Pennsylvania Route 28

Pennsylvania Route 28 (PA 28) is a major state highway which runs for 98 miles (158 km) from Anderson Street in Pittsburgh to U.S. Route 219 (US 219) in Brockway in Pennsylvania. From Pittsburgh to Kittanning it is a 44.5-mile-long (71.6 km) limited access expressway named the Alexander H. Lindsay Memorial Highway or the Allegheny Valley Expressway.

Pennsylvania Route 28
Route information
Maintained by PennDOT
Length	98.264 mi[1] (158.141 km)
Existed	1927–present
Major junctions
South end	Anderson Street in Pittsburgh[2][3]
	I-279 / I-579 in Pittsburgh PA 8 in Etna I-76 / Penna Turnpike near Harmar US 422 in Kittanning PA 66 in New Bethlehem US 322 / PA 36 in Brookville I-80 near Brookville
North end	US 219 in Brockway
Location
Counties	Allegheny, Butler, Armstrong, Clarion, Jefferson
Highway system
Pennsylvania State Route System Interstate U.S. State Scenic Byways Legislative ← PA 27 → PA 29

Route description

PA 28 northbound approaching the exit for the 40th Street Bridge in Millvale

Route 28 begins adjacent to Downtown Pittsburgh at Anderson Street near the Interstate 279 (I-279)/I-579 interchange and travels north/northeast along the northern bank of the Allegheny River. Until recently the route was a surface street for the first two miles (3.2 km) until the 40th Street Bridge and then an expressway from 40th Street to Kittanning. Upgrades in 2013 made it a limited-access highway throughout its 44.5 miles (71.6 km) in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area from the route's start at I-279 to Rayburn Township, Armstrong County, with Governor Tom Corbett attending the completion ceremony on November 17, 2014.[4]

In Etna, PA 28 interchanges with Pennsylvania Route 8 at exit 5 before departing the Blue Belt, which PA 28 is part of from I-279/I-579 to this point, at exit 6 near Aspinwall. Near Harmar Township, PA 28 meets Pennsylvania Route 910 at exit 11 which provided access to Interstate 76 (the Pennsylvania Turnpike). From exit 11 to U.S. Route 422 west of Kittanning, PA 28 has eight interchanges, including exits with Pittsburgh Mills Boulevard (exit 12A), Pennsylvania Route 366 (exit 14), and Pennsylvania Route 356 (exit 17), while continuing to parallel the Allegheny to the east. Exit 18 consists of Pennsylvania Route 128 crossing or which used to be old 28 before the expressway. At exit 19, PA 28 merges with the limited-access US 422 and heads east along US 422 as it proceeds south of West Kittanning.[5]

Upon crossing the Allegheny River and entering Kittanning, US 422 and PA 28 interchange with Pennsylvania Route 66. PA 66 then joins the concurrency for two miles (3 km) to an exit with U.S. Route 422 Business southeast of downtown Kittanning. Here, US 422 leaves the freeway and heads east toward Indiana while PA 28 and PA 66 remain concurrent as they progress northward.

The 41-mile-long (66 km) freeway ends with a concurrency with Pennsylvania Route 66. In Rayburn Township, PA 28/PA 66 intersects the western terminus of Pennsylvania Route 85. After PA 85, PA 28/PA 66 head towards the northeast. In South Bethlehem, PA 28/PA 66 become North Street and Broad Street then intersecting the northern terminus of Pennsylvania Route 839.

After crossing the Redbank Creek, PA 28/PA 66 enters Clarion County and New Bethlehem. In downtown New Bethlehem, PA 66 splits off from PA 28 and making the PA 28/PA 66 concurrency one of the longest concurrencies in Pennsylvania. After the split, PA 28 heads northeast as Broad Street paralleling the Redbank Creek. In Hawthorn, PA 28 is called Brookville Street and meets the western terminus of Pennsylvania Route 536. North of PA 536, PA 28 begins to slide to the north instead of the northeast.

In Summerville, PA 28's course begins to slide towards the northeast again and in Summerville, PA 28 is called Harrison Street. In Clover and Rose townships, PA 28 parallels many railroads tracks that even cross it. In Brookville, PA 28 has a wrong-way concurrency with U.S. Route 322 and Pennsylvania Route 36. The reason of the wrong-way concurrency is that PA 28 is heading north while PA 36 is heading south on the concurrency with US 322. In downtown Brookville, PA 36 splits off from US 322/PA 28. Then after crossing the North Fork Creek, US 322/PA 28 meet the southern terminus of the former Pennsylvania Route 968. East of here, US 322 splits off from PA 28 at a "T" interchange. East of Brookville in Pine Creek Township, PA 28 intersects Interstate 80 at exit 81 a diamond interchange. North of I-80, PA 28 continues north as a local road without intersecting another route for more than 14 miles (23 km). PA 28 passes through the many wildlife in Pennsylvania through a forest region. In Brockway, PA 28 is called Main Street before terminating (ending) at a "T" intersection with U.S. Route 219.

