page_title: Pennsylvania Turnpike
section_title: Late 20th century
hierarchical_section_title: Pennsylvania Turnpike / History / Late 20th century
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Pennsylvania Turnpike Mautstelle in Sommerset, PA, USA. A Hampton Inn is in the background. English: Pennsylvania Turnpike toll plaza in Sommerset, PA, USA Français&#160;: Péage de l'autoroute Pennsylvania Turnpike à Sommerset, en Pennsylvanie (États-Unis).
context_page_description: The Pennsylvania Turnpike is a toll highway operated by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. A controlled-access highway, it runs for 360 miles across the state. The turnpike begins at the Ohio state line in Lawrence County, where the road continues west as the Ohio Turnpike. It ends at the New Jersey border at the Delaware River–Turnpike Toll Bridge over the Delaware River in Bucks County, where the road continues east as the Pearl Harbor Memorial Extension of the New Jersey Turnpike.
  The highway runs east–west through the state, connecting the Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, and Philadelphia areas. It crosses the Appalachian Mountains in central Pennsylvania, passing through four tunnels. The turnpike is part of the Interstate Highway System; it is designated as part of Interstate 76 between the Ohio border and Valley Forge, I-70 between New Stanton and Breezewood, I-276 between Valley Forge and Bristol Township, and I-95 from Bristol Township to the New Jersey border. The road uses an electronic toll collection system; tolls can be paid using E-ZPass or toll-by-plate. Cash tolls were phased out between January 2016 and March 2020.
context_section_description: The roadway's median, while initially thought to be wide enough, was considered too narrow by 1960. The turnpike commission installed median barriers at curves and high-accident areas starting in the 1950s. In 1960, it began to install 100 miles (160 km) of median barrier along the turnpike. Work was completed in December 1965 at a cost of $5 million. In October 1963, work began on replacing the New Stanton interchange, which required left turns across traffic on the ramps and was frequently congested. The new, grade-separated interchange opened on November 12, 1964 and provided access to I-70 at the western end of the turnpike stretch of I-70/I-76. A new interchange serving I-283 and PA 283 opened at Harrisburg East in 1969. Due to the realignment of US 222 to a four-lane freeway, a new Reading interchange was proposed. This was opened on April 10, 1974.
  In 1968, the turnpike commission proposed converting the section of the road between Morgantown and the Delaware River Bridge from a ticket to a barrier system. The project was canceled in 1971, due to a decline in revenue caused by the completion of I-80. In 1969 the turnpike commission announced a 75-percent toll hike, the first such increase for cars. This rise in tolls, which took place September 1 of that year, brought the toll rate to 2 cents per mile (1.2 ¢/km) or 14 ¢/mi (8.7 ¢/km) in 2018.
  In 1969, the turnpike commission said that because of increasing traffic, it was necessary to widen the turnpike. It proposed doubling the number of lanes from four to eight; the portion in the Philadelphia area was to be ten lanes wide. Cars and trucks would be carried on separate roadways under this plan. The roadway would also have an 80 mph (130 km/h) speed limit and holographic road signs. This widening would have kept much of the routing intact, but significant realignments were proposed between the Allegheny Mountain and Blue Mountain tunnels. Because of the $1.1 billion cost and the 1973 oil crisis that resulted in the imposition of a 55 miles per hour (89 km/h) speed limit, this plan was not implemented. By the 1970s, the Pennsylvania Turnpike started to see a decline in the volume of traffic because of the opening of I-80—which provided a shorter route across the north of the state, and the 1973 oil crisis—which led to a decline in long-distance travel. In the late 1970s, the turnpike commission proposed truck climbing lanes east of the Allegheny Mountain Tunnel near New Baltimore and near the Laurel Hill Bypass. These were completed on December 2, 1981.
  In 1978, as the Howard Johnson's exclusive contract to provide food service was ending, the turnpike commission considered bids for competitors to provide food service. That year ARA Services was awarded a contract for food service at two plazas, ending the Howard Johnson's monopoly. The highway became the first toll road in the country to offer more than one fast-food chain at its service plazas. At this time, gas stations along the turnpike were operated by Gulf Oil, Exxon, and ARCO. Hardee's also opened restaurants at the service plazas in 1980 to compete with Howard Johnson's. With this, the turnpike became the first road in the world to offer fast food at its service plazas. Additionally, a toll increase of 22 percent was announced in 1978, effective August 1 of that year; this raised the rate to 2.2 cents per mile (1.4 ¢/km), or 8 ¢/mi (5.0 ¢/km) in 2018.
  The portion of the turnpike in the Philadelphia area had become a congested commuter road by the 1980s. In 1983, funding was approved to widen the turnpike to six lanes between the Valley Forge and Philadelphia interchanges. This planned project was put on hold because of disagreements between Governor Dick Thornburgh and the turnpike commission members, and differences between the commissioners. The Pennsylvania Legislature approved the project in 1985; the road would be widened between the Norristown and Philadelphia interchanges. Construction on the widening began on March 10, 1986, and was completed on November 23, 1987 with a ribbon-cutting at the Philad
caption: Toll booths at Somerset Interchange (exit 110) in Somerset
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