Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike

The Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike, first used in 1795, is the first long-distance paved road built in the United States, according to engineered plans and specifications.^[3] It links Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and Philadelphia at 34th Street, stretching for sixty-two miles. It was later extended by the Lancaster and Susquehanna Turnpike to the Susquehanna River in Columbia.^[4] The route is now designated Pennsylvania Route 462 from the western terminus to US 30 just southeast of Lancaster, at which point US 30 (and US 30 Business in Chester County) follows the route to Philadelphia. The US 30 portion ends at Girard Avenue in the Parkside neighborhood of Philadelphia, where State Route 3012 is designated on the road to Belmont Avenue. At Belmont Avenue, the road changes designation to State Route 3005 and runs to the eastern terminus at 34th Street. Historically, Lancaster Pike terminated at Market Street before Drexel University took over the stretch between 32nd and 34th Streets and turned the road into a pedestrian walkway known as Lancaster Walk.^[5]

Share of the "Company of the Lancaster and Turnpike Road", issued 16 March 1795

Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike
Route information
Maintained by PennDOT
Length	73.33 mi[1] (118.01 km) Route to Columbia included (10.86 mi)
Existed	1792 (first used 1795)–present
Component highways	Lincoln Highway from Columbia to Lower Merion PA 462 from Columbia to Lancaster PA 23 in Lancaster US 30 from Lancaster to Sadsbury Township US 30 Bus. from Sadsbury Township to Frazer US 30 from Frazer to Philadelphia • SR 3012 and SR 3005 in Philadelphia • Lancaster Walk (a pedestrian walkway) at Drexel University campus between 34th and Market Streets
Major junctions
West end	PA 462 in Columbia
East end	PA 3 in Philadelphia
Location
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
Counties	Lancaster, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, Philadelphia
Highway system
Pennsylvania State Route System Interstate US State Scenic Legislative
Pennsylvania Historical Marker
Designated	November 20, 1999[2]

Old Lancaster Road and Lancaster Avenue in Lower Merion Township

It was the first turnpike of importance, and because the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania could not afford to pay for its construction, it was privately built by the Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike Road Company, making it an early example of a public-private partnership for American infrastructure.^[6][7] Credited as the country's first engineered road, its ground was broken in 1792.^[8] By the 1840s, the use of railroads and canals dealt a serious blow to the companies who specialized in the manufacture of wagons and coaches. During the next fifty years, the road suffered from lack of use and maintenance, but later saw recovery with the invention of the automobile.

Near the end at 34th Street. Lancaster Avenue ends as a road, but continues as the “Lancaster Walk” pedestrian walkway on the campus of Drexel University

In 1876, the parallel Pennsylvania Railroad bought the turnpike from 52nd Street in Philadelphia west to Paoli for $20,000 (equal to $572,250 today) to prevent competing streetcar companies from building along it. In 1913, the turnpike became part of the transcontinental Lincoln Highway, and tolls continued to be collected until 1917, when the State Highway Department bought it for $165,000, equal to $3,924,000 today.^[9] In 1926 it was designated as part of U.S. Route 30 along with the rest of the original United States Numbered Highways.

