Pennsylvania Route 28 - Misplaced Pages

State highway in Pennsylvania, US

Pennsylvania Route 28

Route information

Maintained by PennDOT

Length

98.264 mi (158.141 km)

Existed

1927–present

Major junctions

South end

Anderson Street in Pittsburgh

Major intersections

I-279 / I-579 in Pittsburgh
PA 8 in Etna
PA 910 near Harmar
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

Location

Country

United States

State

Pennsylvania

Counties

Allegheny, Butler, Armstrong, Clarion, Jefferson

Highway system

Pennsylvania State Route System

←

PA 27

→

PA 29

Pennsylvania Route 28 (PA 28) is a major state highway, which runs for 98 miles (158 km) from Anderson Street in Pittsburgh to U.S. Route 219 (US 219) in Brockway in Pennsylvania in the United States.

From Pittsburgh to Kittanning, it is a 44.5-mile-long (71.6 km) limited access expressway that is named the Alexander H. Lindsay Memorial Highway, and is also known as the Allegheny Valley Expressway. It is named after Alexander Lindsay, a lawyer who lived in South Buffalo and commuted to work in Pittsburgh: he successfully lobbied for the city to be connected to the proposed Keystone Shortway (I-80).

Route description

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PA 28 begins adjacent to Downtown Pittsburgh at Anderson Street near the Interstate 279 (I-279)/I-579 interchange and travels north/northeast along the northern bank of the Allegheny River. Until recently the route was a surface street for the first two miles (3.2 km) until the 40th Street Bridge and then an expressway from 40th Street to Kittanning. Upgrades in 2013 made it a limited-access highway throughout its 44.5 miles (71.6 km) in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area from the route's start at I-279 to Rayburn Township, Armstrong County, with Governor Tom Corbett attending the completion ceremony on November 17, 2014.

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. Near Harmar Township, PA 28 meets Pennsylvania Route 910 at exit 11 which provided access to Interstate 76 (the Pennsylvania Turnpike).

From exit 11 to U.S. Route 422 west of Kittanning, PA 28 has eight interchanges, including exits with Pittsburgh Mills Boulevard (exit 12A), Pennsylvania Route 366 (exit 14), and Pennsylvania Route 356 (exit 17), while continuing to parallel the Allegheny to the east. Exit 18 consists of Pennsylvania Route 128 crossing or which used to be old 28 before the expressway. 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 (3 km) 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.

The 41-mile-long (66 km) 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.

After crossing 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 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.

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 North Fork Creek, US 322/PA 28 meet the southern terminus of the former Pennsylvania Route 968.

East of here, 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 (23 km). 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.

History

In 1927, PA 28 was created, being signed on existing two laned roads from Pittsburgh to Kittanning. The highway was signed to Brockway in 1928. That same year, the route was under construction from Blawnox to Cheswick, Troy Hill Road to Oakland, and Hazen to Reitz Crossing Road. Those sections were completed in 1929, at which point the section from Avella to Woodrow and from Hickory to Fort Cherry Road began construction.

In 1929, the segments from Blawnox to Cheswick, Troy Hill Road to Oakland, and Hazen to Reitz Crossing Road were completed.

By 1930, the roadway had been paved from Skyline Road to PA 18, and the segment from Blawnox to Cheswick was opened to traffic. The southern terminus was also extended from Avella to Independence.

In 1948, construction began on a new expressway bypass of the segment traveling through Millville. It was opened to traffic in 1950. That same year, a new interchange with the PA turnpike was opened to traffic.

In 1957, construction began on a expressway bypass of Sharpsburg. This new alignment was opened to traffic on October 22, 1958. Also as part of this project, the roadway reconstructed to expressway standards from Sharpsburg to the turnpike interchange.

On July 15, 1960, the highway's southern terminus was moved from Independence to PA 8 in Etna. The former section of PA 28 from South Main Street in the West End Valley to the intersection of Noblestown Road and Crafton Boulevard in Crafton Heights was redesignated as PA 60. The remaining 83-mile stretch from Crafton Heights to Independence was renumbered PA 50. This designation change was made to reduce the number of concurrent routes in Pittsburgh. The changes took effect a few months later and signs were changed by spring 1961.

In 1963, the section from PA 8 north to the Highland Park Bridge interchange opened to traffic, replacing the previous segment that ran through Etna.

In 1964, the roadway to Blawnox was opened, also part of this project was the reconstruction of the segment from Brackenridge and the Butler to expressway standards. That same year, the interchange with I-80 was oepned.

In 1965, PA 28 was realigned onto Courthouse Road to bypass the more congested parts of Kittanning.

In 1968, the segment to Fox Run Road was completed.