History

The highway was signed in 1927 from Pittsburgh to Kittanning. It is named after Alexander Lindsay, a lawyer who lived in South Buffalo and commuted to work in Pittsburgh: he successfully lobbied for the city to be connected to the proposed Keystone Shortway (I-80). [6]

The highway was extended north to Brockway in 1928. In 1928, the route was under construction from Blawnox to Cheswick, Troy Hill Road to Oakland, and Hazen to Reitz Crossing Road. Those sections were completed the following year. In 1929, the section from Avella to Woodrow and from Hickory to Fort Cherry Road was under construction and finished the following year. In 1930, the section from Skyline Road to PA 18 was paved as well as in Venice. That year the western terminus was moved from Avella to Independence. In 1958, the highway was widened and a median installed at the interchange with the Turnpike. On July 15, 1960, the highways southern terminus was moved from Independence to PA 8 in Etna. The former section of PA 28 from South Main St. in the West End Valley to the intersection of Noblestown Rd. and Crafton Blvd. in Crafton Heights was redesignated as PA 60. The remaining 83-mile stretch from Crafton Heights to Independence was renumbered PA 50. This designation change was made to reduce the number of concurrent routes in Pittsburgh. The changes took effect a few months later and signs were changed by spring 1961.[7]

PA 28 southbound from exit 14 (PA 366).

In 1963, this section opened to traffic from PA 8 north to the Highland Park Bridge interchange and the following year to Blawnox. Also that year, the Pittsburgh Area Transportation Plan recommended upgrading PA 28 and then PA 8, to a six-lane, limited-access highway starting 2,200 feet (670 m) west of the 31st Street Bridge and ending at the 40th Street Bridge. Full interchanges would be constructed at both bridges; however, this recommendation was not carried out. It also laid out a plan that would turn PA 28 into an expressway from Pittsburgh to Brookville, this too was not carried out.

In 1964, the highway was widened and a median installed on it between Brackenridge and the Butler County line. In 1968, construction began on the section from Blawnox to PA 910. The expressway was proposed from that point to the Butler County line. Construction also began on the section from Slate Lick to near Center Hill in the same year. In 1965, the route was moved from Courthouse Road into Kittanning to bypass the borough on its current alignment. In 1969, construction commenced on the section from PA 910 to Exit 12 and from Exit 16 to PA 356 and the Armstrong County line.

The start of the 1970s saw the construction extend from Exit 16 all the way to a new expressway alignment for US 422, also under construction, near West Kittanning. In 1971, construction commenced on the section from Exit 15 to Exit 16. In 1972, the expressway opened to traffic from Blawnox to PA 910 and from Exit 15 to US 422. However, PA 28's designation was not placed on the section from Exit 15 to Exit 16. The following year, the expressway opened from PA 910 to Exit 12.

In 1973, the route was extended to end at US 19/PA 65 at Chateau Street via Western Avenue and East Ohio Street.

In 1975, construction commenced on the section from Exit 12 to north of Tarentum; and during the following year, the construction was extended to Exit 15. In 1978, the PA 28 designation was routed onto the newly opened highway from Exit 11 to Exit 12 and from Exit 15 to Exit 16. The PA 28 designation still followed Freeport Road to connect between Exit 12 and Exit 15.

In 1980, the expressway opened from Exit 12 to Exit 13 and the PA 28 designation was moved onto this section. In 1984, the route was changed to follow Western Avenue, Allegheny Avenue, North Shore Drive, General Robinson Street, and Madison Avenue for northbound traffic, and Reedsdale Street for southbound traffic in Pittsburgh. The final section of the Allegheny Valley Expressway between Exit 13 and Exit 15 opened in 1985. During the 1980s, through traffic in each direction at the Highland Park Bridge interchange was reduced to one lane due to heavy demand for the bridge itself.[8]

In 2011, the southbound lanes of PA 28 were shifted to bypass the intersection of the 40th Street Bridge, while the northbound lanes remained under the bridge. In 2012, an excavation lowered the roadbed of PA 28 at the 31st Street Bridge.[9]

