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Interstate 476
I-476 highlighted in red
Route information
Auxiliary route of I-76
Maintained by PennDOT and PTC
Length	132.10 mi (212.59 km)
History	Established 1970 Completed on December 16, 1992
Tourist routes	Blue Route Scenic Byway
NHS	Entire route
Restrictions	No hazardous goods allowed in the Lehigh Tunnel
Major junctions
South end	I-95 in Woodlyn
Major intersections	US 1 near Springfield PA 3 near Broomall US 30 in Villanova I-76 in West Conshohocken I-276 Toll / Penna Turnpike in Plymouth Meeting US 22 near Allentown US 209 near Lehighton I-80 / PA 940 near Hickory Run State Park PA 115 in Bear Creek Township PA 315 in Pittston
North end	I-81 / US 6 / US 11 near Clarks Summit
Location
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
Counties	Delaware, Montgomery, Bucks, Lehigh, Carbon, Luzerne, Lackawanna
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business Future Pennsylvania State Route System Interstate US State Scenic Legislative
← PA 475 → PA 476
← PA 8 PA 9 → PA 9 ← I-479 I-480 → PA 480 ← PA 492 I-495 → PA 501

Interstate 476 (I-476) is a 132.1-mile (212.59 km) auxiliary Interstate Highway of Interstate 76 in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania designated between Interstate 95 near Chester and Interstate 81 near Scranton, serving as the primary north–south Interstate corridor through eastern Pennsylvania. It consists of both the 20-mile (32.19 km) Mid-County Expressway, locally referred to as the "Blue Route" (although no signs exist with that designation), through the suburban Philadelphia-area counties of Delaware and Montgomery, and the tolled, 110.6-mile (177.99 km) Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike connecting the Philadelphia metropolitan area with the Lehigh Valley, the Poconos, and the Wyoming Valley. The Blue Route passes through suburban areas, while the Northeast Extension predominantly runs through rural areas of mountains, forest and farmland, with development closer to Philadelphia and in the Lehigh Valley and the Wyoming Valley. I-476 intersects many major roads including Interstate 76 (the Schuylkill Expressway) in West Conshohocken, Interstate 276 (the Pennsylvania Turnpike) in Plymouth Meeting, U.S. Route 22 near Allentown, and Interstate 80 near Hickory Run State Park.

At its opening in 1979, I-476 was a 3-mile-long (5 km), four-lane spur expressway connecting the Schuylkill Expressway with the Ridge Pike in Plymouth Meeting. It significantly helped reduce congestion through King of Prussia and the Schuylkill Expressway as it provided a more direct link from the Main Line suburbs to the northern suburbs and New Jersey. The highway was initially planned to connect down to I-95 in Delaware County, but due to environmental and local opposition, this portion did not open until December 1991.

In 1996, the I-476 designation was affixed to the pre-existing Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, replacing Pennsylvania Route 9. This was an older four-lane pre-Interstate limited access highway. Of earlier design, its cross section was very narrow, with only 10 feet (3.0 m) between opposing lanes of traffic in places. This extended I-476 north of Plymouth Meeting to Clarks Summit (near Scranton) as a part of the Pennsylvania Turnpike system. I-476 connected to the Northeast Extension at a state-of-the-art three-level interchange. This provided direct access to both I-276 east and I-476 north, now on the Northeast Extension. With the re-designation of the Northeast Extension, I-476 surpassed I-495 in Massachusetts as the longest auxiliary Interstate Highway, a record it will hold until the completion of I-369 in Texas. I-476 was widened to six lanes from the Mid-County Expressway to Lansdale between 2011 and 2017.

Route description

Blue Route

The portion of Interstate 476 between Interstate 95 and Interstate 276 runs north–south through Delaware and Montgomery counties and is officially known as the Mid-County Expressway and the Veterans Memorial Highway, as well as by the nickname the "Blue Route". The road's southern terminus is at a junction with Interstate 95 near Chester, a city southwest of Philadelphia, near Philadelphia International Airport. Heading north, the road immediately narrows to a four-lane parkway north of Exit 1, MacDade Boulevard. It winds through the western Philadelphia suburbs of Wallingford and Swarthmore, where I-476 comes to an interchange with Baltimore Pike just west of Springfield. From here, the freeway continues north to Springfield, where it meets U.S. Route 1 at a three-level diamond interchange.

Past US 1, I-476 continues through wooded suburban areas and comes to an interchange with Pennsylvania Route 3 in Broomall, where it widens to six lanes. The route continues to Radnor Township, on the Main Line, reaching an interchange with U.S. Route 30. Stone monuments, including a large stone cairn atop a hill and a large crushed-stone image of a mythological griffin on a hillside, were constructed at the US 30 interchange to commemorate Radnor's history as part of the Welsh Tract. Proceeding northward, the route enters Montgomery County and comes to an interchange with Interstate 76 (Schuylkill Expressway) at West Conshohocken. After crossing the Schuylkill River on the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge, the freeway heads into Plymouth Township, where it has interchanges with Ridge Pike and Germantown Pike before coming to the Mid-County Interchange with the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Plymouth Meeting. The entire length of the Blue Route is designated the Blue Route Scenic Byway, a Pennsylvania Scenic Byway.

