Ginger Hill
	Bentleyville			12B	32B	To PA 917 south – Bentleyville
	Fallowfield Township			13	35	PA 481 – Monongahela, Centerville
				14	36	Lover	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
				15	37	Toll PA 43 – California, Pittsburgh	Signed as exits 37A (south) and 37B (north); also signed for Brownsville
	Speers			16	39	Speers
				17	40	PA 88 – Charleroi, Allenport
Monongahela River				Belle Vernon Bridge
Westmoreland	Rostraver Township			18	41	PA 906 – Belle Vernon, Monessen
	North Belle Vernon			19	42A	North Belle Vernon	Signed as exit 42 eastbound
	Rostraver Township			19A	42B	Monessen	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
				20	43	PA 201 to PA 837 – Donora, Fayette City	Signed as exits 43A (south) and 43B (north) westbound
				21	44	Arnold City
				22	46	PA 51 – Uniontown, Pittsburgh	Signed as exits 46A (south) and 46B (north)
	South Huntingdon Township			23	49	Smithton
				24	51	PA 31 – Mt. Pleasant, West Newton	Signed as exits 51A (east) and 51B (west)
				25	53	Yukon
	Sewickley Township			25A	54	Madison
	New Stanton			26A	57A	Hunker	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
				26B	57B	New Stanton	Signed as exit 57 eastbound
				—	—	To US 119 / Toll PA 66 north – Greensburg, Connellsville, Delmont	I-70 exits itself to toll plaza eastbound
				West end of toll road
				—	—	I-76 west / Penna Turnpike west – Pittsburgh	West end of I-76 / Penna. Tpk. overlap; I-70 exits turnpike via exit 75 westbound (New Stanton Interchange)
	Donegal			9	91	PA 31 / PA 711 – Ligonier, Uniontown	Donegal Interchange
Somerset	Stonycreek Township			Allegheny Mountain Tunnel
	Somerset			10	110	US 219 – Somerset, Johnstown	Somerset Interchange
Bedford	Bedford			11	146	I-99 / US 220 – Bedford, Altoona, Johnstown	Bedford Interchange / I-99/US 220 exit 1
	East Providence Township			—	—	I-76 east / Penna Turnpike east – Harrisburg	East end of I-76 / Penna. Tpk. overlap; I-70 exits turnpike via exit 161 eastbound (Breezewood Interchange)
				East end of toll road
				West end of non-freeway section
				—	—	US 30 east – McConnellsburg, Chambersburg, Gettysburg	East end of US 30 overlap
				—	—	US 30 west – Breezewood, Everett	West end of US 30 overlap
				East end of non-freeway section
Fulton				29	149	South Breezewood	No westbound entrance
	Brush Creek Township			30	151	PA 915 – Crystal Spring
				31	156	PA 643 – Town Hill
	Union Township			32	163	PA 731 south – Amaranth
	Bethel Township			33	168	US 522 north – Warfordsburg	West end of US 522 overlap
						I-70 east / US 522 south – Hancock	Maryland state line
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access

See also

• U.S. Roads portal
• Pennsylvania portal
• Pittsburgh portal

References

Route map: Bing / Google

1. "Route Log - Main Routes of the Eisenhower National System Of Interstate and Defense Highways - Table 1". Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
2. Roig-Franzia, Manuel (November 22, 2001). "The Town That Stops Traffic: Travelers Encounter Way Station as Way of Life in Breezewood". Washington Post.
3. National System of Interstate Highways, August 2, 1947
4. Official Route Numbering for the National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, August 14, 1957
5. "'Express Highway' Designated As Alternate Route 71 By PDH". The Daily Republican (Monongahela, PA). March 11, 1959. p. 1. Retrieved August 19, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Gets Temporary Route Designation". The Daily Courier (Connellsville, PA). March 12, 1959. p. 15. Retrieved August 19, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Designations Of Highways Are Changed". The Evening Standard (Uniontown, PA). July 16, 1960. p. 7. Retrieved August 28, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
8. Ask the Rambler, Was I-76 Numbered to Honor Philadelphia for Independence Day, 1776?
9. "I-70 Projects". I-70 Projects. Retrieved 2013-01-29.
10. (PDF) http://www.i-70projects.com/docs/projectinfo_website.pdf. Retrieved 2013-01-29. Missing or empty |title= (help)
11. "PennDOT District 12-0 - Media Release". Dot.state.pa.us. 2012-01-11. Retrieved 2013-01-29.
12. "Pennsylvania Exit Numbering" (PDF). Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. Retrieved October 2, 2007.