Road of Tomorrow: The Pennsylvania Turnpike

J.M. Syken

Course Outline

In this course, we will examine the historical background, design, construction, expansion, improvement etc. of America’s first superhighway – the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Our review will include the creation of the initial 160-mile section of the Turnpike between Irwin and Carlisle, PA along the right-of-way of the abandoned South Pennsylvania Railroad (1884-5) and the use of portions of the roadbed and seven incomplete mountain tunnels through the Appalachian Mountains to create a modern, high-speed, all-weather intrastate highway. We will also discuss the influences of Germany’s Autobahn, GM’s “Highways & Horozons” exhibit at the Futurama pavilion of the 1939/40 New York World’s Fair and the Bronx River Parkway on the design of the PA Turnpike.

The post-WWII expansion of the Turnpike including the Philadelphia Extension, Western Extension, Delaware River Extension and Northeast Extension and their impacts on the Turnpike system within the commonwealth and connections with other state’s highway systems (i.e. Ohio/New Jersey Turnpike/s) will be of special interest. As well, the modernization/improvement/upgrading of the Turnpike system including the twinning of tunnels, bypasses, eliminating/adding interchanges/service plazas, roadway replacement/widening, electronic toll collection, bridge replacement etc. will also be discussed in depth and detail. Future plans for the Turnpike (i.e. Turnpike/I-95 direct connection) and the historical significance of the Turnpike as an initial part/model of/for the Interstate Highway System will be of great interest and relevance.

This course includes a multiple-choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of the course materials.

Learning Objective

At the conclusion of this course, the student will:

• Understand/appreciate the design/construction/demise of the South Pennsylvania RR and its adaptation as a superhighway right-of-way;
• Understand/appreciate the influences of roads/highways that preceded the PA Turnpike (1940) such as the German Autobahn (1929) and the Bronx River Parkway (1927);
• Understand/appreciate the importance of the Futurama pavilion at the 1939/40 New York World’s Fair as an example of the highways of the future and how the PA Turnpike was the realization of many of those concepts on display in model form;
• Understand/appreciate the design parameters of the initial 160-mile portion of the PA Turnpike between Irwin and Carlisle, PA including interchanges, service plazas, bridges, bypasses, tunnels, roadbed, median, on/off ramps, under/overpasses, sight distances, grades, curves etc.;
• Understand/appreciate the impact of the opening of the PA Turnpike and how it exceeded expectations as a toll road;
• Understand/appreciate the political and economic influences behind the creation of the PA Turnpike as well as the formation/functions of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC);
• Understand/appreciate the critical use of the Turnpike during WWII for moving men and equipment efficiently and the severe decline in traffic volume due to gas rationing;
• Understand/appreciate the post-WWII east-west expansion projects of the Turnpike system to connect Pennsylvania’s ocean port (Philadelphia) with its lake port (Erie);
• Understand/appreciate additional expansion projects which connected the PA Turnpike to the NJ Turnpike at the Delaware River and to northeastern PA at Scranton;
• Understand/appreciate the need to twin the existing tunnels due to insufficient capacity and/or create new tunnels and/or bypasses;
• Understand/appreciate the road/infrastructure upgrading/improvement programs completed and on-going; and
• Understand/appreciate the role the PA Turnpike played in the creation of the Interstate Highway System of which it is a part.

Intended Audience

This course is intended for architects, engineers and other design professionals.

Benefit to Attendees

The attendee/s will gain an intimate knowledge and insight into the creation of “America’s Super Highway” – The Pennsylvania Turnpike

Course Introduction

The course includes an in-depth PowerPoint presentation and the viewing a documentary film

Course Content

In this course, you are required to view/study the following slideshow and the materials contained in the web pages:

Road of Tomorrow: The Pennsylvania Turnpike (printable handout in PDF, 11 MB, see Note A below for downloading instruction)

Road of Tomorrow: The Pennsylvania Turnpike (non-printable slideshow for screen-viewing only, 35 MB, see Note A below for downloading instruction)

Archival/Documentary Film:

TITLE: Road of Tomorrow (ca. 1940)
LINK: https://archive.org/details/0431_Road_of_Tomorrow_The_Reel_I_only_00_00_35_00
DURATION: 09:32

TITLE: Construction of the Pennsylvania Turnpike
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pYWj64bXk4
DUATION: 23:18

TITLE: America's First Super Highway
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIe5A079lI0
DURATION: 18:32

Note A: Please click on the above underlined hypertext to view, download or print the document for your study. Because of the large file size, we recommend that you first save the file to your computer by right-clicking the mouse and choosing "Save Target As ...", and then open the file in Adobe Acrobat Reader from your computer.

Course Summary

It was to be a railroad through the formidable Allegheny Mountains, connecting the industrial center of Pittsburgh with the state capital at Harrisburg and competing directly with the Pennsylvania Railroad. Ironically, the Pennsylvania RR took note (in its 100th Anniversary publication in 1949) that the South Pennsylvania RR, though never realized, gave birth to another “road’ – the Pennsylvania Turnpike, whose right-of-way and mountain tunnels it followed and did, indeed (albeit a half-century later and by a different means of conveyance), provide competition to the “Pennsey”. By using the South Penn RR’s route through rather than over the mountains, 9K-feet of vertical climb would be saved the motorist. As well, it would be a limited access, all-weather highway with scientifically engineered features to avoid the many hazards and inefficiencies of roads of the era. Another benefit would be the +15K jobs it created during the depression and the economic boom to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (as demonstrated by having a high-speed intrastate artery that paid for itself with toll revenues). Most importantly, it proved that modern, safe highways were achievable and what the public wanted and demanded. The Pennsylvania Turnpike set the example for what would become the Interstate Highway System which tied together a vast continent, much as “America’s Pioneer Super/Dream/Tunnel Highway” tied together the great State of Pennsylvania from the day it opened in 1940.

Related Links

For additional technical information related to this subject, please visit the following websites:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania_Turnpike

http://www.paturnpike.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSRhEJc3GHw
(Film - NJ Turnpike - 22:31)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKGgMM9pilA
(Film - Exploring Pennsylvania's Abandoned Highway - 15:28)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzk-rZz2goc
(Film: Modern Marvels - Road Construction Machines Equipment - 15:32)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQW6j4Xhrfo
(Film: Road to the Future - 04:59)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9m43V7M2rTE
(Film: Caterpillar Diesel Tractor [1937] - 18:51)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42CFGwtk5rk
(Film: Giant of the Earthmovers - 10:25)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGHgjU35Ydw
(Film: A Trip Over the Pennsylvania Turnpike - 11:15)

https://archive.org/details/ToNewHor1940
(Film: To New Horizons [1940] - 23:00)

Quiz

Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.

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DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDH Center or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered architect and/or professional engineer/surveyor. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.

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