Schuylkill Expressway

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Schuylkill Expressway
Length:	25.2 mi[1] (40.6 km)
West end:	I-76/PA Tpk/I-276 near Valley Forge
Major junctions:	I-476 in Conshohocken US 1 in Philadelphia US 13/US 30 in Fairmount Park I-676/US 30 in Center City I-95 in Philadelphia
East end:	I-76 to NJ 42 on the Walt Whitman Bridge
Counties:	Montgomery, Philadelphia
Pennsylvania State Routes Minor - Legislative
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The Schuylkill Expressway, locally known simply as the Schuylkill,^[2], is a freeway through southeastern Montgomery County and the city of Philadelphia, and the easternmost segment of Interstate 76 in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It extends from the Valley Forge exit of the Pennsylvania Turnpike in King of Prussia, paralleling its namesake Schuylkill River for most of the route, to the Walt Whitman Bridge in South Philadelphia. It serves as the primary corridor into Philadelphia from points west.

Constructed over a period of ten years from 1949 to 1959, a large portion of the expressway predates the 1956 introduction of Interstate Highway System; many of these portions were not built to contemporary standards.^[3] The rugged terrain and limited riverfront space covered by the route has largely stymied later attempts to upgrade or widen the highway, despite the road being highly over-capacity; it has become notorious for its chronic congestion.^[4] It is the busiest road in Philadelphia, as well as in the entire commonwealth of Pennsylvania.^[5] An average 163,000 vehicles use the road daily in Philadelphia County,^[6] and an average of 109,000 use the highway in Montgomery County.^[7]

Contents 1 History 2 Route description 3 Exit list 4 References

[edit] History

Plans for a limited-access highway along the west bank of the Schuylkill River originated in 1932, as part of a proposed cars-only parkway system for the Philadelphia area similar to the contemporary system being built in New York City. The "Valley Forge Parkway" was to have run from Fairmount Park to Valley Forge State Park, with plans for a later extension to Reading via Pottstown. However, planning for the proposed parkway system stalled and the plan was eventually abandoned.^[3][4]

Planning for today's expressway began in 1947, when the city of Philadelphia approved plans to develop a freeway connecting the city with the terminus of the planned Philadelphia Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike near Valley Forge. The highway was designed by engineers Michael Rapuano, who had previously aided in the design of the Garden State Parkway, and Bill Allen of Gannett Fleming. The new expressway largely followed the earlier planned parkway route from Valley Forge to Fairmount Park, while also extending into southern Philadelphia and across the Delaware River into New Jersey. Two alternatives were proposed south of University City: one routing would continue along the west bank of the river into Southwest Philadelphia to its confluence near Philadelphia International Airport, where it would tunnel underneath the Delaware to Paulsboro, New Jersey; the other would cross the Schuylkill south of University City and bisect South Philadelphia, crossing the Delaware into Gloucester City, New Jersey. Planned expansions of the airport in the path of the former proposal led to adoption of the routing through South Philadelphia.^[3][4]

Construction of the road began in 1949. The road was completed in stages, with a short segment near King of Prussia opening in 1951 along with the Turnpike's Philadelphia Extension, with the section from King of Prussia to Conshohocken opening a year later. The section between Conshohocken and City Avenue opened in 1954. The Walt Whitman Bridge opened in 1957. The expressway was completed through Fairmount Park in 1959, and in 1960 the entire expressway was complete with the opening of the segment through University City.^[4]

Immediately after its completion, operational studies performed on the Schuylkill Expressway found that the route would be unable to cope with the area's growing traffic demands, due to the many substandard design elements and compromises incorporated to cope with the rugged, difficult routing of the road. In 1962, plans were announced for a parallel expressway along the east bank of the Schuylkill, known as the Manayunk Expressway; however, these plans were quickly withdrawn due to substantial opposition.^[3] An alternative plan was then introduced to widen the entire highway to eight lanes in time for the United States Bicentennial in 1976; however, these plans were also shelved due to local disapproval. A scaled-down widening project was successfully undertaken from 1969 to 1972 to widen a short section of the road to six lanes through Fairmount Park.^[3]

In the decades since its opening, congestion on the expressway has steadily increased. Plans to expand the expressway to eight lanes by building an upper deck, including high-occupancy toll lanes, were advocated by former Pennsylvania House Speaker John Perzel, but have not come to fruition due to a lack of funding.^[4] PennDOT has planned a $23.7 million project, with testing by fall 2008, to add 29 webcams on the Schuylkill Expressway between the Conshohocken Curve and Passyunk Avenue.^[8]

[edit] Route description

The Schuylkill Expressway begins at the Valley Forge Interchange of the Pennsylvania Turnpike in King of Prussia. The Interstate 76 designation continues west on the Turnpike from this point, while the Turnpike from this point east is designated Interstate 276. Immediately southeast of the interchange, the expressway interchanges with U.S. Route 202, U.S. Route 422, and the King of Prussia Mall. It continues eastward though Upper Merion, interchanging with Pennsylvania Route 320 in Gulph Mills. It continues towards Conshohocken, where it interchanges with Interstate 476 and Pennsylvania Route 23.^[9][10]

The highway then begins to run along a narrow cliff-top route high above its namesake Schuylkill River, which it parallels from this point. East of Conshohocken, it curves sharply southeast in a 90-degree turn locally known as the "Conshohocken Curve".^[11] Continuing southeast, interchanges provide access to the Main Line community of Gladwyne and the Philadelphia neighborhood of Manayunk.^[12][13]

The expressway then enters the city of Philadelphia, interchanging with City Avenue (U.S. Route 1); U.S. 1 briefly enters the expressway at this point. Entering Fairmount Park, U.S. 1 splits off as the Roosevelt Expressway to the northeast. The Schuylkill Expressway continues south through the park towards Center City, with Boathouse Row on the opposite bank of the river. At the southern end of the park, the Vine Street Expressway (Interstate 676) splits off to the east.^[14][15]

