U.S. Route 219 in Pennsylvania

U.S. Route 219
Route information
Auxiliary route of US 19
Maintained by PennDOT
Length:	207 mi[1] (333 km)
Major junctions
South end:	US 219 near Salisbury
	I-70 / I-76 / Penna Turnpike in Somerset US 30 near Jennerstown PA 56 in Johnstown US 22 near Ebensburg US 422 near Ebensburg US 322 near DuBois US 119 near DuBois I-80 in Falls Creek PA 28 in Brockway US 6 near Mount Jewett
North end:	US 219 near Limestone, NY
Location
Counties:	Somerset, Cambria, Indiana, Clearfield, Jefferson, Elk, McKean
Highway system
United States Numbered Highways List Bannered Divided Replaced Pennsylvania State Route System Interstate US State Scenic Byways Legislative ← PA 218 US 220 → ← US 6 US 6N →

From near Grantsville, Maryland north to Ebensburg, Pennsylvania, U.S. Route 219 is Corridor N of the Appalachian Development Highway System. From Somerset, Pennsylvania to just south of Carrolltown, Pennsylvania, US 219 is a limited-access highway. From Carrolltown US 219 runs largely as a two-lane road to DuBois, Pennsylvania, through which it runs as Brady Street, and then returns to a two-lane road after a junction with Interstate 80. US 219 runs directly through the towns of Brockway, Ridgway, and Johnsonburg before reaching Wilcox, where PA Route 321 splits and heads for the town of Kane. US 219 continues north as a two-lane road until reaching Bradford, where it becomes a limited-access highway and remains so until reaching the New York border. On August 9, 2007, Pennsylvania State Transportation Secretary Allen D. Biehler unveiled four signs along US Route 219 that dedicated the portion of the route in Somerset County, Pennsylvania as the Flight 93 Memorial Highway.^[2]

Route description

Somerset County

US 219 southbound in Salisbury

US 219 enters Pennsylvania from Maryland in Elk Lick Township, Somerset County, heading north as a two-lane undivided road through rural areas of farmland and woodland. The road intersects PA 669 in Salisbury before turning to the northeast. The route becomes a four-lane freeway and bypasses Meyersdale to the west, with US 219 Business serving the town. Past here, US 219 becomes a two-lane surface road again and winds through more rural areas, intersecting PA 653 in Garrett. As of 2013, a new four lane freeway segment from Meyersdale to Somerset is under construction.^[3] The road heads northeast from here, turning to the northwest in Berlin. Southeast of Somerset, the route heads north onto a four-lane freeway. US 219 bypasses Somerset to the east and passes over the Pennsylvania Turnpike (I-70/I-76). The route interchanges with PA 281 before coming to a ramp with PA 601 that provides access to the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The road comes to the US 30 exit east of Jennerstown and heads through more areas of farms and woods, interchanging with PA 601 again followed by PA 403 northwest of Benson.^[1][4]

Cambria County

US 219 crosses the Stonycreek River into Cambria County and heads near suburban residential and commercial development southeast of Johnstown, coming to an interchange with PA 56. At this point, PA 56 forms a concurrency with US 219 and the road comes to an interchange with PA 756. PA 56 splits to the northwest onto a freeway at the next interchange and US 219 comes to an interchange with Galleria Drive, which provides access to The Johnstown Galleria shopping mall. The freeway heads into more rural areas of woods with some farms and reaches an interchange with PA 869 near the Johnstown Flood National Memorial. The next interchange along the US 219 freeway is with PA 53 in Summerhill. From this point, the road heads north through more rural areas, with a northbound exit and entrance at Tower Road. The route continues to the Ebensburg area, where it interchanges with US 22. From here, US 219 continues through wooded areas to the west of Ebensburg, coming to an interchange with the eastern terminus of the western segment of US 422. North of Ebensburg, the freeway segment of US 219 ends and the road heads north onto a two-lane undivided surface road, passing through more farmland and woodland. South of Carrolltown, the road intersects PA 553. After passing through Carrolltown, the route heads northwest, coming to an intersection with PA 271 in Northern Cambria. After this, US 219 begins to follow the West Branch Susquehanna River and curves to the north again, passing through forests and intersecting PA 240.^[1][4]

Indiana County

US 219 passes through Cherry Tree in Indiana County and intersects PA 580.^[1][4]