Northeast Extension

Beyond the Mid-County Interchange, Interstate 476 enters the Pennsylvania Turnpike system and has an interchange with Interstate 276 (which follows the mainline of the Pennsylvania Turnpike), continuing north from here as the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The route continues through the Philadelphia suburbs and reaches an interchange with Pennsylvania Route 63 near Lansdale that serves the North Penn Valley region. Past this interchange, the route enters a more rural setting of woods and farms, crossing into Bucks County and coming to an interchange with Pennsylvania Route 663 near Quakertown. The Northeast Extension continues north into Lehigh County, part of the Lehigh Valley metropolitan area, past the PA 663 interchange. Here, it has a ramp to the dual-access Allentown Service Plaza in Upper Macungie Township, and just north of it, I-476 reaches an interchange with US 22 (Lehigh Valley Thruway) near Allentown, which offers an indirect connection to Pennsylvania Route 309 and Interstate 78.

North of Allentown, the route runs through more farmland before passing under the Blue Mountain in the Lehigh Tunnel and entering Carbon County in the Pocono Mountains. Here, I-476 crosses over the Lehigh River and comes to an interchange with US 209 near Lehighton. Continuing through mountainous areas, it has an E-ZPass-only exit for Pennsylvania Route 903 and cuts through Hickory Run State Park before reaching an interchange with Interstate 80 and Pennsylvania Route 940 just to the north of the state park. The route continues through mountainous terrain, heading into Luzerne County and coming to an interchange with Pennsylvania Route 115 in Bear Creek that provides access to nearby Wilkes-Barre. The route comes to a toll barrier near Pittston that marks the northern end of the toll ticket system in the Northeast Extension. A short distance later, an interchange with Pennsylvania Route 315 provides indirect access to Interstate 81 and Scranton.

Past this interchange, I-476 enters Lackawanna County and crosses built-up areas of the Wyoming Valley as it skirts around Scranton, with a mainline all-electronic toll plaza, where tolls can be paid with E-ZPass or toll-by-plate, and an exit to Keyser Avenue. North of Scranton in Clarks Summit, the route crosses a valley on the 1,630-foot-long (500 m), 163-foot-high (50 m) John E. Fitzgerald Memorial Bridge, comes to a hairpin curve, and ends at an interchange with connections to I-81, US 6 and US 11. US 6 joins the turnpike for less than 1⁄4 mile (0.40 km) to connect between I-81 and US 11. As this is beyond the Clarks Summit all-electronic toll plaza, no toll is collected on this short segment.

Tolls

The Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike uses all-electronic tolling, with tolls payable by toll-by-plate (which uses automatic license plate recognition to take a photo of the vehicle's license plate and mail a bill to the vehicle owner) or E-ZPass. Tolls along the section between the Mid-County and Wyoming Valley toll plazas, along with the mainline Pennsylvania Turnpike, are based on distance traveled. Mainline toll plazas are also located at Keyser Avenue and Clarks Summit, charging a flat rate using toll-by-plate or E-ZPass. There are no tolls on exit ramps between Wyoming Valley and Clarks Summit. As of 2021, it costs a passenger vehicle $22.50 to travel the length of the Northeast Extension between Mid-County and Wyoming Valley using toll-by-plate and $10.90 using E-ZPass. The Keyser Avenue and Clarks Summit toll plazas cost $2.60 using toll-by-plate and $1.20 using E-ZPass for passenger vehicles.

Until March 2020, the road used the ticket system method of tolling between the Mid-County and Wyoming Valley toll plazas along with the mainline Pennsylvania Turnpike. With the ticket system, a motorist received a ticket upon entering the turnpike at an interchange and paid the fare and surrendered the ticket upon exiting. If a motorist lost the ticket, the turnpike charged the highest fare to the exit where the motorist left. Cash, credit cards, and E-ZPass were accepted at traditional toll plazas.

The tickets along the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike were originally handed out by person. In 1987, machines started to replace humans in distributing tickets. In 1990, an electronic toll collection system was proposed for the Pennsylvania Turnpike, where a motorist would create an account and use an electronic device that would be read from an electronic tollbooth. The motorist would be billed later. The multi-state electronic tolling system, which was to be called E-ZPass, was planned to be implemented by 1998. The planned installation date was later pushed back to 2000. On December 2, 2000, E-ZPass debuted along the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike between Mid-County and Lehigh Valley. On December 15, 2001, E-ZPass was extended to include the entire length of the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Commercial vehicles were allowed to start using E-ZPass on December 14, 2002.

On November 24, 2004, the day before Thanksgiving, 2,000 Teamsters Union employees went on strike, after contract negotiations failed. This was the first strike in the history of the roadway. As this is usually one of the busiest traffic days in the United States, to avoid traffic jams, tolls were waived for the rest of the day. Starting on November 25, turnpike management personnel collected flat-rate passenger tolls of $2 and commercial tolls of $15 from cash customers on the ticketed system, while E-ZPass customers were charged the lesser of the actual toll or the same flat rates. The strike ended after seven days when both sides reached an agreement on November 30, 2004. Normal toll collection resumed December 1, 2004. The strike occurred one day after the beginning of E-ZPass tolls at Clarks Summit and Keyser Avenue.