The road then dips down below street level, running immediately adjacent to the river on the eastern edge of University City. This section is frequently the most congested because it is at its closest point to Center City, and it is only two lanes wide in each direction, with a few left lane exits and entrances. The road is so narrow because it is squeezed between the River and a large set of freight and passenger railroad tracks. At this narrow point are the city's main Post Office facility, its main railroad station, and the main streets to the University of Pennsylvania and the center of the city. It then crosses the river and skirts the eastern edge of the Philadelphia Gas Works to an interchange with Pennsylvania Route 291 and Oregon Avenue. South of the interchange, the expressway curves sharply east. It interchanges with Pennsylvania Route 611 and Interstate 95, and crosses the Delaware River on Walt Whitman Bridge into New Jersey.^[16]

[edit] Exit list

County	Location	Mile[1]	#[17]		Destinations	Notes
			Old	New
Montgomery	King of Prussia	327.28			I-76 west – Harrisburg	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
					I-276 east – New Jersey	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		Valley Forge toll plaza
		327.70	25	327	North Gulph Road, Mall Boulevard - Valley Forge	Serves the King of Prussia Mall
		327.98	26A	328A	US 202 south to US 422 west / Swedesford Road – West Chester, Pottstown
		328.23	26B	328B	US 202 north – King of Prussia
	Upper Merion Twp.	330.30	27	330	PA 320 – Gulph Mills
	West Conshohocken	332.36	28	331	I-476 – Chester, Plymouth Meeting	Signed as exits 331A (south) and 331B (north)
		332.61	28	332	PA 23 – Conshohocken	Eastbound exit is part of exit 331B
	Gladwyne	337.39	30	337	Gladwyne	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
	Belmont Hills	338.73	31	338	Green Lane, Belmont Avenue
Philadelphia	Philadelphia	340.20	33	339	US 1 south (City Avenue)	West end of US 1 overlap
		340.34	32	340A	Lincoln Drive, Kelly Drive
		340.92	34	340B	US 1 north (Roosevelt Boulevard)	East end of US 1 overlap
		342.55	35	341	Montgomery Drive, West River Drive
		343.73	36	342	US 13 / US 30 west (Girard Avenue) – Philadelphia Zoo	West end of US 30 overlap
		344.57	37	343	Spring Garden Street, Haverford Avenue	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		345.04	38	344	I-676 east / US 30 east – Central Philadelphia	East end of US 30 overlap
		345.36	39	345	30th Street, Market Street - Amtrak/SEPTA
		346.04	40	346A	South Street
		346.80	41	346B	Grays Ferry Avenue, University Avenue - Civic Center
		347.41	42	346C	28th Street	Eastbound exit only
		347.71	42	346C	Vare Avenue, Mifflin Street	Westbound exit and entrance
		348.01	43A	347A	PA 291 (Penrose Avenue) to I-95 south – Philadelphia International Airport	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
			43B	347B	Passyunk Avenue, Oregon Avenue	Signed as exit 347 westbound
		349.14	44	348	PA 291 west (Penrose Avenue)	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		349.65	45	349	PA 611 (Broad Street) - Sports Complex
		350.14	46	350	To I-95 / 7th Street South, Packer Avenue
		350.53	47	351	I-95 / Front Street - Trenton, Chester	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		351.98	Walt Whitman Bridge over the Delaware River (state line)
Camden	Gloucester
		352.69	48	354	US 130 north / I-676 – Camden, Waterfront	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance in New Jersey; connection to US 130 is NJ 76C

[edit] References

v • d • e Road transportation infrastructure of the metro Philadelphia area Interstates I-76 • I-176 • I-276 • I-476 • I-676 • I-95 (PA·DE) • I-295 • I-495 U.S. Routes US 1 • US 13 (PA·DE) • US 30 (PA·NJ) • US 40 (NJ·DE) • US 130 • US 202 (PA·DE) • US 322 (PA·NJ) • US 422 Pennsylvania Routes PA 3 • PA 23 • PA 29 • PA 32 • PA 63 • PA 73 • PA 100 • PA 113 • PA 132 • PA 152 • PA 232 • PA 252 • PA 263 • PA 291 • PA 309 • PA 313 • PA 320 • PA 332 • PA 352 • PA 363 • PA 401 • PA 413 • PA 420 • PA 452 • PA 463 • PA 532 • PA 611 • PA 663 New Jersey Routes NJ 38 • NJ 41 • NJ 42 • NJ 44 • NJ 45 • NJ 47 • NJ 48 • NJ 49 • NJ 55 • NJ 70 • NJ 73 • NJ 90 • NJ 168 • NJ 413 Delaware Routes DE 1 • DE 2 • DE 4 • DE 7 • DE 9 • DE 41 • DE 71 • DE 92 • DE 100 • DE 141 • DE 273 • DE 299 • DE 896 Named roads/streets Benjamin Franklin Parkway • Broad Street • City Avenue • Front Street • Girard Avenue • Market Street • Roosevelt Boulevard • South Street • Chestnut Street • Walnut Street Pennsylvania Turnpike • New Jersey Turnpike • Delaware Turnpike • Schuylkill Expressway • Delaware Expressway • Blue Route • Vine St Expressway • North South Freeway • Lancaster Avenue • Bethlehem Pike • Baltimore Pike • Black Horse Pike Bridges Delaware Memorial Bridge • Commodore Barry Bridge • Walt Whitman Bridge • Ben Franklin Bridge • Betsy Ross Bridge • Tacony-Palmyra Bridge • Burlington-Bristol Bridge • Delaware River-Turnpike Toll Bridge