Clearfield County

US 219 continues into Clearfield County and passes through more forested areas, running through Burnside and coming to an intersection with PA 286. The road continues northeast alongside the West Branch Susquehanna River and comes to a junction with PA 36, heading east concurrent with that route. In Mahaffey, US 219 splits to the northeast and passes through more wooded areas while following the river, intersecting with PA 969 and splitting from the river. In Grampian, the route reaches an intersection with PA 729 and PA 879, where it turns to the northwest. US 219 curves to the north again and continues through more woodland with some farms, curving to the northwest. The route comes to an intersection with US 322 in Luthersburg and forms a concurrency with that route, coming to a junction with PA 410 a short distance later. South of DuBois, US 322 splits from US 219 by heading to the west and US 219 continues northwest to an intersection with the northern terminus of US 119, turning north at this point. The route heads into developed areas of homes and businesses in DuBois, widening into a five-lane road with a center left-turn lane as it approaches the intersection with PA 255. Here, US 219 turns west onto a three-lane road with a center left-turn lane and passes through more developed areas of the city. The road leaves DuBois and heads through more rural areas with some development, widening into a four-lane divided highway and intersecting PA 830 before coming to an interchange with I-80.^[1][4]

U.S. Route 219 as seen in Horton Township in Elk County

Jefferson County

US 219 heads north into Jefferson County and heads north through forests as a two-lane undivided road. The road heads into a mix of farmland and woodland, reaching Brockway. Here, the route intersects PA 28 and turns east, leaving the town and heading into more rural areas.^[1][4]

Elk County

US 219 enters Elk County and continues northeast through more areas of woods and farms, intersecting PA 153. The road turns north and heads into more forested areas, coming to a junction with PA 948. At this point, PA 948 joins the route and the road heads northwest through more forests, descending a steep hill into Ridgway with US 219 Truck serving as a northbound truck bypass of the descent. In Ridgway, the road heads west and intersects PA 120 before US 219 splits from PA 948 by turning to the north. Past Ridgway, the route winds northeast through more forested areas alongside the Clarion River and reaches Johnsonburg, where it intersects PA 255 again. Past here, US 219 heads through more forested areas and comes to a junction with PA 321.^[1][4]

US 219 entering Custer City

McKean County

US 219 continues into McKean County and runs through more dense forests, intersecting US 6 west of Mount Jewett. Past this, the road winds north through the Allegheny National Forest and reaches a junction with PA 59. US 219 heads northeast through more of the national forest before leaving it and passing through Lewis Run. From here, the road continues north through more rural areas, forming a short concurrency with PA 770. The route reaches the Bradford area, where it heads into developed areas of homes and businesses and becomes a four-lane divided freeway. The road reaches its first interchange with Owens Way to the south of Bradford. The freeway continues into Bradford, bypassing the center of town to the east and interchanging with PA 346, at which point that route joins the freeway. The road turns northeast and interchanges with PA 46 before PA 346 splits to the east at the next interchange. The US 219 freeway continues north through rural areas, with the freeway ending at the New York border. At this point, US 219 continues north into New York.^[1][4]

History

Potential Interstate designation

In the 1970s and 1980s, US 219 was upgraded to freeway status, with hopes that the highway eventually becomes part of the Interstate Highway System. Although the upgrades brought US 219 to contemporary Interstate Highway standards at the time, changes in engineering since would require US 219 to be further upgraded to modern Interstate standards.^[5] Until nearby Interstate 99 was signed in 1998 along the US 220 corridor, the nearest major north-south Interstate to US 219 was Interstate 79 82 miles (132 km) to the west, while Interstate 81 to the east was 116 miles (187 km) away.

In the 1990s and 2000s, U.S. Representative John Murtha advocated to Congress to get upgrades to US 219 to Interstate standards in order to receive an Interstate designation, with Murtha suggesting that US 219 receive the Interstate 67 designation. However, neighboring Representative Bud Shuster (and later his son Bill Shuster after the elder Shuster retired in 2001) argued against it due to the close proximity between US 219 and US 220, as well as wanting to secure funding for I-99. At the state level, there was a lack of interest to upgrade US 219 to Interstate status due to the Mon–Fayette Expressway to the west being under construction at the time, and the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission fearing that an upgraded US 219 with Interstate status would divulge toll revenues from the Mon–Fayette, even though the Mon–Fayette is being built to Interstate standards but isn't expected to receive an Interstate designation.^[5] By the time of Murtha's death in office in 2010, talks of upgrading US 219 to Interstate status had died off. In 2013, with a larger allocation of Federal level funding, construction restarted on the US 219 Freeway starting between Meyersdale and Somerset. A $110.5 Million contract was awarded to the Joseph B. Fay Company by PennDOT. Construction on the new freeway section is expected to be completed by October 2016.^[3]

If US 219 were to be upgraded to Interstate status, the designation would likely be a three-digit Interstate, as none of the two-digit designations available would fit into the proper Interstate grid, including I-67 and the aforementioned I-99. In addition, I-67 has since been proposed for a number of other north-south Interstate highways that would fit into the proper Interstate grid, and are more likely to receive upgrades to Interstate status than US 219.