The Turnpike Commission announced plans to consider eliminating manned toll booths in favor of all-electronic tolls. With this, tolls will be paid using either E-ZPass or credit cards. Drivers unable to pay by either of these methods will be billed in the mail using license plate recognition; an additional surcharge will be applied. In addition to E-ZPass, the turnpike commission offered other automated options to pay for tolls such as using a prepaid account that utilizes license plate recognition. McCormick Taylor and Wilbur Smith Associates have been hired to conduct a feasibility study on converting the road to all-electronic tolls.

On March 6, 2012, the turnpike commission announced that it was going forward with an all-electronic tolling plan. Such a plan will take at least five years to implement to allow time for equipment to be installed and the reconfiguration of ramps. It will save the turnpike commission $65 million a year on labor costs by eliminating toll collectors. The plans call for a 76% surcharge for motorists who do not have E-ZPass that are billed by mail. This surcharge could raise the toll for someone without E-ZPass to $53.10 to travel the entire turnpike. In October 2016, the turnpike began accepting credit cards as payment at all cash toll booths. On April 29, 2018, the turnpike commission implemented all-electronic tolling at the Keyser Avenue and Clarks Summit toll plazas. All-electronic tolling was originally scheduled to be implemented on the entire length of the Northeast Extension in the later part of 2021. However, in March 2020 all-electronic tolling was implemented along the entire length of the Northeast Extension as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The all-electronic tolling was intended to be temporary, but in June 2020 the move to all-electronic tolling became permanent, with toll collectors laid off. The all-electronic tolling system on the turnpike will initially use toll booths at exits until mainline toll gantries between interchanges are constructed. Mainline toll gantries are planned to begin operation by 2022.

Services

Emergency assistance and information

The Northeast Extension has a callbox every mile for its entire length. In September 2017, the turnpike commission began removing the callboxes due to increased mobile phone usage making the callboxes obsolete. Motorists may also dial *11 on their mobile phones. First responder services are available to all turnpike customers via the State Farm Safety Patrol program. The safety patrol program, which is free, looks for disabled motorists, debris, and accidents along the roadway and provides assistance. The patrol service is available 24 hours every day of the year. Each patrol vehicle covers a 20-to-25-mile (32 to 40 km) stretch of the turnpike. Towing services are available from authorized service garages located near the highway. Pennsylvania State Police Troop T patrols the Pennsylvania Turnpike Northeast Extension. It has headquarters in Highspire (along the mainline turnpike) and a substation at Pocono.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission broadcasts current roadway, traffic, and weather conditions via highway advisory radio transmitters at each exit. Broadcasts are available on 1640 kHz AM and can be received approximately two miles away from each exit. Motorists can also receive alerts and information via the internet, mobile phone, a hotline, and message boards at service plazas through the Turnpike Roadway Information Program (TRIP).

Service plazas

The Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike has two service plazas at Allentown and Hickory Run. The service plazas offer various fast food restaurants, a Sunoco gas station, and a 7-Eleven convenience store. Other amenities are available such as an ATM, free cell phone charging, picnic areas, restrooms, tourist information, Travel Board information centers, and Wi-Fi. The Allentown plaza contains a seasonal farmers market. The Allentown plaza offers E85 while both plazas offer conventional gasoline and diesel fuel. The Sunoco and 7-Eleven locations are operated by Energy Transfer Partners (who bought Pennsylvania-based Sunoco in 2012) while the remaining restaurants and general upkeep of the service plazas are operated by HMSHost.

In 2006, HMSHost was awarded a contract to reconstruct the service plazas along the turnpike. The reconstruction of the service plazas, which is to cost $150 million, will include a food court layout and modernized restrooms. Sunoco will continue to operate the gas stations at the renovated service plazas. The Allentown service plaza was rebuilt between September 2007 and May 2008 while the Hickory Run service plaza was rebuilt between January 2009 and November 2010.

History

Blue Route history

Interstate 495
Location	Woodlyn-Plymouth Meeting
Existed	1956–1958

Interstate 480
Location	Woodlyn-Plymouth Meeting
Existed	1958–1964

Originally planned as far back as 1929, the Mid-County Expressway was later proposed by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission as the "Chester Extension" of the Pennsylvania Turnpike in 1954. After the advent of the Interstate Highway System, the project was transferred to the Pennsylvania Department of Highways to be built as part of the system, designating it first as Interstate 495, and later as Interstate 480, as I-76 was designated as I-80S at the time. The present-day I-476 designation was assigned on February 6, 1964, when I-80S was renumbered as I-76.

The road received its nickname from a 1958 location report indicating various proposed geographic configurations of an expressway through Delaware County with lines of various colors on a map. The "blue route" through the Crum Creek valley won out over other contenders, which included a more easterly "red route" and "yellow route" and a more westerly "green route".

