Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1915-10-22
PENNSYLVANIA'S HIGHWAYS ARE
BUMPED BY NEW YORK TOURIST
Roads Are Not Even Passaby Fair He Says Toll Gates From
Harrisburg Stretches and Bridges Severely Scored

ther with his rubber tires and act as
road roller.
Too Narrow
From Easton to the Water Gap the
road is generally better, although
altogether too narrow, and marked
here and there py dangerous crossings
and bad blind corners. Through the
town of Stroudsburg. however, the go
ing is unspeakably bad; a mere sue
cession of holes and rocks, mud
puddles and bumps 1t is a real pleas
Gre to find ones self on a well-graded,
although very highly c Wned, road,
which makes driving -Ifficult. from
Stroudsburg to Pocono Summit, and
the road along the top of the mountain
through Tobyhanna is by no means
bad considering the difficulties of con-
struction and maintenance.
LAS one approaches Scranton by
this route, however, one of the most
dangerous stretches of the trip is
reached. 1t is called Elmhurst Boule-
ward and is toll road. Running along
the heights above the main line of the
Lackawanna Railroad, 1t leads into
town through what appears to be a
sort of suburban park or development.
The scenery is beautiful. The road is
a menace. 1t has hardly a straight
half mile in eight or ten miles OF
blind. AS one is about to drop down
into the city one comes suddenly upon
the worst curve of all, known locally
with peculiar aptness as Dead Mans
Curve
No Warning
1T is a big s. in the course of
which one drops perhaps fifty feet.
You are on it before you know it and
without warning of any kind. Going
toward Scranton the first arm of the
s. curves to the right and returns
is steep declivity or embankment,
without any rail or other protection,
while the pitch downward is exceed
ingly sharp. The IS is completed by
an equally sharp twist, also steep,
which is crossed at it's worst point by
an unguarded, unlighted and totally
unexpected trolley track The whole
to reap the maximum harvest of
wrecks.
The main line between Scranton
and WilkeS-Barre has many dangerous
railroad crossings and miles of sur
face which are not even a poor apology
for road. Beyond Wilkes Barre, on
the route down the Susquehanna river,
on the main State highway to Harris
burg, there are also some very bad
conditions. For example, a short dis
tance out of Wilkes Barre construc-
tion work is in progress. The road is
broad at this point and hard surfaced
and 1t would be the simplest matter,
one would suppose. to close but half of
its width at time. But not at all.
II is shut off completely and the mo-
torist is waived into an unposted de-
tour which starts by taking him
through a mudhole a foot deep, in the
center OF which heavy plank has
been buried on edge, as a sort of
sporting hazard, it may be, as to
whether it breaks a spring.
Circuitous Dctours
This detour, which is well-nigh i'm
passable, is long and circuitous and
brings one back at last to the main
road at a point almost in sight of
where one left it. and this delightful
bit of stupidity, as has been said, is on
the main line from Wilkes Barre to
the State capital. After a terrible
humping over the approach to the
bidge over the Susquehanna at Nanti
coke the motorist has fair surface,
broken by woefully bad bits in some
OF the towns. down the right bank of
the river and through the beautiful
valley in which lie Berwick, Blooms
burg, Northumberland and Selinsgrove.
till he crosses the stream again on an
ola wooden toll bridge above Harris
burg.
Much of this State highway, how
ever, is so narrow that it would be
impossible to pass another vehicle
without looking for a turnout and
stopping. Parts of it also, high above
the river, have no protecting rail and
are highly dangerous for night driving.
Some miles before entering Harris
burg another spot of extreme danger