Major intersections

County	Location	mi[1]	km	Destinations	Notes
Somerset	Elk Lick Township	0.0	0.0	US 219 south (Chestnut Ridge Road) – Grantsville	Maryland state line
	Salisbury	2.1	3.4	PA 669 south (Ord Street / SR 2010) – Springs, Pocahontas	Northern terminus of PA 669.
	Summit Township			South end of freeway
				US 219 Bus. north – Meyersdale
				North end of freeway
				US 219 Bus. south (Mason Dixon Highway)
	Garrett	12.7	20.4	PA 653 west (Jackson Street) – Rockwood	Eastern terminus of PA 653.
	Somerset Township			South end of freeway
				Berlin Plank Road (SR 3041) - Somerset
		29.9	48.1	PA 281 – Somerset, Friedens
		32.1	51.7	To I-70 / I-76 / Penna Turnpike (via PA 601) – Pittsburgh, Harrisburg	I-70 / I-76 / Penna Turnpike exit 110 (Somerset)
	Jenner Township	38.5	62.0	US 30 – Jennerstown, Stoystown
	Conemaugh Township	43.7	70.3	PA 601 – Jerome
		46.0	74.0	PA 403 – Davidsville, Hollsopple
Cambria	Richland Township	51.7	83.2	PA 56 east (Scalp Avenue) – Windber	Southern terminus of concurrency with PA 56.
		52.5	84.5	PA 756 – Geistown, Elton
		53.5	86.1	PA 56 west (Johnstown Expressway)	Northern terminus of concurrency with PA 56.
				Galleria Drive
	Adams Township	58.6	94.3	PA 869 east – St. Michael, Sidman
	Croyle Township	60.6	97.5	PA 53 north – South Fork, Portage	Southern end of PA 53.
				New Germany	Northbound exit and entrance
	Cambria Township	67.6	108.8	US 22 – Blairsville, Hollidaysburg
		69.6	112.0	US 422 – Indiana, Ebensburg
	East Carroll Township			Plank Road (SR 4031)	Proposed interchange
				North end of freeway
		76.7	123.4	PA 553 west (Ridge Road) – Indiana	Eastern terminus of PA 553.
	Carrolltown			Sunset Road (SR 4013)	Future US 219 Alt. north (approved by AASHTO in 2009)[6]
	Northern Cambria	83.7	134.7	PA 271 south (24th Street) – Nanty Glo	Northern terminus of PA 271.
	Susquehanna Township	89.2	143.6	PA 240 west (Peg Run Road) – Clymer	Eastern terminus of PA 240.
Indiana	Cherry Tree	90.6	145.8	PA 580 south (Cherry Street)	Northern terminus of PA 580.
Clearfield	Burnside Township	99.1	159.5	PA 286 west (Dowler Highway) – Indiana	Eastern terminus of PA 286.
	McGees Mills	103.5	166.6	PA 36 north (Colonel Drake Highway) – Punxsutawney	Southern terminus of PA 36 concurrency.
	Mahaffey	105.7	170.1	PA 36 south (Market Street) – Altoona, Prince Gallitzin State Park	Northern terminus of PA 36 concurrency; future US 219 Alt. south (approved by AASHTO in 2009)[6]
	Bells Landing	111.7	179.8	PA 969 east (Lumber City Highway) – Lumber City	Western terminus of PA 969.
	Grampian	116.2	187.0	PA 729 south (Main Street) / PA 879 east (1st Street) – Curwensville, Clearfield, Glen Hope	Northern terminus of PA 729 and western terminus of PA 879.
	Luthersburg	125.8	202.5	US 322 east (Luthersburg-Rockton Road) – Rockton, Clearfield	Southern terminus of US 322 concurrency.
		126.0	202.8	PA 410 west (Shamokin Trail) – Punxsutawney	Eastern terminus of PA 410.
	Sandy Township	128.8	207.3	US 322 west (Behringer Highway) – Brookville	Northern terminus of US 322 concurrency.
		130.0	209.2	US 119 south (Blinker Parkway) – Punxsutawney	Northern terminus of US 119.
	DuBois	132.7	213.6	PA 255 north (East DuBois Avenue) to I-80 east – St. Marys	Southern terminus of PA 255.
	Sandy Township	134.5	216.5	PA 830 west (Slab Run Road) – Falls Creek	Eastern terminus of PA 830.
		135.1	217.4	I-80 – Sharon, Bellefonte, DuBois Regional Airport	I-80 exit 97.
Jefferson	Brockway	142.6	229.5	PA 28 south (Main Street) – Brookville	Northern terminus of PA 28.
Elk	Horton Township	148.3	238.7	PA 153 south (Penfield Road) – Penfield, Clearfield	Northern terminus of PA 153.
	Boot Jack	156.2	251.4	PA 948 south (Kersey Road) – Kersey	Southern terminus of PA 948 concurrency.
	Ridgway Township	158.7	255.4	US 219 Truck north	northbound exit only
	Ridgway	159.9	257.3	PA 120 east (Depot Street) – St. Marys, Emporium	Western terminus of PA 120; north end of US 219 Truck (northbound only).
		160.1	257.7	PA 948 north (Main Street) – Corsica, Warren	Northern terminus of concurrency with PA 948.
	Johnsonburg	167.3	269.2	PA 255 south (Powers Avenue) – St. Marys	Northern terminus of PA 255.
	Jones Township	174.0	280.0	PA 321 north (Buena Vista Highway) – Kane	Southern terminus of PA 321.
McKean	Lantz Corners	184.1	296.3	US 6 (Grand Army of the Republic Highway) – Kane, Mount Jewett, Smethport, Kinzua Bridge State Park
	Timbuck	192.2	309.3	PA 59 / PA 770 Truck west (Mt. Alton Road) – Warren, Smethport, Bradford Regional Airport, Federal Correctional Institution	south end of PA 770 Truck overlap
	Custer City	200.1	322.0	PA 770 west (West Warren Road) – Warren	north end of PA 770 Truck overlap; southern terminus of concurrency with PA 770.
	Degolia	200.8	323.2	PA 770 east (Minard Run Road) – Smethport	Northern terminus of concurrency with PA 770.
	Bradford Township			South end of freeway
				Owens Way
	Bradford			To PA 346 west / Elm Street	northbound exit and southbound entrance
		203.8	328.0	PA 346 west (Forman Street)	Southern terminus of concurrency with PA 346.
		204.9	329.8	PA 46 south (Kendall Avenue)	Northern terminus of PA 46.
	Foster Township	205.6	330.9	PA 346 east – Foster Brook	Northern terminus of concurrency with PA 346.
		207.1	333.3	US 219 north – Salamanca	New York state line
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Bannered routes