As one of the most controversial Interstate Highways in Pennsylvania, construction of I-476 began in 1967, but was not completed until 1991 between MacDade Boulevard (Exit 1) and Interstate 76 (Exit 16), and until 1992 between Germantown Pike east/Chemical Road (Exit 19) and Interstate 276/Pennsylvania Turnpike (Exit 20), due to litigation between the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and several communities in the road's path over environmental concerns. However, the section of Interstate 476 (south end of I-476) between I-95 and MacDade Blvd. (Exit 1) was opened in 1987, but signage labeled it as a route "To MacDade Blvd" until 1991 when I-476/The Blue Route was opened between Exits 1 and 16, and connected with the short existing section of roadway dating back to 1979 from Exit 16-Exit 19.

An agreement in 1985 led to many environmental compromises in the road's design, including a downsized four-lane design south of Pennsylvania Route 3 (although a part of the span between exits 9 and 5 has a third lane on the southbound side), ramp meters, and federal scenic route status, prohibiting the erection of advertisement billboards along the entire freeway portion. The Radnor Gateway Enhancement Strategy was implemented to install largescale sculpture elements by artist William P. Reimann, most notably the stone griffin and cairn at Exit 13. While the redesigned highway was largely well-received, the constriction to four lanes has led to bottleneck conditions in the area, and many communities that originally opposed the road have now called for its widening. The Philadelphia Inquirer dubbed I-476 "the most costly, most bitterly opposed highway in Pennsylvania history" due to the decades of opposition it garnered.

In the 2000s, the road underwent a complete rehabilitation project, including paving, bridge repair, and ramp maintenance of the entire length of the freeway between Interstate 95 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The section between I-95 and I-76 was completed in 2007 and the section between I-76 and I-276 was completed in the end of 2011.

Northeast Extension history

Pennsylvania Route 9
Location	Plymouth Meeting – Clarks Summit
Length	111.04 mi (178.70 km)
Existed	1974–1996

In 1953, an extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike from the mainline near Plymouth Meeting north through Northeastern Pennsylvania to the New York border near Binghamton was proposed. Groundbreaking for the Northeastern Extension occurred on March 25, 1954 in White Haven, with Governor John S. Fine and commission chairman Thomas J. Evans present. The Northeast Extension was planned to run from the mainline Pennsylvania Turnpike in Plymouth Meeting north to a temporary terminus at Scranton. In April 1954, $233 million in bonds were issued to build the Northeastern Extension along with the Delaware River Bridge on the mainline Pennsylvania Turnpike. The Northeast Extension was built with a 4-foot (1.2 m) median in order to save money. Due to the mountainous terrain it passed through, a large amount of earthwork was necessary to build the road along with the construction of large bridges. Among the bridges built was the 1,630-foot-long (500 m) Clarks Summit Bridge (since renamed for John J. Fitzgerald, Turnpike engineer and superintendent) over US 6/US 11, which was the tallest bridge on the Pennsylvania Turnpike system at 135 feet (41 m). The Northeast Extension also included the two-lane Lehigh Tunnel through Blue Mountain. The tunnel was originally going to be named for commission chairman Evans, but was changed when he was convicted of conspiracy to defraud the commission of $19 million (equal to $173,616,766 today).

The roadway opened between Plymouth Meeting and the Lehigh Valley interchange near Allentown on November 23, 1955. The highway was extended north to Emerald on December 28, 1955. The Northeast Extension was opened between Emerald and Wyoming Valley on April 1, 1957. The entire length of the Northeast Extension was finished on November 7, 1957 with the completion of the northernmost part between Wyoming Valley and Scranton. The part of the Northeast Extension between Scranton and the New York border would not be built as part of the Pennsylvania Turnpike system but rather the Interstate Highway System as I-81. At the northern terminus, the Northeast Extension narrowed to two lanes along the northbound off-ramp at Scranton to come to its northern terminus, with an abandoned short spur of the mainline heading north. A pair of trumpet interchanges were built to connect the Northeast Extension and I-81. In 1974, the roadway was designated PA 9.

When it first opened, traffic on the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike was light. By the 1970s, traffic along the roadway would increase with the completion of the connecting I-80 and the rising popularity of the Poconos as a vacation destination. As a result, the two-lane Lehigh Tunnel faced serious congestion. Plans were made to either bypass the tunnel or add a second tube. The turnpike commission decided it would build a second tunnel as the cost was lower than building a bypass. In 1988, a $37 million contract was awarded to build the second tube. Groundbreaking for the tunnel took place on February 14, 1989, with Governor Robert P. Casey in attendance. Excavation of the new tunnel began in July of that year. Construction of the second tube utilized the New Austrian Tunnelling method, which reduced the cost of the tunnel by $5 to $6 million. It was the first tunnel in the United States to use this construction method. The second tube at Lehigh Tunnel opened on November 22, 1991, with Governor Casey in attendance leading a line of antique cars. Construction of the tunnel cost $45 million. The new tube is used for southbound traffic while the original tube carries northbound traffic. The newer tunnel is wider, higher, and brighter than the original.

On February 1, 1995, the Keyser Avenue interchange near Scranton was slated to open at a cost of $22.4 million. Construction of this interchange also involved constructing a new mainline flat-rate toll barrier near the new interchange.

