Pennsylvania Roads - I-70


West of the PA Turnpike


I can understand confusion from national travelers regarding Washington, PA (not Pa, which is a word meaning "father") and Washington, DC. But here I am in the city of Washington. How could there possibly be a problem?

All other photos on this side are westbound.


The Exit 49 onramp. SR's numbered in the 8000s are ramps.


Crossing the Monongahela River next to another old steel bridge. But that one's just for a railroad, so I'm going to focus on the road bridge. In the fourth photo (the last one I have facing north toward the railroad trestle), that's not a stub bridge or pier below it, but another track coming down the hill and curving along the waterfront.


PA Turnpike routes get these green shields, even if they're Interstates. Nothing wrong in the first photo except you should never see an assembly like that along a freeway. In the second photo, the PA 43 shield is too wide, TOLL ROAD should be in black on yellow, and the road name on the bridge needs a space after "PA". That and the destinations are cool. PA 43 will disappoint those looking for a cross-country excursion, but if you're looking for a soulmate, you're almost there!


Contractor-erected RIDOT shield at Exit 19. I think the NB-EB ramp at I-79 was closed, and the cloverleaf at US 40 is a lot easier for U-turns than the multiple turns at Exit 20.


I-79 NB leaves I-70 WB with the only button copy I saw west of the Turnpike. Note that even the ramp carrying I-79 itself is still an SR in the 8000s. Suddenly that random fact from the first caption isn't so random anymore.


Why would this sign face the bottom of the WB Exit 17 offramp? Is there something special about Washington where people routinely head the wrong way on I-70?
East of the PA Turnpike


All the eastbound button copy, including one wannabe that replaces word for word, right down the centered exit tab, the original button copy sign.


A pair of old signs heading westbound from Maryland.


The rest of the westbound signs, ending with another one that's a direct button copy replacement. Notice that US 30 is spelled out on the ground-mounted signs, but original peeling shields are present on the one overhead gantry.


Having already clinched I-70, I exited here at Exit 149, and followed the old way into town, Breezewood Road. Right here, it passes via an original underpass underneath the original Pennsylvania Turnpike, which is now the mainline of I-70 and also Exit 161 from the modern Turnpike. The original Exit 161 then branches off of this road, and all traffic is seamlessly diverted onto it. Everything from there east, through two tunnels and back to the first photo on the I-76 page, has been abandoned and part has been converted to a trail. Photos of that trail are on the other side of this handy link, over 240 of them.


US 30 EB/I-70 WB. Not only is Breezewood one of the only locations with traffic signals and driveways on an Interstate, it also has a wrong-way multiplex. Top that, Holland Tunnel!


I-70 travelers don't find the welcome sign until they're nearly 25 miles in the state. Pennsylvania hopes they'll continue through Breezewood and not use US 30 - you're not welcome if you don't pay the toll!
Into West Virginia on I-70
Into Maryland on I-70
Exit 18 to I-79
Exit 19 to PA 18
Exit 147 or 149 to US 30
Exit 147 to the PA Turnpike (I-76)
I-70 on Jeff Kitsko's pahighways.com
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