Pennsylvania State Route System Explained

Pennsylvania State Route System
Shields:
State:PA
Type:I
Route:76
State:PA
Type:US
Route:6
State:PA
Type:PA
Route:18
State:PA
Type:QR
Route:3069
Caption:Route markers for Interstate 76, U.S. Route 6, Pennsylvania Route 18, and State Route 3069
Interstate:Interstate X (I-X)
Us:U.S. Route X (US X)
Statehwy:Pennsylvania Route X (PA X)
Field1:State Route X (SR X)
Label1:Quadrant Routes:
Notes:Numbers are assigned through Location Referencing System; all routes are assigned quadrant numbers, State Route X (SR X), which usually corresponded to the signed numbers of traffic routes (PA X).Traffic Routes are generally state-maintained.
Length Mi:41643
Length Round:0
Length Ref:[1]
Links:PA

In the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, state highways are generally maintained by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT). Each is assigned a four-digit State Route (SR) number in the present Location Referencing System. Traffic Routes are signed as Interstate Highways, U.S. Routes and Pennsylvania Routes (PA Routes), and are prefixed with one to three zeroes to give a four-digit number. PA Routes are also called Pennsylvania Traffic Routes, and formerly State Highway Routes.[2]

There are 41643miles of roadway maintained by state agencies, with 39737miles maintained by PennDOT, 554miles maintained by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, and 1352miles maintained by other state agencies.[1]

History

See also: Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. The Pennsylvania State Route System was established by the Sproul Road Bill passed in 1911. The system took control of over 4,000 miles of road. The system of roads continued to grow over the next few decades until continual addition of roads faced greater opposition. On October 1, 1940, the Pennsylvania Turnpike's first section of highway was opened to motorized traffic; the Turnpike operated under the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission and was independent of the then-known Department of Highways.

In 1970, the Department of Highways and several other offices and departments were reorganized into the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. In 1987, the Sproul system of Legislative Routes was reorganized into the current Pennsylvania State Route System under the Location Referencing System.

In 2013, PennDOT posted weight restrictions on several bridges along the state route system.[3] As a result, several truck routes were signed for U.S. and state routes, bypassing these weight restricted bridges. Signage practices for these truck routes vary by district, with some districts such as District 5 signing them as standard truck routes and others such as District 6 signing them as double-bannered "alternate truck" routes.[3]

Location Referencing System

Route number!width=40%
NameDescription
0001-0999Traffic Routesleading zeroes are often omitted on the markers
1001-4999Quadrant Routesassigned by rough quadrant in the county, going clockwise from northeast (1) to northwest (4)
6001-6999Relocated Traffic Routes(Including alternate lanes such as local lanes or HOV lanes), assigned a number equal to the old number plus 6000
7001-7999Turned back, abandoned, or null routes7076, 7276, 7376, 7576, 7476, 7043, and 7066 are used for sections of the Pennsylvania Turnpike[4]
8001-8999InterchangesWith one number per interchange
9101-9199Wye connections
9201-9299Rest areas
9301-9399Truck escape ramps
9401-9499Other roadwaysIncludes jughandles and truck inspection stations
9501-9599Park and ride

Signage

The symbol used for the signage of state routes is an outline of the keystone after Pennsylvania's nickname. Four-digit State Routes are unsigned, except on small white reference markers near physical features such as intersections and bridges, and are only unique within each county.Underneath, there is a larger typeface number identifying the segment of highway being entered. Segments are typically one half mile long and are usually numbered in multiples of 10 on non-Interstate highways. Segment numbers increase in the north or east direction, and are even-numbered on undivided highways and on the northbound or eastbound direction of divided highways.[5]

Circumstances with some routes

Special routes are not assigned State Route numbers corresponding to their signed numbers, but are instead marked along other routes, mostly Quadrant Routes.

Concurrencies are assigned a number equal to the smaller number of the concurrent routes, or the highest type (Quadrant Route → PA Route → U.S. Route → Interstate).[6]

Occasionally, a signed Traffic Route number does not match the State Route, usually in the case of an extension or relocation. (One example is Pennsylvania Route 3, which uses a one-way pair of Quadrant Routes in Center City Philadelphia.) A different number can also be used to avoid conflicts between different types — for instance, signed Pennsylvania Route 380 is actually State Route 400, renumbered ca. 1973 when Interstate 81E was renumbered Interstate 380. The majority of, but not all, signed Traffic Routes are state-maintained.[7]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: PennDOT Fact Book . Pennsylvania Department of Transportation . October 3, 2019 .
  2. [Pennsylvania Department of Transportation]
  3. Web site: Risk-Based Bridge Postings - State and Local Bridges. Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. October 8, 2013. December 18, 2014.
  4. Web site: Penndot - Pennsylvania Stateroads 200901. Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. 2020-03-19.
  5. [Pennsylvania Department of Transportation]
  6. [Pennsylvania Department of Transportation]
  7. For instance, the [ftp://ftp.dot.state.pa.us/public/pdf/BPR_pdf_files/Maps/GHS/Roadnames/lawrence_GHSN.PDF Lawrence County map] indicates that Pennsylvania Route 551 north of Pulaski, near the north edge of the county is — except for the bridge over Buchanan Creek — locally maintained as Township Route 649. This is confirmed by the VideoLog . A [ftp://ftp.dot.state.pa.us/public/pdf/BPR_PDF_FILES/Maps/Type_10_GHS_Historical_Scans/Lawrence_1990.pdf 1990 county map] shows that it was once state-maintained all the way as Legislative Route 649.