Though technically limited access for its first two miles near downtown Pittsburgh since the 2012 construction, all lanes were clear of lane closures and construction by November, 2014 when Governor Tom Corbett attended the official groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate all 44.5 miles being expressway-grade. The widening included a small park with a promenade and a retaining wall which features several murals on the city's history, including that of the Saint Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church on the aforementioned structure's site.[10]

On December 12, 2017, PennDOT announced that they planned on widening PA 28 at the Highland Park interchange to have two through lanes on each side while having a designated exit and entrance lanes for the bridge, with work scheduled to start in 2020 with some residual work lasting into 2021. The only other thing keeping PA-28 from having the possibility of receiving an interstate designation are the 45-mph speed limits near the Millvale and Etna Exits, as well as the section of the southbound one-lane expressway between Exit 9 (Blawnox Exit), and Exit 8,(Waterworks Exit). If these are ever to be upgraded to Interstate Highway standards, PA 28 will be up to Interstate Highway standards from its southern terminus all the way to Kittanning, and could potentially receive an Interstate designation in the future.[8]

Major intersections

County	Location	mi[1]	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Allegheny	Pittsburgh	0.000	0.000		Anderson Street	Southern terminus of PA 28
		0.073– 0.111	0.117– 0.179		River Avenue	Northbound entrance / exit only
		0.375	0.604		Chestnut Street	Northbound exit only
		0.414– 0.746	0.666– 1.201	1B	To I-279 north / East Ohio Street – PNC Park, Heinz Field, Allegheny Center	No southbound entrance; signed as exit 1B southbound only
		0.458	0.737	1A	I-579 south (Veterans Bridge) / I-279 south (Fort Pitt Bridge) to I-376 – Monroeville, Airport	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		1.497– 1.750	2.409– 2.816	2	31st Street Bridge – Strip District
	Millvale	2.319– 2.456	3.732– 3.953	3A	40th Street Bridge – Lawrenceville	Inverted SPUI/continuous green T hybrid; no northbound entrance (northbound traffic directed to 3B entrance)
		2.647– 2.857	4.260– 4.598	3B	Blue Belt – Millvale	No southbound entrance (southbound traffic directed to 3A entrance), southern terminus of Blue Belt concurrency
	Etna	3.968	6.386	4	Etna	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		4.522– 4.539	7.277– 7.305	5A	PA 8 south (R.D. Fleming Bridge) – Sharpsburg	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		4.567– 4.813	7.350– 7.746	5B	PA 8 north – Butler, Etna	Signed as exit 5 southbound
		6.218– 6.418	10.007– 10.329	6	To PA 8 south / Blue Belt / Green Belt / Highland Park Bridge – Aspinwall	Northern terminus of Blue Belt concurrency, southern terminus of Green Belt concurrency
	Aspinwall	6.846– 7.123	11.018– 11.463	7	Delafield Avenue	No southbound exit
		7.618– 7.771	12.260– 12.506	8	Freeport Road, Fox Chapel Road ( Green Belt), Waterworks Drive	Northern terminus of Green Belt concurrency
	Blawnox	8.003– 8.029	12.880– 12.921	9	Blawnox	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		8.922– 9.250	14.359– 14.886	10	R.I.D.C. Drive
	Harmar Township	12.038– 12.493	19.373– 20.106	11	PA 910 / Yellow Belt to Penna Turnpike / I-76 – Harmarville, Harmar
	Cheswick	13.715– 14.191	22.072– 22.838	12	Cheswick, Springdale
		14.990– 15.462	24.124– 24.884	12A	Pittsburgh Mills Boulevard
	Creighton	16.373– 17.236	26.350– 27.739	13	Orange Belt – Russellton, Creighton	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
	Tarentum	18.125– 19.382	29.169– 31.192	14	PA 366 / Red Belt – Tarentum, Brackenridge, New Kensington, Arnold, Lower Burrell, Fawn Township	Western terminus of PA 366
	Harrison Township	20.805– 21.226	33.482– 34.160	15	Natrona Heights, Natrona, Brackenridge	Brackenridge appears on southbound signs only.
		23.717– 24.147	38.169– 38.861	16	Freeport, Millerstown	Freeport appears on northbound signs only.
Butler	Buffalo Township	25.337– 25.816	40.776– 41.547	17	PA 356 – Freeport, Butler
Armstrong	North Buffalo Township	31.346– 31.842	50.446– 51.245	18	PA 128 – Slate Lick, Northpointe
	East Franklin Township	37.480– 38.000	60.318– 61.155	19	US 422 west – Butler, West Kittanning	Southern terminus of US 422 concurrency
	Manor Township	39.915– 40.001	64.237– 64.375	A	PA 66 south – Ford City	Southern terminus of PA 66 (southbound) concurrency; exits to PA 66 southbound only
		40.256– 40.590	64.786– 65.323	B	To US 422 Bus. – Kittanning	Southern terminus of PA 66 (northbound) concurrency; no access to PA 66 southbound
		41.511– 42.302	66.805– 68.078		US 422 east / US 422 Bus. west – Indiana, Kittanning	Northern terminus of US 422 concurrency; eastern terminus of US 422 Bus.
		42.806	68.890	Northern terminus of freeway
	Rayburn Township	42.806	68.890		PA 85 east – Rural Valley, Plumville	Western terminus of PA 85
	South Bethlehem	59.871	96.353		PA 839 south – Mahoning Dam	Northern terminus of PA 839
Clarion	New Bethlehem	60.176	96.844		PA 66 north – Clarion	Northern terminus of PA 66 concurrency
	Redbank Township	65.661	105.671		PA 536 east (Mayport Road) / Wallwork Road – Mayport	Western terminus of PA 536
Jefferson	Clover Township	73.103	117.648		PA 949 north (Summerville-Corsica Road) / Water Street – Corsica	Southern terminus of PA 949
	Brookville	79.500	127.943		US 322 west (28th Division Highway) / PA 36 north (Allegheny Boulevard) / PA 28 Truck north to I-80 – Leeper, Clarion	Southern terminus of US 322/PA 36 concurrency; southern terminus of PA 28 Truck
		80.282	129.201		PA 36 south (White Street) – Punxsutawney	Northern terminus of PA 36 concurrency
	Pine Creek Township	81.421	131.034		US 322 east – Reynoldsville	Northern terminus of US 322 concurrency
		82.580– 82.696	132.900– 133.086		I-80 / PA 28 Truck south – Clarion, DuBois	Exit 81 (I-80); northern terminus of PA 28 Truck
	Brockway	98.264	158.141		US 219 (Main Street / Cherry Street) – Ridgway, DuBois	Northern terminus of PA 28
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access