In 1972, the segment from Exit 16 to Armstrong County and from Blawnox to PA 910 and from Exit 15 to US 422 was opened to traffic. However, PA 28's designation was not signed on the section from Exit 15 to Exit 16.

In 1973, part of the roadway from Exit 11 to Exit 12 was opened. The route was also extended to end at US 19/PA 65 at Chateau Street via Western Avenue and East Ohio Street.

In 1977, new emergency stop lanes were constructed.

By 1978, PA 28 signage was installed onto the Allegheny Valley Expressway.

On October 17, 1980, the expressway from Exit 12 to the north border of Tarentum was opened to traffic, it was also extended onto a new at-grade segment.

The final stretch of the Allegheny Valley Expressway between Exit 13 and Exit 15 opened in 1985, PA 28 was subsequently removed from Freeport Road.

In 1987, through traffic at the Highland Park interchange was restriped from two lanes to one lane, with deceleration lanes and emergency shoulders being added in their place. This was done to increase safety, as well better serve high demand for the bridge itself.

In 1989, an extension from Ninth Street to East Ohio Street was opened to traffic.

In 1993, PA 28’s northern terminus was relocated from the West End Bridge to the I-279 interchange, this made it so that the entire Allegheny Valley Expressway was signed as PA 28.

In the 1980s, plans to reconstruct the roadway from Millvale to Etna were made. This came after the section saw 169 accidents from 1982 through 1987, 96 of such were injuries, with 4 causing fatalities. Construction began on September 6, 1988, and involved blasting 600,000 cubic yards of rock from the hillside that parallels the highway to reduce slides, widening the lanes to 12 feet each, adding 10-foot-wide shoulders, adding should pull-off areas such as on the eastern segment, and placing a Jersey barrier in the middle of the four foot median. The Etna interchange received new lights and signage. The $14.4 million project that required four lanes of traffic to squeeze into two finally came to an end December 7, 1990, due to rain hampering construction. Glare screen was erected on the Jersey barrier in 1991 to cut down on the effects of headlights from oncoming traffic. Due to the placement in the median instead of the outside due to the narrow right-of-way, the lights came online in 1995. Lighting standards were not installed because of financial uncertainty.

On March 12, 2001, a $13 million project to reconstruct the roadway between exit 6 and exit 10 was made. The project concluded on September 20, 2001, half a million dollars under budget.

On April 10, 2001, a project began to demolish the PA 28 southbound overpass and widen the support pillars to allow for a two-lane wide ramp. It was scheduled to be completed by Thanksgiving 2001. However due to delays related to the contractor's bankruptcy, the $11.5 million southbound bridge did not open until December 10.

Construction on a bypass of Kittanning began on March 24, 2000. It was completed by December 13, 2001.

In 2002, the southern terminus was truncated to the Interstate 579/279 interchange in order to reduce confusion.

In 2003, after rocks and debris fell from a common rock fall segment of the roadway, it was decided to reduce the roadway from two to one lane in the southbound direction.

In 2004, an interchange was opened in Harwick to serve Pittsburgh Mills.

In 2006, minor upgrades were made to a 2.9 mile stretch of roadway.

In March 2007, a project to widen the roadway from two lanes to three lanes from between Harmar and Harwick, repairing unaltered roadway, installing extra-large chain-link fencing, constructing new catch basins, relocating the southbound roadway in some areas, and reinforcing concrete. Work was completed in 2008.

On March 31, 2008, construction began on a new ramp to I-279 southbound. The new $7.9 million ramp opened to traffic on September 25, 2008. Despite this upgrade, the dealcreation ramp that carried traffic onto the Anderson Street exit had to be narrowed from two lanes to one lane.

A project to rebuild the PA 8 interchange began on August 16, 1999, when the off-ramp from PA 28 southbound from PA 28 northbound was closed for a total of $4.7 million. A new ramp was constructed, it was thicker and excavated in a way to lessen the threat of falling rocks. The project was completed on January 11, 2000. On April 26, 2004, more improvements began at the PA 8 interchange. Before work began, a water line was relocated and a 1,000-foot-long retaining wall built below. Ater this was completed, the through lanes were demolished and rebuilt from the ground up, and the ramp from PA 8 south was permanently closed and replaced by a new, differently constructed one. The $26,500,000 project finished on March 17, 2005. Further work at the PA 8 interchange began on June 7, 2009. This project involved demolishing the old one lane northbound overpass and replacing it with a two-lane overpass. It opened to one lane traffic on October 27, 2009 and opened fully a month later on November 25 drawing to a close the $22.5 million project. Another $27.2 project began at the PA 8 interchange on March 15, 2010. It consisted of roadway reconstruction, bridge replacement, bridge rehabilitation, wall construction, approach roadway widening, drainage, guide rail, concrete barrier, curb, landscaping, highway lighting, signing and pavement markings, signals, and improvements between Exit 4 and Exit 5. The majority of work was completed on December 3, 2010 when two-lane northbound traffic resumed, but minor work continued.

