Interstate 70 in Pennsylvania

This article is about the section of Interstate 70 in Pennsylvania. For the entire length of the highway, see Interstate 70.

Interstate 70
Route information
Maintained by Pennsylvania DOT
Length:	167.92 mi[1] (270.24 km)
Major junctions
West end:	I-70 at the West Virginia state line
	I-79 in Washington PA 43 in Fallowfield Township PA 51 in Rostraver Township in New Stanton I-76 in New Stanton I-99 / US 220 in Bedford I-76/US 30 in Breezewood US 522 near Warfordsburg
East end:	I-70 at the Maryland state line
Highway system
Main route of the Interstate Highway System Main • Auxiliary • Business Roads in Pennsylvania Interstate • US • State • Legislative ← PA 69 PA 70 → ← PA 125 PA 127 →

In the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, Interstate 70 runs east–west across the southwest part of the state serving the southern half of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. About half of the route is concurrent with Interstate 76 along the Pennsylvania Turnpike (this is the oldest segment of I-70 in Pennsylvania, having been completed in 1940). I-70 is one of only a few Interstate Highways to have a traffic signal - in this case, with U.S. Route 30 at Breezewood, where it leaves the Turnpike and heads south towards Maryland.^[2]

The portion of I-70 between Washington, Pennsylvania (immediately after it ends its brief concurrency with Interstate 79) and New Stanton, Pennsylvania falls well below modern Interstate Highway standards. This section, among other things, employs a jersey barrier in the very narrow median as well as very short entrance ramps at several interchanges, requiring a stop sign to be employed at these ramps instead of the typical yield sign. As the Pennsylvania Turnpike is grandfathered from Interstate standards as well as the aforementioned traffic signal in Breezewood, this makes the majority of I-70 not up to standards, with the short section south of Breezewood to Maryland as well as the 21-mile section from I-79 to West Virginia being the only sections of I-70 in Pennsylvania being up to Interstate standards.

I-70 crosses the Monongahela River on the Speers-Belle Vernon Bridge and the Youghiogheny River on the Smithton High Level Bridge.

History

By 1947, present Interstate 70 across Pennsylvania was included in the planned Interstate Highway System. The route from West Virginia split at Washington, with one branch heading northeast to meet the Pennsylvania Turnpike near Pittsburgh and the other heading east, bypassing Pittsburgh to the south (via a planned bypass of Pennsylvania Route 71) to the New Stanton interchange. The piece south from the Breezewood interchange into Maryland was also in the network.^[3] The route between US 30 in Breezewood and US 522 in Warfordsburg was originally known as Pennsylvania Route 126. In 1957, preliminary numbers were assigned; the longer route via Pittsburgh (now Interstate 79 and Interstate 376) became the main line of I-70, while the southern bypass (now I-70) became Interstate 70S.^[4] A southern extension of Interstate 79 (which had previously only run from Erie south to Pittsburgh) to Charleston, West Virginia in 1963 resulted in changes to I-70. On February 26, 1964, as part of the formation of Interstate 76 (east of downtown Pittsburgh), AASHTO approved a rerouting of I-70 along I-70S. The former I-70 became I-79 from Washington to downtown Pittsburgh and I-76 to and along the Turnpike to New Stanton.^[5] This brought the routing of I-70 to its present form.

Exit list

Interstate 70 (on top) merges with Interstate 79 going through Washington, Pennsylvania.

Interstate 70 through Buffalo Township in Washington County, Pennsylvania

County	Location	Mile[6]	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Washington	Donegal Township	0.89	1	West Alexander
		5.65	6	To PA 231 – Claysville
	Buffalo Township	11.00	11	PA 221 – Taylorstown
	North Franklin Township	14.81	15	US 40 (Chestnut Street)
	Canton Township	15.96	16	Jessop Place
	Washington	16.65	17	PA 18 (Jefferson Avenue)
	South Strabane Township	17.51	18	I-79 north – Pittsburgh	West end of I-79 overlap
		18.56	19	US 19 (Murtland Avenue)	Signed as exits 19A (south) and 19B (north)
		19.00	20	PA 136 (Beau Street)
		21.02	21	I-79 south – Morgantown	East end of I-79 overlap
	Somerset Township	24.50	25	PA 519 – Eighty Four, Glyde
		27.42	27	Dunningsville
		30.50	31	Kammerer
		32.54	32A	PA 917 – Ginger Hill
	Bentleyville	32.94	32B	To PA 917 south – Bentleyville
	Fallowfield Township	35.03	35	PA 481 – Monongahela, Centerville
		36.43	36	Lover	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		37.46	37	Toll PA 43 – California, Pittsburgh	Signed as exits 37A (south) and 37B (north)
	Speers	39.74	39	Speers
		40.19	40	PA 88 – Charleroi, Allenport
Westmoreland	Rostraver Township	40.72	41	PA 906 – Belle Vernon, Monessen
	North Belle Vernon	41.46	42	North Belle Vernon
	Rostraver Township	42.13	42A	Monessen	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		42.64	43	PA 201 to PA 837 (via Donora-Monessen Bridge) – Donora, Fayette City	Signed as exits 43A (south) and 43B (north) westbound
		44.10	44	Arnold City
		46.36	46	PA 51 – Uniontown, Pittsburgh	Signed as exits 46A (south) and 46B (north)
	South Huntingdon Township	48.85	49	Smithton
		51.13	51	PA 31 – Mt. Pleasant, West Newton	Signed as exits 51A (east) and 51B (west)
		53.19	53	Yukon
	Sewickley Township	53.82	54	Madison
	New Stanton	56.87	57A	Hunker	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		56.95	57B	New Stanton	Signed as exit 57 eastbound
		57.32		To US 119 / Toll PA 66 north – Greensburg, Connellsville, Delmont
				I-76 west / Penna. Tpk. west – Pittsburgh, Cleveland	West end of I-76 overlap
	Donegal		91	PA 31 / PA 711 – Ligonier, Uniontown
Somerset	Somerset		110	US 219 – Somerset, Johnstown
Bedford	Bedford		146	I-99 / US 220 – Bedford, Altoona
	East Providence Township		161	I-76 east / Penna. Tpk. east – Harrisburg	East end of I-76 overlap
		East end of freeway
				US 30 east – McConnellsburg, Chambersburg, Gettysburg	West end of US 30 overlap
		147.05	147	US 30 west – Everett	East end of US 30 overlap; at-grade intersection
		West end of freeway
Fulton		148.68	149	To US 30 west – Everett, South Breezewood	No westbound entrance
	Brush Creek Township	151.16	151	PA 915 – Crystal Spring
		155.75	156	PA 643 – Town Hill
	Union Township	163.21	163	PA 731 south – Amaranth
	Bethel Township	167.93	168	US 522 north – Warfordsburg	West end of US 522 overlap

References

1. ^ Route Log - Main Routes of the Eisenhower National System Of Interstate and Defense Highways - Table 1
2. ^ Manuel Roig-Franzia, "The Town That Stops Traffic: Travelers Encounter Way Station as Way of Life in Breezewood," Washington Post, 22 November 2001, B1.
3. ^ National System of Interstate Highways, August 2, 1947
4. ^ Official Route Numbering for the National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, August 14, 1957
5. ^ Ask the Rambler, Was I-76 Numbered to Honor Philadelphia for Independence Day, 1776?
6. ^ Calculated using DeLorme Street Atlas USA 2007 software

Interstate 70
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