Pennsylvania Route 543 Explained

State:PA
Type:QR
Route:3015
Map Custom:yes
Map Notes:Map of Dauphin County in central Pennsylvania with SR 3015 highlighted in red
Length Mi:5.23
Length Round:2
Length Ref:[1]
Established:1987
Direction A:South
Terminus A:Derry Street in Paxtang
Junction: near Harrisburg
near Harrisburg
Direction B:North
Terminus B: near Linglestown
Counties:Dauphin
Previous Type:PA 1926
Previous Route:542
Next Type:PA
Next Route:545

SR 3015 is a five-mile (8 km) long road where the southern terminus is at Derry Street. Progress Avenue (pronounced) has two major intersections: I-81 (Exit 69), US 22. Major intersections for local roads are with Union Deposit Road in Susquehanna Township and Elmerton Avenue near Harrisburg. Its northern terminus is at Pennsylvania Route 39.

Until 1955, Progress Avenue was also Pennsylvania Route 543.

Route description

SR 3015 begins in the borough of Paxtang, at Derry Street. The borough is just outside the city of Harrisburg. The intersection of SR 3015 and Derry Street is the center of Paxtang. While SR 3015 ends at this intersection, the road continues straight, going through a park, and ending at Paxton Street, near the Harrisburg Mall, a distance of about a mile. In Paxtang, the road is known as Paxtang Avenue. Once outside the borough limits, it becomes Progress Avenue, which it remains all the way to the northern terminus of SR 3015.

The first intersection is with Union Deposit Road, near the Harrisburg city limits. Union Deposit Road is State Route 3020, and was at one time a section Pennsylvania Route 340. SR 3015 continues north to US 22. This is a heavily traveled intersection, with an Annual average daily traffic report of over an average of 22,500 vehicles a day,[2] traveling on US 22 and an average of 15,500 vehicles traveling on SR 3015.[2]

The road continues north, intersecting SR 3026, Elmerton Avenue near Harrisburg. Interstate 81 is less than a mile away, on the other side of a hill. When Interstate 81 was built, this exit was a small exit, but the area has since been built up with an office park, restaurants, a hotel, and a strip shopping center. The exit on I-81 is Exit 69, and the exit ramps are designated State Route 8005.

SR 3015 continues north through a series of hills - the foothills of nearby Blue Mountain. Between I-81 and Pennsylvania Route 39, there are no major intersections; the road is mostly straight, whereas the previous section of road had curves in it. At PA 39 is the northern terminus of SR 3015; Progress Avenue continues north into developments that have been built in the 2000s. Progress Avenue runs another one and a half miles before ending at Continental Drive.

History

Until 1955, Progress Avenue was Pennsylvania Route 543. It was a spur of Pennsylvania Route 43, which ran on modern US 22 (Walnut Street, at its intersection with SR 3015), while US 22 was routed on Derry Street.[3] In the mid 1930s, US 22 was moved from Derry Street to its current location on Walnut Street, and PA 43 was deleted.[4] The route became orphaned from its parent once that happened, and when Pennsylvania cleaned up the road designations in 1955, PA 543 was deleted. However, the road remained under state funding, receiving a legislative route number. In 1987, when Pennsylvania instituted the Location Referencing System, the road was given its current designation SR 3015.

See also

Notes and References

  1. [DeLorme]
  2. [ftp://ftp.dot.state.pa.us/public/pdf/BPR_pdf_files/MAPS/Traffic/Traffic_Volume/2005/dauphin_2005_tv.pdf Dauphin County Traffic Map]. PennDOT. 2005. 2007-07-25.
  3. Web site: [ftp://ftp.dot.state.pa.us/public/pdf/BPR_pdf_files/Maps/Statewide/Historic_OTMs/1930bk.pdf 1930 Pennsylvania Transportation Map (back)]. PDF. PennDOT. 2012-06-14. see Harrisburg cutout. dead. http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20110718213919/ftp://ftp.dot.state.pa.us/public/pdf/BPR_pdf_files/Maps/Statewide/Historic_OTMs/1930bk.pdf. 2011-07-18.
  4. Web site: [ftp://ftp.dot.state.pa.us/public/pdf/BPR_pdf_files/Maps/Statewide/Historic_OTMs/1940bk.pdf 1940 Pennsylvania Transportation Map (back)]. PDF. PennDOT. 2012-06-14. dead. http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20110718213922/ftp://ftp.dot.state.pa.us/public/pdf/BPR_pdf_files/Maps/Statewide/Historic_OTMs/1940bk.pdf. 2011-07-18.