PA 28 Truck

Pennsylvania Route 28 Truck
Location	Brookville, Pennsylvania
Length	3.3 mi[11] (5.3 km)
Existed	1963–present

Pennsylvania Route 28 Truck is a 3-mile-long (4.8 km) truck route in Brookville, Jefferson County, Pennsylvania. As Route 28 travels through the Brookville city center, it becomes a narrow main street and features a relatively sharp turn just west of the bridge over North Fork Creek. As a result, after the completion of Interstate 80, Route 28's truck traffic was shifted onto this freeway bypass from Exit 78 at Pennsylvania Route 36 (which Truck 28 is cosigned for its first 1/2 mile of existence) to Exit 81, where Route 28 meets the highway.

See also

•  U.S. Roads portal
•  Pennsylvania portal

References

1. Bureau of Maintenance and Operations (January 2019). Roadway Management System Straight Line Diagrams (Report) (2019 ed.). Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
   • Allegheny County (PDF)
   • Butler County (PDF)
   • Armstrong County (PDF)
   • Clarion County (PDF)
   • Jefferson County (PDF)
2. Quadrant marker 10 for PA Route 28 marking the beginning of the route (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 2014-04-28.
3. End quadrant marker for PA Route 28 marking the end of the route (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 2014-04-28.
4. Schmitz, Jon (17 November 2014). "After six years, Route 28 reconstruction project ends". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
5. Google (August 13, 2014). "Pennsylvania Route 28" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
6. "Dream of 'nicer commute' genesis of Route 28". TribLive. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
7. "Designations Of Highways Are Changed". The Evening Standard. Uniontown, PA. July 16, 1960. p. 7. Retrieved August 28, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
8. PennDOT Plans Improvements To Route 28 At Highland Park Bridge KDKA-TV (12/12/2017)
9. Schmitz, Jon (September 28, 2011). "Whole new Route 28 beginning to emerge through construction". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved October 4, 2011.
10. Plaza, historic marker to memorialize St. Nicholas Church in Troy Hill Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (06/15/2015)
11. Google (August 13, 2014). "PA Route 28 Truck" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved August 13, 2014.

External links

• PA 28 Exit List
• Pennsylvania Highways - Pennsylvania Route 28