On November 1, 1996, the Northeast Extension was added to the Interstate Highway System as an extension of I-476, replacing the PA 9 designation along the road. The addition of the second tube at the Lehigh Tunnel along with new guardrails and line striping was necessary for the toll road to become an Interstate. It was hoped that the Interstate designation would bring economic development and tourism to the areas served by the roadway. This extension resulted in I-476 surpassing the 120-mile (190 km) I-495 in Massachusetts as the longest auxiliary Interstate Highway.

In 2007, the turnpike commission announced plans to widen the Northeast Extension to six lanes between Mid-County and Lansdale. The project divided this stretch of highway into two sections. Work on the southern section began in January 2008 with the replacement of two bridges over the Northeast Extension to accommodate the widened highway. Construction on the actual widening phase commenced in January 2011. Completion was originally planned in 2013; however, construction fell a year behind schedule. The southern section finished up in October 2014, while work on the northern section started in May 2014. By this point the project scope was expanded to include the Lansdale interchange itself, the roadway to a point one mile north of the interchange, and two new E-ZPass-only ramps at the Lansdale interchange to relieve congestion at the toll plaza. This new northbound exit ramp opened December 4, 2016, and the companion southbound on-ramp opened a week later. The northern section was originally planned to finish by the end of 2016 but was delayed until mid-2017. Construction was substantially completed, with all six lanes open, by August 31, 2017.

Once widening was completed from Mid-County to Lansdale, a similar project began on the next segment of highway, from Lansdale to Quakertown. As done on the first project, the Lansdale-to-Quakertown segment is being rebuilt in two sections, with a southern half started in late 2017, with widening to six lanes and full shoulders. Advance work began in early 2013 with replacement of several bridges in this area north of Lansdale, with work on the actual widening beginning in late 2017. Widening of this section was completed in late 2020.

The Turnpike Commission has stated its intention of continuing the widening effort past Quakertown all the way north to the Lehigh Valley interchange, milepost 56, although it will take until the late 2020s to get it done.

In 1990, plans were made to build an interchange at PA 903 in Carbon County. A bill authorizing construction of this interchange was signed into law by Governor Casey in July of that year. Plans for this interchange were cancelled by the turnpike commission in 1995. In 2006, plans for an interchange at PA 903 were resurrected, with the proposed interchange to be all-electronic, in that it will only accept E-ZPass. Construction on the $23 million interchange began in the middle of 2008. The interchange opened to traffic on June 30, 2015.

On April 28, 2016, plans were announced for a "Scranton Beltway" to use I-476 as a bypass for I-81 around the heavily congested segment through Scranton and its suburbs. The turnpike between the two I-81 interchanges carries an average of 10,000 vehicles per day vs. 70,000 on the parallel segment of I-81. This project will build two high-speed connections between I-476 and I-81: one south of Scranton in Dupont and one north of Scranton in South Abington Township. Tolls on the connections will be paid with E-ZPass or toll-by-plate. Construction on this project, which is expected to cost $160 million, could begin as soon as 2021.

Howard M. Sexton, a 70-year-old truck driver from New Jersey, was killed in the southbound Lehigh Tunnel on February 21, 2018, when an electrical conduit broke free from the tunnel's ceiling and fell through the windshield of his truck, striking him in the head. In a preliminary report issued on May 1, 2018, the National Transportation Safety Board revealed that a 10-foot-long section of conduit fell into the path of Sexton's truck after the steel support system for the conduits, which were suspended from the apex of the tunnel arch directly over the travel lanes, failed. The tunnel had last been inspected in 2016, at which time an inspector found evidence of corrosion on several of the steel support straps.

Exit list

The old exit numbers (31 and upward) on the turnpike Northeast Extension were a continuation of old exit numbers 1 through 30 on the east–west turnpike. On the east–west turnpike, the interchange with I-476 was old exit 25A because it was between old exits 25 and 26 on the east–west turnpike.

