Pennsylvania was the first state to establish a major toll road, one that eventually spanned its entire length. It opened to traffic on October 1, 1940, a 160-mile stretch between Irwin east of Pittsburgh and Carlisle west of Harrisburg.
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Multiple deaths, injuries reported in Pa. Turnpike crash. (PennLive, 1/5/2019)
Multiple people are dead and many have been injured in a crash that has closed down a portion of the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Westmoreland County. The crash occurred early Sunday morning in Mount Pleasant Township involving multiple vehicles, including a tour bus lying on its side in what is being described as a “mass casualty incident,” WPXI is reporting.
Early usage, 2.4 million vehicles per year, greatly exceeded a predicted traffic count of 1.3 million vehicles per year.
Constsruction of the roadway required the digging of 7 tunnels (Laurel Hill, Allegheny, Ray's Hill, Sideling Hill, Tuscarora, Kittatinny and Blue Mountain).
They quickly became obsolete, causing major traffic delays. Four have since been abandoned, an alterntive route constructed, and the remaining three were "double-tunneled".
During the 1950s, the turnpike was expanded from Pennsylvania's western border with Ohio and eastern border with New Jersey.
Source:
Pennsylvania Turnpike History
Related reading:
Visiting the Abandoned PA Turnpike near Breezewood, Pennsylvania. (Uncovering PA, 6/21/2019 update)
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