Pennsylvania Route 12

This article is about the current route. For the PA Route 12 in the 1920s, see Baltimore Pike.

For other uses, see PA-12 (disambiguation).

PA Route 12
Route information
Maintained by PennDOT
Length:	9.57 mi[1] (15.40 km)
Existed:	1999 – present
Major junctions
West end:	US 222/US 422 in Reading
	PA 183 near Reading PA 61 near Reading US 222 Bus. near Reading
East end:	PA 662 near Fleetwood
Location
Counties:	Berks
Highway system
Roads in Pennsylvania Interstate • US • State • Legislative ← PA 11 US 13 →

Pennsylvania Route 12 is a 9-mile (14 km) long part-freeway located in eastern Pennsylvania. The western terminus of the route is at U.S. Route 422 and U.S. Route 222 near Reading. Its eastern terminus is Pennsylvania Route 662 in Ruscombmanor Township. In Reading, the freeway is named the Warren Street Bypass and has six exits. Heading east, the freeway terminates and PA 12 continues towards Pricetown as a local road. Heading west, PA 12 ends at an interchange with US 222 and US 422 northwest of downtown Reading.

Route description

Warren Street Bypass

Main article: Warren Street Bypass

PA 12 is called the Warren Street Bypass for a significant portion of its routing. The bypass itself begins 2 miles (3.2 km) southwest of PA 12 at the US 222/US 422 interchange in West Lawn. At the US 222/US 422 junction in Reading, US 222 and US 422 both leave the bypass, giving way to PA 12. As a limited-access highway, the route interchanges with Pennsylvania Route 183, Pennsylvania Route 61 and U.S. Route 222 Business before returning to grade level northeast of Reading, soon after the interchange with Spring Valley Rd.

At-grade section

PA 12 westbound past PA 73 in Ruscombmanor Township

PA 12 continues towards Pricetown as a local road east of the Warren Street Bypass. About 1 mile (1.6 km) west of Pricetown it meets Pennsylvania Route 73, which heads to the southeast towards Philadelphia as a local road. The route ends at an intersection with Pennsylvania Route 662 in Ruscombmanor Township. Meanwhile, Pricetown Road continues to the Rockland Township community of New Jerusalem, where it terminates at an intersection with Lobachsville Road.

History

In the late 1920s, PA 12 was first designated mostly in central Northampton County, on what is today Pennsylvania Route 191 and Pennsylvania Route 378. It was designated from U.S. Route 209 in Snydersville to U.S. Route 309 in Center Valley.^[2]

By 1966, the PA 12 designation was removed. Meanwhile, the 2 miles (3 km) long Warren Street Bypass was built from U.S. Route 422 to the 5th Street Highway as U.S. Route 222. By 1978, the rest of the bypass was completed.^[3][4]

By 1993, from the 5th Street Highway interchange of the Warren Street Bypass to Pennsylvania Route 662 in Pricetown, the road was referenced as Quadrant Route 2026. By 1999, US 222 was redesignated northwest of Reading; the PA 12 designation was given to the Warren Street Bypass and QR 2026.^[5][6][7]

Major intersections

The entire route is in Berks County.

Location	Mile[1]	Destinations	Notes
Reading	0.00	US 222 south / US 422 west – Lancaster, Lebanon	Continuation beyond western terminus
		US 422 east – Pottstown
	0.67	PA 183 (Schuylkill Avenue)	to Reading Regional Airport.
	1.58	River Road
	2.00	PA 61 (Centre Avenue)	Eastbound exit and entrance, westbound entrance, to FirstEnergy Stadium.
	2.49	US 222 Bus. (5th Street) – Allentown	to US 222 north, to PA 61.
Hyde Park	2.93	11th Street
	4.05	Spring Valley Road
	East end of freeway section
Ruscombmanor Township	7.84	PA 73 (Blandon Road)
	9.57	PA 662 (Memorial Highway)

See also

• Warren Street Bypass
• U.S. Route 222
• U.S. Route 422

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Calculated using DeLorme Street Atlas USA 2007 software
2. ^ Pennsylvania Department of Highways (1929). Eastern Half of Pennsylvania Map (Map). http://filebox.vt.edu/users/bharper/roads/PA1929e.jpg. Retrieved 2007-11-25. 
3. ^ Pennsylvania Department of Highways (1966). Berks County Map (Sheet 1) (Map). ftp://ftp.dot.state.pa.us/public/pdf/BPR_PDF_FILES/Maps/Type_10_GHS_Historical_Scans/Berks_1966_Sheet_1.pdf. Retrieved 2007-11-25. 
4. ^ National Bridge Inventory, a database compiled by the United States Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration, available at nationalbridges.com. Accessed 2007-11-25.
5. ^ PennDOT (1993). Berks County Map (Map). ftp://ftp.dot.state.pa.us/public/pdf/BPR_PDF_FILES/Maps/Type_10_GHS_Historical_Scans/Berks_1993.pdf. Retrieved 2007-11-25. 
6. ^ PennDOT (1999). Berks County Map (Map). ftp://ftp.dot.state.pa.us/public/pdf/BPR_PDF_FILES/Maps/Type_10_GHS_Historical_Scans/Berks_1999.pdf. Retrieved 2007-11-25. 
7. ^ "PA Gov. Ridge Administration Opens First Section of New U.S. Route 222 in Berks County". HighBean Research (PR Newswire). November 9, 2000. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-66765307.html. Retrieved 2007-11-25. 

External links

• Pennsylvania Highways - Pennsylvania Route 12
• Pennsylvania Highways - PA 12 Exit list
• State Ends - PA 12 Terminus pictures