County	Location	mi	km	Old exit	New exit	Name	Destinations	Notes
Delaware	Ridley Township	0.00	0.00	–	–		I-95 – Philadelphia, Chester	Exit 7 on I-95; to Philadelphia International Airport
		0.48	0.77	1	1		MacDade Boulevard	Access to Ridley, Chester, and Widener University
	Nether Providence Township	3.39	5.46	2	3		Media, Swarthmore	Access via Baltimore Pike
	Marple Township	5.07	8.16	3	5		US 1 – Lima, Springfield
		8.77	14.11	4	9		PA 3 – Broomall, Upper Darby	Access to Havertown and Newtown Square
	Radnor Township	13.24	21.31	5	13		US 30 – Villanova, St. Davids	Access to Philadelphia Main Line
Montgomery	West Conshohocken	15.84	25.49	6	16		I-76 (Schuylkill Expressway) / PA 23 – Philadelphia, Valley Forge, Conshohocken	Signed as exits 16A (east) and 16B (west) northbound; exit 331 on I-76
	Plymouth Township	18.81	30.27	7A	18A		Conshohocken	Northbound exit and southbound entrance; access via Ridge Pike
				7B	18B		Norristown	Access via Chemical Road northbound and Ridge Pike southbound; signed as exit 18 southbound
		19.69	31.69	8	19		Plymouth Meeting	Northbound exit and southbound entrance; access via Chemical Road
		19.97	32.14	9	20		To I-276 Toll / Penna Turnpike westModule:Jct warning: "road" parameter is deprecated	Southbound exit is via I-276 / Penna Turnpike; via Germantown Pike west
				Mid-County Toll Plaza (Blue Route transitions to Pennsylvania Turnpike Northeast Extension)
		20.33	32.72	–	–	Mid-County	I-276 / Penna Turnpike – Harrisburg, New Jersey	Northbound exit to I-276 west is via exit 20; no interchange name signage northbound
	Towamencin Township	30.78	49.54	–	31A	Lansdale	PA 63 – Harleysville, Kulpsville	E-ZPass-only interchange; northbound exit and southbound entrance
		30.78	49.54	31	31B	Lansdale	PA 63 – Harleysville, Kulpsville, Lansdale	Signed as exit 31 southbound; Harleysville and Kulpsville signed northbound; Lansdale signed southbound
Bucks	Milford Township	44.39	71.44	32	44	Quakertown	PA 663 – Pottstown, Quakertown
Lehigh	Upper Macungie Township	56.37	90.72	Allentown Service Plaza
	South Whitehall Township	57.71	92.88	33	56	Lehigh Valley	US 22 to I-78 / PA 309 – Allentown, Harrisburg
Blue Mountain		71.68	115.36	Lehigh Tunnel
Carbon	Franklin Township	75.73	121.88	34	74	Mahoning Valley	US 209 – Stroudsburg, Lehighton	Access to The Poconos
	Penn Forest Township	86.62	139.40	Hickory Run Service Plaza
		87.39	140.64	–	87		PA 903 – Jim Thorpe, Lake Harmony	E-ZPass-only interchange
	Kidder Township	94.82	152.60	35	95	Pocono	I-80 / PA 940 – Hazleton, Mount Pocono	Exit 277 on I-80
Luzerne	Bear Creek Township	105.85	170.35	36	105	Wilkes-Barre	PA 115 – Wilkes-Barre, Bear Creek
	Pittston Township	113.42	182.53	Wyoming Valley Toll Plaza (north end of ticket system)
		115.17	185.35	37	115	Wyoming Valley	PA 315 to I-81 – Pittston, Scranton
Lackawanna	Taylor	121.61	195.71	Keyser Avenue Mainline Toll Plaza (E-ZPass or toll-by-plate)
		122.36	196.92	38	122	Keyser Avenue	Old Forge, Taylor	Access via Keyser Avenue
	Clarks Summit	131.20	211.15	Clarks Summit Mainline Toll Plaza (E-ZPass or toll-by-plate)
		131.37	211.42	39	131	Clarks Summit	I-81 / US 11 / US 6 to I-84 / I-380 – Scranton, Clarks Summit, Binghamton, Wilkes-Barre	Exit 194 on I-81
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Electronic toll collection       Incomplete access       Route transition

