Pennsylvania Route 28

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PA Route 28

Length:

97.6 mi^[1] (157 km)

Formed:

1927

South end:

I-279/I-579 in Pittsburgh

Major
junctions:

PA 8 in Etna

I-76/Pa Tpk near Cheswick

US 422 in Kittanning

PA 66 in New Bethlehem

US 322/ PA 36 in Brookville

I-80 near Brookville

North end:

US 219 in Brockway

Counties:

Allegheny, Butler, Armstrong, Clarion, Jefferson

Pennsylvania State Routes
< PA 27		PA 29 >
Minor - Legislative

Pennsylvania Route 28 is a major state highway which runs for 97 miles (157 km) from Interstate 279 and Interstate 579 at the Interstate 279 Interchange in Pittsburgh to U.S. Route 219 in Brockway in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The expressway from Kittanning to Pittsburgh is called the Alexander H. Lindsay Memorial Highway or the Allegheny Valley Expressway.

1 Route description
2 Communities along the route
3 Exit list
4 History
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Route description

PA 28 at exit 12A (Pittsburgh Mills Blvd.).

[edit] Pittsburgh area

Heading north from the I-279/I-579 interchange, PA 28 is a surface street, running along the north bank of the Allegheny River. At the 40th Street Bridge, PA 28 becomes a limited-access highway, a property the road maintains throughout its run in the Pittsburgh metro area. In Etna, PA 28 interchanges with Pennsylvania Route 8 at exit 5 before departing the Blue Belt, which PA 28 is part of from I-279/I-579 to this point, at exit 6 near Aspinwall. Outside of Cheswick, PA 28 meets Interstate 76 (the Pennsylvania Turnpike) and Pennsylvania Route 910 at exit 11.

[edit] Cheswick to Kittanning

PA 28 southbound from exit 14 (PA 366).

From the Pennsylvania Turnpike to U.S. Route 422 west of Kittanning, PA 28 has eight interchanges, including exits with Pittsburgh Mills Boulevard (exit 12A), Pennsylvania Route 366 (14), and Pennsylvania Route 356 (17), while continuing to parallel the Allegheny to the east. At exit 19, PA 28 merges with the limited-access US 422 and heads east along US 422 as it proceeds south of West Kittanning.

Upon crossing the Allegheny River and entering Kittanning, US 422 and PA 28 interchange with Pennsylvania Route 66. PA 66 then joins the concurrency for two miles to an exit with U.S. Route 422 Business southeast of downtown Kittanning. Here, US 422 leaves the freeway and heads east toward Indiana while PA 28 and PA 66 remain concurrent as they progress northward.

[edit] Kittanning to New Bethlehem

The 39 mile long freeway ends with a concurrency with Pennsylvania Route 66. In Rayburn Township, PA 28/PA 66 intersects the western terminus of Pennsylvania Route 85. After PA 85, PA 28/PA 66 head towards the northeast. In South Bethlehem, PA 28/PA 66 become North Street and Broad Street then intersecting the northern terminus of Pennsylvania Route 839.

[edit] Clarion County

After crossing the Redbank Creek, PA 28/PA 66 enters Clarion County and New Bethlehem. In downtown New Bethlehem, PA 66 splits off from PA 28 and making the PA 28/PA 66 concurrency one of the longest concurrencies in Pennsylvania. After the split, PA 28 heads northeast as Broad Street paralleling the Redbank Creek. In Hawthorn, PA 28 is called Brookville Street and meets the western terminus of Pennsylvania Route 536. North of PA 536, PA 28 begins to slide to the north instead of the northeast.

[edit] Jefferson County

In Summerville, PA 28's course begins to slide towards the northeast again and in Summerville, PA 28 is called Harrison Street. In Clover and Rose Townships, PA 28 parallels many railroads tracks that even cross it. In Brookville, PA 28 has a Wrong-way concurrency with U.S. Route 322 and Pennsylvania Route 36. The reason of the Wrong-way concurrency is that PA 28 is heading north while PA 36 is heading south on the concurrency with US 322. In downtown Brookville, PA 36 splits off from US 322/PA 28. Then after crossing the North Folk Creek, US 322/PA 28 meet the southern terminus of Pennsylvania Route 968. East of PA 968, US 322 splits off from PA 28 at a "T" interchange. East of Brookville in Pine Creek Township, PA 28 intersects Interstate 80 at exit 81 a Diamond interchange. North of I-80, PA 28 continues north as a local road without intersecting another route for more than 14 miles. PA 28 passes through the many wildlife in Pennsylvania through a forest region. In Brockway, PA 28 is called Main Street before terminating (ending) at a "T" intersection with U.S. Route 219.

[edit] Communities along the route

Notable locations along PA 28:

[edit] Exit list

County	Location	Mile ^{[citation needed]}	#	Destinations	Notes
Allegheny	Pittsburgh	0.0		9th Street – North Shore
				River Avenue	No southbound exit
				I-579 south (Veterans Bridge) – Liberty Bridge	Interchange; southbound exit and northbound entrance
				Chestnut Street	Interchange; northbound exit only
		0.2		To I-279 / East Ohio Street	Interchange; no southbound entrance
		1.1	1	31st Street Bridge, Rialto Street
	Millvale	1.9	2	40th Street Bridge	Interchange northbound; at-grade intersection southbound
		South end of freeway
		2.2	3	Millvale
	Etna	3.4	4	Etna	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		3.9	5A	R.D. Fleming Bridge (PA 8 south) – Sharpsburg	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		4.2	5B	PA 8 north – Butler, Etna	Signed as exit 5 southbound
		5.8	6	To PA 8 south / Highland Park Bridge (Blue Belt) – Aspinwall
	Aspinwall	6.5	7	Delafield Avenue	No southbound exit
	Aspinwall	7.2	8	Freeport Road, Fox Chapel Road, Waterworks Drive
	Blawnox	7.5	9	Blawnox	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
	Blawnox	8.6	10	R.I.D.C. Drive
	Harmar Twp.	11.6	11	PA 910 to PA Turnpike / I-76 – Harmarville, Harmar
	Cheswick	13.4	12	Cheswick, Springdale
	Cheswick	15.8	12A	Pittsburgh Mills Boulevard
	Creighton	16.1	13	Russellton, Creighton	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
	Tarentum	18.6	14	PA 366 – Tarentum, New Kensington
	Natrona Heights	20.3	15	Natrona Heights, Brackenridge
	Freeport	23.3	16	Millerstown, Freeport	Former PA 908
Butler	Buffalo Twp.	25.0	17	PA 356 – Butler, Freeport
Armstrong	North Buffalo Twp.	31.0	18	Slate Lick
		37.1	19	US 422 west – Butler, West Kittanning	South end of US 422 overlap
		39.8	A	PA 66 south – Ford City	South end of PA 66 overlap
		39.8	B	To US 422 Bus. – Kittanning
		41.2		US 422 east / US 422 Bus. west – Indiana, Kittanning	North end of US 422 overlap
	North end of freeway
	Rayburn Township	42.2		PA 85 east – Rural Valley, Plumville
	South Bethlehem	59.3		PA 839 south – Mahoning Dam
Clarion	New Bethlehem	59.7		PA 66 north – Clarion	North end of PA 66 overlap
Clarion	Redbank Township	65.2		PA 536 east – Mayport
Jefferson	Brookville	79.3		US 322 west / PA 36 north / PA 28 Truck north to I-80 – Leeper, Clarion	South end of US 322/PA 36 overlap
		79.7		PA 36 south – Punxsutawney	North end of PA 36 overlap
		80.2		Richards Street (SR 4005) – Richardsville, Ridgway	Former PA 968
	Pine Creek Township	80.9		US 322 east – Reynoldsville	North end of US 322 overlap
	Pine Creek Township	82.0		I-80 / PA 28 Truck south – Clarion, DuBois	Interchange
	Brockway	97.6		US 219 – Ridgway, DuBois

[edit] History

The highway was signed in 1927 from Pittsburgh to Kittanning.

The highway was extended north to Brockway in 1928. In 1928, the route was under construction from Blawnox to Cheswick, Troy Hill Road to Oakland, and Hazen to Reitz Crossing Road. Those sections were completed the following year. In 1929, the section from Avella to Woodrow and from Hickory to Fort Cherry Road was under construction and finished the following year. In 1930, the section from Skyline Road to PA 18 was paved as well as in Venice. That year the western terminus was moved from Avella to Independence. In 1958, the highway was widened and a median installed at the interchange with the Turnpike. In 1961, the highways southern terminus was moved from Independence to PA 8 in Etna.

In 1963, this section opened to traffic from PA 8 north to the Highland Park Bridge interchange and the following year to Blawnox.

Also that year, the Pittsburgh Area Transportation Plan recommended upgrading PA 28 and then PA 8, to a six-lane, limited-access highway starting 2,200 feet west of the 31st Street Bridge and ending at the 40th Street Bridge. Full interchanges would be constructed at both bridges; however, this recommendation was not carried out. It also laid out a plan that would turn PA 28 into an expressway from Pittsburgh to Brookville, this too was not carried out.

In 1964, the highway was widened and a median installed on it between Brackenridge and the Butler County line. In 1968, construction began on the section from Blawnox to PA 910. The expressway was proposed from that point to the Butler County line. Construction also began on the section from Slate Lick to near Center Hill in the same year. In 1965, the route was moved from Courthouse Road into Kittanning to bypass the borough on its current alignment. In 1969, construction commenced on the section from PA 910 to Exit 12 and from Exit 16 to PA 356 and the Armstrong County line.

The start of the 1970s saw the construction extend from Exit 16 all the way to a new expressway alignment for US 422, also under construction, near West Kittanning. In 1971, construction commenced on the section from Exit 15 to Exit 16. In 1972, the expressway opened to traffic from Blawnox to PA 910 and from Exit 15 to US 422. However, PA 28's designation was not placed on the section from Exit 15 to Exit 16. The following year, the expressway opened from PA 910 to Exit 12.

In 1973, the route was extended to end at US 19/PA 65 at Chateau Street via Western Avenue and East Ohio Street.

In 1975, construction commenced on the section from Exit 12 to north of Tarentum; and during the following year, the construction was extended to Exit 15. In 1978, the PA 28 designation was routed onto the newly opened highway from Exit 11 to Exit 12 and from Exit 15 to Exit 16. The PA 28 designation still followed Freeport Road to connect between Exit 12 and Exit 15.

In 1980, the expressway opened from Exit 12 to Exit 13 and the PA 28 designation was moved onto this section. In 1984, the route was changed to follow Western Avenue, Allegheny Avenue, North Shore Drive, General Robinson Street, and Madison Avenue for northbound traffic, and Reedsdale Street for southbound traffic in Pittsburgh. The final section of the Allegheny Valley Expressway between Exit 13 and Exit 15 opened in 1985.