Major intersections

County	Location	mi[1]	km	Destinations	Notes
Lancaster	Columbia	0.00	0.00	PA 462 west (Chestnut Street) – Wrightsville	Continuation west into Wrightsville on the Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge
				North 3rd Street to PA 441 – Washington Boro, Marietta
	Lancaster Township	7.73	12.44	PA 741 (Rorherstown Road / Millersville Road) – East Petersburg, New Danville
	Lancaster	9.76	15.71	PA 23 west (College Avenue)	West end of PA 23 westbound overlap
		10.48	16.87	PA 999 west (Manor Street)	Eastern terminus of PA 999; eastbound access only
		10.74	17.28	US 222 south / PA 272 south (Prince Street)	Southbound one-way pair of US 222/PA 272
		10.86	17.48	PA 72 north (Queen Street)	Northbound one-way PA 72
		11.10	17.86	US 222 south / PA 272 north (Lime Street)	Northbound one-way pair of US 222/PA 272
		11.84	19.05	PA 23 east (Broad Street)	East end of PA 23 westbound overlap
		12.74	20.50	PA 340 east (Old Philadelphia Pike)	Western terminus of PA 340
	East Lampeter Township	14.54	23.40	US 30 west to PA 283 west – York, Harrisburg PA 462 ends	Interchange; eastern terminus of PA 462; west end of US 30 overlap
	Ronks	17.03	27.41	PA 896 (Eastbrook Road / Hartman Bridge Road) – Strasburg
	Gap	25.92	41.71	PA 772 west (Newport Road)	Eastern terminus of PA 772
		26.32	42.36	PA 41 south (Gap Newport Pike) – Wilmington, DE	Northern terminus of PA 41
		26.66	42.91	PA 897 north (White Horse Road)	Southern terminus of PA 897
Chester	West Sadsbury Township	31.10	50.05	PA 10 (Octorara Trail) – Honey Brook, Parkesburg
		31.50	50.69	US 30 east (Coatesville Downingtown Bypass) – Coatesville, Downingtown US 30 Bus. begins	Interchange; eastbound access to eastbound US 30 and westbound access from westbound US 30; east end of US 30 overlap; western terminus of US 30 Bus.
	Coatesville	36.59	58.89	PA 82 south (Strode Avenue)	West end of PA 82 overlap
		37.00	59.55	PA 82 north (North 1st Avenue) to US 30	East end of PA 82 overlap
	Thorndale	41.24	66.37	PA 340 west (Bondsville Road) – Wagontown	Eastern terminus of PA 340
	Downingtown	43.48	69.97	US 322 west (Manor Avenue) to US 30	West end of US 322 overlap
		43.66	70.26	US 322 east (Brandywine Avenue) – West Chester US 322 Truck begins	East end of US 322 overlap; west end of US 322 Truck overlap
		43.80	70.49	PA 282 west (Green Street)	Eastern terminus of PA 282
		44.18	71.10	PA 113 north (West Uwchlan Avenue) to Penna Turnpike	Southern terminus of PA 113
	East Caln Township	45.26	72.84	Quarry Road (US 322 Truck east) to US 30 east – King of Prussia	Eastern end of US 322 Truck concurrency
		45.41	73.08	US 30 west (Coatesville–Downingtown Bypass) – Coatesville, Lancaster	Interchange; access to and from westbound US 30
	Exton	47.98	77.22	PA 100 (Pottstown Pike) to Penna Turnpike – Pottstown, West Chester
	West Whiteland Township	50.29	80.93	US 30 west (Exton Bypass) – Downingtown US 202 – King of Prussia, West Chester US 30 Bus. ends	Interchange; eastern terminus of US 30 Bus.; west end of US 30 overlap
	Frazer	51.65	83.12	PA 352 south (Sproul Road) – Chester, Immaculata University	Northern terminus of PA 352
	Malvern	53.21	85.63	PA 401 west (Conestoga Road) – Elverson	Eastern terminus of PA 401
		53.62	86.29	PA 29 north (Morehall Road) to US 202 – Phoenixville	Southern terminus of PA 29
	Paoli	56.14	90.35	PA 252 (Bear Hill Road / Leopard Road) – Valley Forge, Newtown Square
Delaware	Villanova	62.93	101.28	I-476 (Mid-County Expressway) – Plymouth Meeting, Chester	Exit 13 on I-476
		63.26	101.81	PA 320 (North Spring Mill Road / Sproul Road)
Montgomery	No major junctions
Delaware	No major junctions
Montgomery–Philadelphia county line	Lower Merion Township–Philadelphia line	69.35	111.61	US 1 (City Avenue) – Bala Cynwyd, Upper Darby
Philadelphia	Philadelphia	71.56	115.16	US 30 east (Girard Avenue) SR 3012 begins	East end of US 30 overlap; western terminus of SR 3012
		72.00	115.87	SR 3005 (Belmont Avenue) / 44th Street SR 3012 ends	Eastern terminus of SR 3012; west end of SR 3005 overlap
		73.04	117.55	US 13 (Powelton Avenue)
		73.33	118.01	North 34th Street SR 3005 ends	Eastern terminus of SR 3005; route transitions to pedestrian walkway called “Lancaster Walk”
		74.33	119.62	PA 3 (Market Street)	Eastern terminus
		1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access       Route transition

See also

• U.S. Roads portal
• Pennsylvania portal
• Philadelphia portal
• Great Wagon Road
• Lincoln Highway
• "The Colossus", 1813 bridge

References

1. DeLorme Street Atlas 2007, Toggle Measure Tool. Retrieved on July 2, 2007.
2. "PHMC Historical Markers Search" (Searchable database). Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Retrieved January 25, 2014.
3. "The Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike Road". Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved May 29, 2006.
4. "Bridges, Roads, and Turnpikes Collection, 1767-1968". LancasterHistory. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
5. Philadelphia County (PDF) (Map). Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. 2005. p. 1. Retrieved July 2, 2007.^{[permanent dead link]}
6. Buxbaum, Jeffrey N (2009). Public Sector Decision Making for Public-private Partnerships. Washington, DC: Transportation Research Board. p. 9. ISBN 978-0-309-09829-8.
7. "Philadelphia & Lancaster Turnpike". Lifelong Learning Online. Archived from the original on August 27, 2002. Retrieved May 29, 2006.
8. "Philadelphia & Lancaster Turnpike". Explore Pennsylvania History. Retrieved May 29, 2006.
9. Butko, Brian. The Lincoln Highway: Pennsylvania Traveler's Guide. pp. 50–51. ISBN 0-8117-2497-2.

External links

• Pennsylvania Highways: US 30
• Lancaster Avenue: Turn of the Millennium. Photographs along the Lancaster Turnpike in Philadelphia.

40.0367°N 76.3122°W / 40.0367; -76.3122