See also

• U.S. Roads portal
• Pennsylvania portal

References

1. "Resurfacing" (PDF). I-476 Improvement Project. Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 15, 2007. Retrieved March 7, 2007.
2. ^ Jeremy Rogoff; Mari A. Schaefer (June 10, 2007). "No remedy soon for a clogged Blue Route". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 2.
3. "Pennsylvania Turnpike Toll/Mileage Calculator". Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. Retrieved March 7, 2007.
4. ^ "overview of Interstate 476" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved June 1, 2009.
5. Radnor Township website Archived August 20, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, Gateway Enhancement Strategy
6. ^ Official Tourism and Transportation (PDF) (Map). Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. 2015. Retrieved February 2, 2016.
7. "Blue Route". VisitPA.com. Retrieved March 27, 2012.
8. "Toll Schedule – Cash Rates" (PDF). Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. January 4, 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 27, 2009. Retrieved June 1, 2009.
9. ^ Coyle, Ellen (February 17, 2010). "The Bridge that John Built". Abington Suburban. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
10. 2021 Toll Schedule (PDF). Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. 2021. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
11. ^ 2019 Toll Schedule (PDF). Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. 2019. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
12. "Traffic Rules and Regulations". Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
13. Blankenship, Karl (July 22, 1987). "That's the ticket: Machines replacing man on turnpike". The Patriot-News. Harrisburg, PA. p. B1.
14. "Drive Now, Pay The Toll Later Pike Travelers Favor The Electronic System". Philadelphia Daily News. July 12, 1990. p. 28.
15. "Electronic tolls coming to Pa. Turnpike by 1998". Lancaster New Era. Associated Press. March 22, 1994. p. A03.
16. Gilbert, Pat R. (March 22, 1994). "7 Agencies OK Electronic Toll-Collection Firm - Project Expected To Speed Traffic On Parkway, Turnpike". The Record. Bergen County, NJ. p. A03.
17. Wyckoff, P.L. (March 12, 1998). "E-ZPass to debut on Atlantic City highway - But 2000 is target for Turnpike and Parkway". The Star-Ledger. Newark, NJ. p. 22.
18. Downs, Jere (December 3, 2000). "E-ZPass Off To UnE-Z Beginning On Turnpike". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. B04.
19. "E-ZPass not so easy for drivers on first day". Erie Times-News. Associated Press. December 3, 2000.
20. "Pennsylvania Turnpike extends E-ZPass service". The Express-Times. Easton, PA. December 15, 2001.
21. Fuoco, Michael A. (December 22, 2001). "Turnpike E-ZPass Will Get More Lanes". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. D-6.
22. Therolf, Garrett (December 15, 2002). "E-ZPass making life harder for bridge users". The Morning Call. Allentown, PA. p. B1.
23. Wartenberg, Steve (November 25, 2004). "Turnpike strike lops tolls for a day ** 2,000 Teamsters take action. Non-union staff will be in booths today". The Morning Call. Allentown, PA. p. A1.
24. Shields, Jeff (November 26, 2004). "Traffic moves, despite strike - Turnpike managers working the toll booths gave drivers a pass when backups occurred. Negotiations were on hold". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. B01.
25. "Turnpike returns tolls to normal - Drivers were issued tickets beginning at 9:00 p.m. Wednesday". The Express-Times. Easton, PA. December 2, 2004. p. B1.
26. Schmitz, Jon (October 6, 2010). "Turnpike considers all-electronic tolls". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved October 7, 2010.
27. "No E-ZPass? Expect to pay extra to drive Interstate 76". Reading Eagle. October 11, 2010. Retrieved October 12, 2010.
28. Mattar, George (December 29, 2010). "Turnpike considers getting rid of cash tolls". The Intelligencer. Doylestown, PA. p. 1.
29. Thompson, Charles (March 6, 2012). "Caution: All-E-Z Pass turnpike ahead". The Patriot-News. Harrisburg, PA. p. A01.
30. Nussbaum, Paul (March 13, 2012). "Pa. Turnpike looks at much higher non-E-ZPass rates". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. A01.
31. Abrams, Mark (October 13, 2016). "PA Turnpike Now Accepts Credit Cards As Payment Option". Philadelphia, PA: KYW-TV. Retrieved October 13, 2016.
32. "No Cash Zone - Keyser Avenue / Clarks Summit". Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
33. Senior, Chase (April 27, 2018). "Cashless Tolling Takes Effect on Turnpike in Lackawanna County". Scranton, PA: WNEP-TV. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
34. ^ Blazina, Ed (November 2, 2019). "Pa. Turnpike won't take cash by fall 2021". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved November 3, 2019.
35. Tierney, Jacob (June 2, 2020). "Pennsylvania Turnpike to lay off 500 employees, make cashless tolling permanent". TribLive. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
36. ^ "State Farm Safety Patrol Program". Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
37. "PA Turnpike Call Box Removal Begins Next Week" (Press release). Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. September 8, 2017. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
38. "If Your Vehicle Breaks Down..." Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
39. "Pennsylvania State Police - Troop T". Pennsylvania State Police. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
40. "HAR Transmissions Now Broadcast at Every PA Turnpike Interchange". Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. July 3, 2000. Archived from the original on August 19, 2003. Retrieved April 14, 2009.
41. "Turnpike Roadway Information Program" (PDF). Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
42. The Travelers Guide to PA Turnpike service plazas (PDF). Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. 2015. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
43. "Service Plazas - Contact Information". Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
44. "Pennsylvania Turnpike Contract Awarded to HMSHost". Business Wire. July 28, 2006.
45. "Service Plazas: Tentative Reconstruction Schedule". Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. Archived from the original on July 3, 2015. Retrieved August 29, 2015.
46. "Was I-76 Numbered to Honor Philadelphia for Independence Day, 1776?". Ask the Rambler. Federal Highway Administration. January 18, 2005. Retrieved June 6, 2007.
47. "History of the Blue Route". I-476 Improvement Project. Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on February 19, 2007. Retrieved June 11, 2007.
48. Fleming, Ronald Lee (October 8–11, 1992). "Making Connections: an integrated approach to urban design along the highway". Proceedings of the International Symposium on Design Review. (Routledge Revivals): University of Cincinnati.
49. "Asphalt: the Magazine of the Asphalt Institute, Summer 1997" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on June 15, 2007. Retrieved March 7, 2007.
50. "FHWA By Day - December 19". Retrieved March 7, 2007.
51. "I-476 Improvement Project". Retrieved March 7, 2007.
52. ^ DeLorme Street Atlas USA 2007, Toggle Measure Tool. Retrieved on February 27, 2007.
53. "Tax-Exempts: Pennsylvania Turnpike Board Plans 125-Mile North-South Extension". The Wall Street Journal. August 5, 1953. p. 11.
54. "Surveys To Expand Pennsylvania Pike". The New York Times. August 9, 1953. p. 56.
55. "Turnpike Link Begins". The New York Times. March 26, 1954. p. 28.
56. "Pike Funds Raised By Pennsylvania". The New York Times. April 8, 1954. p. 41.
57. ^ Dakelman and Schorr, p. 105.
58. ^ Dakelman, p. 106.
59. Dakelman and Schorr, p. 107.
60. Cupper, p. 31.
61. "Pennsylvania Pike Spur To Scranton Area Opens". The New York Times. April 2, 1957. p. 26.
62. "Pennsylvania Turnpike Opens Its Final Section". The New York Times. November 8, 1957. p. 21.
63. "Turnpike To The Poconos". The New York Times. November 10, 1957. p. 163.
64. ^ Dakelman and Schorr, p. 108.
65. "General Highway Map, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, 1974" (PDF). PennDOT: County Type 10 Maps (Historic). Pennsylvania Dept. of Transportation. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
66. "General Highway Map, Carbon County, Pennsylvania, 1974" (PDF). PennDOT: County Type 10 Maps (Historic). Pennsylvania Dept. of Transportation. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
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68. Cupper, p. 40.
69. Cupper, p. 46.
70. Orenstein, Robert H. (February 15, 1989). "Tunnel Project Blasts Off Governor Marks Start Of Construction". The Morning Call. Allentown, PA. p. B03.
71. Laylo, Bob (November 23, 1991). "New Lehigh Tunnel Opens On Turnpike". The Morning Call. Allentown, PA. p. A03.
72. "Turnpike Soon To Get New Lackawanna Exit". The Morning Call. Allentown, PA. January 25, 1995. p. B06.
73. "PA Turnpike's Northeast Extension Now An Interstate". Erie Times-News. Associated Press. November 18, 1996.
74. "Route Log and Finder List, table 2". Federal Highway Administration. October 31, 2002. Retrieved March 7, 2007.
75. Wilen, John (March 30, 2007). "Turnpike to widen Northeast Extension - The Turnpike Commission has already notified more than 100 homeowners it wants to buy some or all of their property. Homeowners between Lansdale and Quakertown: You're next". The Intelligencer. Doylestown, PA. p. A03.
76. ^ Yates, Riley (January 7, 2008). "Bridge work could slow highway traffic". The Intelligencer. Doylestown, PA. p. 1.
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78. "E-ZPass Only Ramps to Open at Lansdale Interchange on Northeastern Extension". Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. December 2, 2016. Retrieved January 1, 2017.
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80. Olson, James (July 12, 2017). "Northeast Extension widening project could wrap up in August". The Reporter. Lansdale, PA. Retrieved August 31, 2017.
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External links