In November 2009, a project began to rebuild the at-garde interchanges on East Ohio Street. The $24.8 million project includes demolishing and relocating the Norfolk Southern rail lines, upgrading drainage, replacing the wired traffic signals with overhand gantry ones, utility reconstruction, and wall and bridge replacement along PA 28 from Chestnut Street to the 40th Street Bridge. Bridge pier reconstruction at the 31st Street Bridge, part of the project, involved closing the span on July 6, 2010 which gave commuters a reprieve from at least one signal until August 3, when the intersection was reopened with temporary signals. In 2011, the southbound lanes of PA 28 were shifted to bypass the intersection of the 40th Street Bridge. The northbound lanes remained under the bridge. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act-funded work was completed by June 2012. In August 2012, an excavation lowered the roadbed of PA 28 at the 31st Street Bridge, which had been partially demolished to allow this. All lanes were clear of lane closures and construction by November, 2014 when Governor Tom Corbett attended the official groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate all 44.5 miles being expressway-grade. The widening included a small park with a promenade and a retaining wall which features several murals on the city's history, including that of the Saint Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church on the aforementioned structure's site. Despite being considered complete, various utilities were not completed until May 2015. It received a reward in 2016.

In December 2023, the segment of roadway in Fox Chapel was reconstructed.

On December 12, 2017, PennDOT announced a plan to widen the roadway to have two through lanes at the Highland Park interchange, though retaining the dedicated exit and entrance lanes for the exit approaches themselves. Work started in late 2020 with some residual work lasting into 2021. The project was completed in March 2024.

In April 2024, signage updates were made to reduce the likelihood of wrong way driving. Also, the Brockway intersection was altered.

In late 2024, a project to reconstruct the roadway between exit 11 and exit 13 is expected to be completed.

In November 2023, a new roadway was constructed in Goheenville. Many houses in the area were raised, and the ramp ont local avenue Caldwell Road was relocated onto what used to be a local driveway. After the opening of the new roadway, The old roadway was then permanently closed, and its replacement is expected to be completed by late 2024.

Future

The only other thing keeping PA-28 from having a interstate designation are the 45-mph speed limits near the Millvale and Etna Exits, as well as the section of the southbound one-lane expressway between Exit 9 (Blawnox Exit), and Exit 8,(Waterworks Exit). If these are ever to be upgraded to Interstate Highway standards, PA 28 will be up to Interstate Highway standards from its southern terminus all the way to Kittanning, and could potentially receive an Interstate designation in the future.

Major intersections

County	Location	mi	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Allegheny	Pittsburgh	0.000	0.000		Anderson Street	Southern terminus of PA 28
		0.073– 0.111	0.117– 0.179		River Avenue	Northbound entrance / exit only
		0.375	0.604		Chestnut Street	Northbound exit only
		0.414– 0.746	0.666– 1.201	1B	To I-279 north / East Ohio Street – PNC Park, Acrisure Stadium, Allegheny Center	No southbound entrance; signed as exit 1B southbound only
		0.458	0.737	1A	I-579 south (Veterans Bridge) / I-279 south (Fort Pitt Bridge) to I-376 – Monroeville, Airport	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		1.497– 1.750	2.409– 2.816	2	31st Street Bridge – Strip District
	Millvale	2.319– 2.456	3.732– 3.953	3A	40th Street Bridge – Lawrenceville	Inverted SPUI/continuous green T hybrid interchange; no northbound entrance (northbound traffic directed to 3B entrance)
	Millvale	2.647– 2.857	4.260– 4.598	3B	Blue Belt – Millvale	No southbound entrance (southbound traffic directed to 3A entrance), southern terminus of Blue Belt concurrency
	Etna	3.968	6.386	4	Etna	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		4.522– 4.539	7.277– 7.305	5A	PA 8 south (R.D. Fleming Bridge) – Sharpsburg	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		4.567– 4.813	7.350– 7.746	5B	PA 8 north – Butler, Etna	Signed as exit 5 southbound
		6.218– 6.418	10.007– 10.329	6	To PA 8 south / Highland Park Bridge / Blue Belt / Green Belt – Aspinwall	Northern terminus of Blue Belt concurrency, southern terminus of Green Belt concurrency
	Aspinwall	6.846– 7.123	11.018– 11.463	7	Delafield Avenue	No southbound exit
	Aspinwall	7.618– 7.771	12.260– 12.506	8	Freeport Road, Fox Chapel Road ( Green Belt), Waterworks Drive	Northern terminus of Green Belt concurrency
	Blawnox	8.003– 8.029	12.880– 12.921	9	Blawnox	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
	Blawnox	8.922– 9.250	14.359– 14.886	10	R.I.D.C. Drive
	Harmar Township	12.038– 12.493	19.373– 20.106	11	PA 910 west / Yellow Belt to I-76 / Penna Turnpike – Harmarville, Harmar	Eastern terminus of PA 910
	Cheswick	13.715– 14.191	22.072– 22.838	12	Cheswick, Springdale
	Cheswick	14.990– 15.462	24.124– 24.884	12A	Pittsburgh Mills Boulevard
	Creighton	16.373– 17.236	26.350– 27.739	13	Orange Belt – Russellton, Creighton	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
	Tarentum	18.125– 19.382	29.169– 31.192	14	PA 366 east / Red Belt – Tarentum, Brackenridge, New Kensington, Arnold, Lower Burrell, Fawn Township	Western terminus of PA 366
	Harrison Township	20.805– 21.226	33.482– 34.160	15	Natrona Heights, Natrona, Brackenridge	Brackenridge appears on southbound signs only.
	Harrison Township	23.717– 24.147	38.169– 38.861	16	Freeport, Millerstown	Freeport appears on northbound signs only.
Butler	Buffalo Township	25.337– 25.816	40.776– 41.547	17	PA 356 – Freeport, Butler
Armstrong	North Buffalo Township	31.346– 31.842	50.446– 51.245	18	PA 128 – Slate Lick, Northpointe
	East Franklin Township	37.480– 38.000	60.318– 61.155	19	US 422 west – Butler, West Kittanning	Southern terminus of US 422 concurrency
	Manor Township	39.915– 40.001	64.237– 64.375	A	PA 66 south – Ford City	Southern terminus of PA 66 (southbound) concurrency; exits to PA 66 southbound only
		40.256– 40.590	64.786– 65.323	B	To US 422 Bus. – Kittanning	Southern terminus of PA 66 (northbound) concurrency; no access to PA 66 southbound
		41.511– 42.302	66.805– 68.078		US 422 east / US 422 Bus. west – Indiana, Kittanning	Northern terminus of US 422 concurrency; eastern terminus of US 422 Bus.
		42.806	68.890	Northern terminus of freeway
	Rayburn Township	42.806	68.890		PA 85 east – Rural Valley, Plumville	Western terminus of PA 85
	South Bethlehem	59.871	96.353		PA 839 south – Mahoning Dam	Northern terminus of PA 839
Clarion	New Bethlehem	60.176	96.844		PA 66 north – Clarion	Northern terminus of PA 66 concurrency
Clarion	Redbank Township	65.661	105.671		PA 536 east (Mayport Road) / Wallwork Road – Mayport	Western terminus of PA 536
Jefferson	Clover Township	73.103	117.648		PA 949 north (Summerville-Corsica Road) / Water Street – Corsica	Southern terminus of PA 949
	Brookville	79.500	127.943		US 322 west (28th Division Highway) / PA 36 north / PA 28 Truck north (Allegheny Boulevard) to I-80 – Leeper, Clarion	Southern terminus of US 322/PA 36 concurrency; southern terminus of PA 28 Truck
	Brookville	80.282	129.201		PA 36 south (White Street) – Punxsutawney	Northern terminus of PA 36 concurrency
	Pine Creek Township	81.421	131.034		US 322 east – Reynoldsville	Northern terminus of US 322 concurrency
	Pine Creek Township	82.580– 82.696	132.900– 133.086		I-80 / PA 28 Truck south – Clarion, DuBois	Exit 81 (I-80); northern terminus of PA 28 Truck
	Brockway	98.264	158.141		US 219 (Main Street / Cherry Street) – Ridgway, DuBois	Northern terminus of PA 28
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Concurrency terminus Incomplete access

PA 28 Truck

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Pennsylvania Route 28 Truck

Location	Brookville, Pennsylvania
Length	3.3 mi (5.3 km)
Existed	1963–present

Pennsylvania Route 28 Truck is a 3-mile-long (4.8 km) truck route in Brookville, Jefferson County, Pennsylvania. As Route 28 travels through the Brookville city center, it becomes a narrow main street and features a relatively sharp turn just west of the bridge over North Fork Creek. As a result, after the completion of Interstate 80, Route 28's truck traffic was shifted onto this freeway bypass from Exit 78 at Pennsylvania Route 36 (which Truck 28 is cosigned for its first 1/2 mile of existence) to Exit 81, where Route 28 meets the highway.