INTERSTATE 78 IN PENNSYLVANIA

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'Interstate 78' in Pennsylvania is an east-west route stretching from Union Township, Pennsylvania to New York City. I-78 runs for about 77 miles (124 km) in Pennsylvania, from the western terminus at Interstate 81 to New Jersey state line; I-78 continues into New Jersey.

Contents

Route description

History

February 2007

Exit list

See also

References

External links

Route description

Major cities 'Bolded cities' are officially-designated control cities for signs
★ 'Harrisburg' (via I-81) ★ Bethel ★ Hamburg ★ 'Allentown' ★ Summit Lawn ★ 'Bethlehem' ★ 'Easton' ★ 'New Jersey' ★ 'New York City'

I-78 starts in Pennsylvania at an interchange with Interstate 81. It merges with U.S. Route 22 in Lebanon County; the two run together for more than 45 miles from Bethel Township to Kuhnsville. Near Kuhnsville, U.S. Route 22 splits off from I-78 and becomes the Lehigh Valley Thruway. Near Hamburg at mile marker 29, it meets a major Pennsylvania route; Pennsylvania Route 61. At mile marker 53 after the departure of US 22, Pennsylvania Route 309 merges with I-78 for 7 miles. Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom is visible from the freeway approaching exit 54 for U.S. Route 222, which leads to the park. In Summit Lawn, State Route 309 leaves the freeway towards Quakertown at exit 60. Past Allentown and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Route 33 meets I-78 at exit 71. The last exit in Pennsylvania is Exit 75/Morgan Hill Road which takes you to Pennsylvania Route 611. The Interstate crosses the Delaware River on the Interstate 78 Toll Bridge, leaving Pennsylvania for New Jersey.

History

Although built to modern-day Interstate Highway standards east of Pennsylvania Route 100, I-78 between PA Rt. 100 and the Berks/Lebanon county line was built mainly to 1960s standards, and have characteristic soft shoulders in most locations, and despite its rural location, a 55 m.p.h. speed limit which is heavily enforced by the Pennsylvania State Police. Prior to the late 1960s, I-78 was to be routed on the Lehigh Valley Thruway across to Phillipsburg, New Jersey; however, due to heavy opposition by residents of Phillipsburg, PennDOT and NJDOT opted to build the new southerly alignment that I-78 is routed on today.

February 2007

On February 14, 2007, I-78 was closed from Pennsylvania Route 100 in Fogelsville to the U.S. Route 22 split in Union Township due to a winter storm that caused two tractor trailers to make the highway impassable. Other roads like I-80 and I-81 were closed as well. Some passengers were stuck on I-78 for more than 20 hours. Governor Ed Rendell apologized to the hundreds of drivers that were stuck on I-78. The governor said that the I-78 mess was "unacceptable" and that those responsible for clearing the road had communicated poorly. I-78 reopened on February 17.^[2]

Exit list

County	Location	Mile[3]	#	Destinations	Notes
Lebanon	Union Township	0.00	1A	I-81 south - Harrisburg	Westbound exit, eastbound entrance.
		0.55	1B	I-81 north - Hazleton	Westbound exit, eastbound entrance. To PA 72.
	Bethel Township	5.85	6	PA 343 - Lebanon, Fredericksburg	Eastbound exit, westbound entrance.
		7.90	8	US 22 west/To PA 343 - Fredericksburg, Lebanon	Westbound exit, eastbound entrance.
		Western terminus of I-78/ US 22 concurrency.
Berks	Bethel Township	10.21	10	PA 645 - Frystown
	Bethel	12.68	13	PA 501 - Bethel
	Bethel Township	14.67	15	Grimes	No Trucks.
		15.40	16	Midway
		16.58	17	PA 419 - Rehrersburg
	Strausstown	18.65	19	PA 183 - Strausstown
	Upper Bern Township	22.71	23	Shartlesville
	Tilden Township	29.11	29A	PA 61 south - Reading
		29.35	29B	PA 61 north - Pottsville
	Hamburg	30.19	30	Hamburg
	Greenwich Township	35.23	35	PA 143 - Lenhartsville
		40.27	40	PA 737 - Krumsville, Kutztown
Lehigh	Weisenberg Township	44.96	45	PA 863 - New Smithville, Lynnport
	Upper Macungie Township	49.26 49.55	49A	PA 100 south - Trexlertown
			49B	PA 100 north - Fogelsville
		Eastern terminus of I-78/ US 22 concurrency.
		50.89	51	US 22 east/To I-476/To PA 309 north - PA Turnpike/LVI Airport	Eastbound exit, westbound entrance.
	South Whitehall	53.67	53	PA 309 north - Tamaqua	Westbound exit, eastbound entrance.
		Western terminus of I-78/ PA 309 concurrency.
		54.12	54A	US 222 south (Hamilton Boulevard)	Exit 54 eastbound. To Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom.
		54.51	54B	PA 222 north (Hamilton Boulevard)
		55.41	55	PA 29 (Cedar Crest Boulevard)
	Allentown	57.20	57	Lehigh Street
		57.63	58	Emmaus Avenue	Westbound exit only.
	Summit Lawn	58.83	59	To PA 145 - Summit Lawn	Eastbound exit, westbound entrance.
		Eastern terminus of I-78/ PA 309 concurrency.
		59.92	60A	PA 309 south - Quakertown	Exit 60 eastbound. To DeSales University.
		60.30	60B	PA 145 north - South 4th Street	Westbound exit, eastbound entrance.
Northampton	Hellertown	66.36	67	PA 412 - Hellertown, Bethlehem	To Lehigh University.
	Bethlehem Township	71.04	71	PA 33 north/To US 22 - Stroudsburg	Southern terminus of PA 33.
	Williams Township	75.00	75	PA 611 - Easton, Philadelphia	To Crayola Factory.
	Easton	77.10	New Jersey/Pennsylvania state line. I-78 continues into New Jersey on the Interstate 78 Toll Bridge over the Delaware River. Westbound: $0.75 toll.

See also

★ Interstate 78

★ Interstate 78 in New Jersey

★ Interstate 81 in Pennsylvania

★ U.S. Route 22 in Pennsylvania

★ Interstate 78 Toll Bridge

References

1. Route Log - Main Routes of the Eisenhower National System Of Interstate and Defense Highways - Table 1
2. Interstates Reopen; Speed Limit Reduced to 45 MPH
3. Calculated using DeLorme Street Atlas USA 2007

External links

★ Interstate 78 exits in Pennsylvania