• Official Pennsylvania Turnpike website

v t e Auxiliary routes of Interstate 76
Pennsylvania 176 276 376 Business 476 576 676 876 New Jersey 676
Former Future

v t e Auxiliary routes of Interstate 80
California 180 238 280 380 480 580 680 780 880 880 980 Business Oregon 80N Nevada 580 Business Idaho 80N 180N Utah 80N Business Wyoming 180 Business Colorado 80S Nebraska 80S 180 280 480 580 680 Iowa 80N 280 380 480 680 880 Illinois 180 280 Ohio 80N 80S 280 380 --> 480 480N 680 Pennsylvania 80N 80S 180 180 280 380 480 680 New Jersey 80S 280 680
Former
Proposed

v t e Auxiliary routes of Interstate 95
Florida 195 295 395 595 795 Georgia Business North Carolina 295 495 795 Business Virginia 195 295 395 495 595 895 District of Columbia 195 295 395 495 695 Maryland 195 295 395 495 595 695 795 895 Delaware 295 495 895 Pennsylvania 295 395 495 695 895 New Jersey 195 295 495 695 895 New York 295 495 695 895 Connecticut 395 Rhode Island 195 295 895 Massachusetts 195 295 395 495 Business 695 895 Maine 195 295 395 495
Former Future Unbuilt Unsigned

v t e Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission
Completed highways	Mainline Turnpike (I-70, I-76, I-95, I-276) Northeast Extension (I-476) James E. Ross Highway (I-376) Amos K. Hutchinson Bypass (Turnpike 66)
Partially completed highways	I-95 Connector Mon–Fayette Expressway (Turnpike 43) Southern Beltway (Turnpike 576)
Tunnels and bridges	Allegheny Mountain Tunnel Allegheny River Bridge Beaver River Bridge Blue Mountain Tunnel Delaware River Bridge Kittatinny Mountain Tunnel Lehigh Tunnel Mingo Creek Viaduct Mon–Fayette Expressway Bridge Schuylkill River Bridge Susquehanna River Bridge Tuscarora Mountain Tunnel
Aborted expansion plans	Chester Extension Erie Extension Gettysburg Extension Keystone Shortway Northwest & Southwest Extension Philadelphia Loop Extension Scranton Extension
Historical structures	Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike Rays Hill Tunnel Sideling Hill Tunnel Laurel Hill Tunnel South Pennsylvania Railroad Negro Mountain Tunnel Quemahoning Tunnel
Tolling systems	E-ZPass Cashless Tolling

• Interstate Highways in Pennsylvania
• Delaware Valley
• Lehigh Valley
• Auxiliary Interstate Highways
• Toll roads in Pennsylvania
• Tolled sections of Interstate Highways
• Interstate 76 (Ohio–New Jersey)
• Transportation in Delaware County, Pennsylvania
• Transportation in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
• Transportation in Bucks County, Pennsylvania
• Transportation in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania
• Transportation in Carbon County, Pennsylvania
• Transportation in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania
• Transportation in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania