page_title: Pennsylvania Route 321
section_title: Designation
hierarchical_section_title: Pennsylvania Route 321 / History / Designation
caption_attribution_description: Westbound Pennsylvania Route 59/southbound Pennsylvania Route 321 at their split in Corydon Township
context_page_description: Pennsylvania Route 321 is a 43.8-mile-long state highway located in Elk and McKean counties in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, maintained by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. The southern terminus is at U.S. Route 219 in the community of Wilcox. The northern terminus is at PA 346 within the Allegheny National Forest. PA 321 heads northwest from Wilcox through rural areas to the borough of Kane, where it forms a brief concurrency with US 6. North of here, the route heads through the national forest and runs along the shore of the Allegheny Reservoir. PA 321 runs east briefly with PA 59 before winding north through more forest to its northern terminus. A portion of the route along the Allegheny Reservoir is designated as the Longhouse National Scenic Byway, a Pennsylvania Scenic Byway and National Forest Scenic Byway.
  The road between Wilcox and Kane was designated as part of Legislative Route 97 in 1911 and as part of PA 6 in 1924. US 119 became concurrent with PA 6 in 1926 before US 219 replaced both designations on this stretch of road two years later. The road between Kane and Kinzua was built in the late 1920s and became an extension of PA 68 in 1935.
context_section_description: Following the passage of the Sproul Road Bill in 1911, the highway between Wilcox and Kane was incorporated as part of LR 97. The Wilcox-Kane road was built in the mid-1920s. In 1925, this roadway became a part of PA 6 (the Buffalo-Pittsburgh Highway), which ran from the Maryland border near Meyersdale north to Bradford. With the creation of the U.S. Highway System on November 11, 1926, US 119 was cosigned with PA 6 on this stretch of road. US 219 replaced the US 119/PA 6 designation between Wilcox and Kane in 1928. The roadway between Kane and Red Bridge was improved by Works Progress Administration labor between 1929 and 1930 in order to "get the rural areas 'out of the mud'." The road was built with a soft stone base that would not handle the heavier traffic volumes that would later use the road. This section of highway was patched by the state several times in order to keep it usable for traffic. The road between Kane and Kinzua became a northward extension of PA 68 in 1935. Plans were announced in 1949 for a direct alignment of US 219 between Wilcox and Lantz Corners to bypass the westerly jog to Kane. In 1952, US 219 was relocated off the roadway between Wilcox and Kane and US 6 between Kane and Lantz Corners to use the new direct alignment.
  In 1960, plans were made to construct the Kinzua Dam in the Allegheny National Forest, with road relocations necessary for the new reservoir that would be formed. Among the roads that would need to moved was PA 68 between Kane and Kinzua. The route was to be relocated to follow the shore of the reservoir before coming to an intersection with PA 59. This new road would provide access to the Kinzua Dam from Kane. A meeting was held on February 24, 1960, between state and federal officials to discuss the road relocations for the dam construction, including PA 68. Plans were announced in March 1961 to repave "Old Route 219" between Wilcox and Kane, with completion planned for the summer. The next month, the Special Highways Committee of the Kane Chamber of Commerce planned to meet with the supervisor of the Allegheny National Forest to discuss access roads to the Kinzua Dam. Among the ideas offered was extending PA 255 from Johnsonburg north to Kane, running concurrent with US 219 between Johnsonburg and Wilcox and following the unnumbered road between Wilcox and Kane. By May of that year, no decision was made on how PA 68 would be routed to the north of Red Bridge with the construction of the Kinzua Dam.
  In 1961, the Special Highways Committee recommended a new designation for LR 97 between Wilcox and Kane, which was known as "Old 219", along with improving the Wilcox-Kane road and PA 68 between Kane and Red Bridge. A new road was favored north of Red Bridge to serve the proposed recreational area at the Allegheny Reservoir. The PA 321 designation was approved by the PDH on December 7 of that year. The route replaced LR 97 between Wilcox and Kane, where it joined US 6 and followed that route to the Easton Street intersection. Between Kane and Kinzua, PA 321 replaced a section of PA 68, with the northern terminus of PA 68 cut back to US 6/PA 321 at the intersection of Fraley and Greeves streets in Kane. The new designation was suggested by the president of the Kane Chamber of Commerce, Victor Westerberg, to provide a connection to the Kinzua Dam via Kane. The roadway north of Kane was also designated as LR 42003. PA 321 was signed between Wilcox and Kinzua in May 1962.
  Signage for PA 321 from Kane northward had been removed by March 1966 as that section of road was under construction, with the northern terminus of the route moved to US 6 at the south end of Kane. In April 1968, signage was installed in Kane pointing the way to the Kinzua Dam via US 6; PA 321 remained unsigned pending the completion of the road north of Kane. With the construction of PA 321, the route remained unsigned north of Kane. In addition, there were a lack of signs at the PA 59 intersection pointing the way to Kane and a lack of signage in Kane directing motorists to attractions in the Kinzua Dam area. Also,
caption: PA 321 southbound at split with PA 59 in Corydon Township
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