U.S. Route 219 Business

U.S. Route 219 Business
Location:	Meyersdale, Pennsylvania
Existed:	1999–present

U.S. Route 219 Business is a business route of U.S. Route 219 that travels for 4 miles through Meyersdale, Pennsylvania. The route was designated after a freeway bypass was constructed around the borough to avoid the variety of turns that the highway previously made through the municipality. The road travels as Beachley Street and Grant Street before becoming a rural road as it reconnects with its parent at the end of its freeway segment.

U.S. Route 219 Alternate

U.S. Route 219 Alternate
Location:	Carrolltown-Mahaffey, Pennsylvania
Existed:	2015–present

U.S. Route 219 Alternate is a proposed alternate route of US 219 between Carrolltown in Cambria County and Mahaffey in Clearfield County. The route will follow SR 4013 and PA 36. The alternate route is being designated in order to increase capacity along the US 219 corridor. Improvements are being made to SR 4013 and PA 36 before US 219 Alt. is designated. The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials approved US 219 Alt. in 2009; designation of the route is expected in 2015 once upgrades are complete.^[6] As of July 2015, the route was not yet posted.

U.S. Route 219 Truck

U.S. Route 219 Truck
Location:	Ridgway, Pennsylvania
Existed:	1990–present

U.S. Route 219 Truck is a truck route of U.S. Route 219 that travels for 3 miles around Ridgway, Pennsylvania. The route's main portion is one lane, open only to northbound traffic, to avoid a steep descent into the borough. Traffic is then directed onto a portion of Pennsylvania Route 120 to connect back to the mainline route.

See also

• U.S. Roads portal
• Pennsylvania portal

References

Route map: Bing / Google

1. Google (December 30, 2011). "US 219 in Pennsylvania" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved December 30, 2011.
2. http://www.wthr.com/story/6646237/to-honor-911-heroes-governor-rendell-signs-bill-designating-somerset-county-road-flight-93-memorial-highway
3. Ruggiero, Brenda (17 October 2014). "After Funding Delays, Work on U.S. 219 Beings". Pennsylvania. ConstructionEquipmentGuide.com. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
4. Pennsylvania State Road Atlas (Map). ADC Map. 2003.
5. http://www.aaroads.com/high-priority/corr21.html
6. "Application for US 219 Alternate" (PDF). American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. March 31, 2009. Retrieved July 7, 2014.