Pennsylvania Route 73

'''Pennsylvania Route 73''' ('''PA 73''') is a 62.51 miles (100.60 km) long east–west [[List of State Routes in Pennsylvania|state highway]] in southeastern [[Pennsylvania]]. It runs from [[Pennsylvania Route 61]] in [[Leesport, Pennsylvania|Leesport]] to the [[New Jersey]] state line on the [[Tacony-Palmyra Bridge]] in Philadelphia, where it continues as [[New Jersey Route 73]]. Predating the [[Interstate Highway System|Interstate]] and [[U.S. Highway System]]s, the '''Skippack Pike''', a modern section of the route, served as the primary connector between [[Philadelphia]] and the northwest [[suburbs]]. ===Berks County=== [[Image:73 Berks County.JPG|left|thumb|Route 73 in Berks County, near its western terminus]]PA 73 begins at an intersection with [[Pennsylvania Route 61]] in [[Leesport, Pennsylvania|Leesport]], north of [[Reading, Pennsylvania|Reading]]. It runs east along the shore of [[Lake Ontelaunee]], intersecting [[U.S. Route 222]] in [[Maidencreek Township, Pennsylvania|Maiden Creek]]. Southeast of Maiden Creek, the route runs southeast, traversing a small mountainous region of the county. PA 73 intersects with [[Pennsylvania Route 12]] near [[Ruscombmanor Township, Pennsylvania|Pricetown]] and [[Pennsylvania Route 662]] in [[Oley Township, Pennsylvania|Oley]]. It enters [[Boyertown, Pennsylvania|Boyertown]] as Philadelphia Avenue, meeting the eastern terminus of [[Pennsylvania Route 562]] in the middle of town, and entering [[Montgomery County, Pennsylvania|Montgomery County]] at the Boyertown-[[Gilbertsville, Pennsylvania|Gilbertsville]] border. ===Montgomery County=== [[File:PA 73 WB past Butler Pike.JPG|right|thumb|PA 73 westbound in [[Whitpain Township, Pennsylvania|Whitpain Township]] past Butler Pike.]]On the county border, PA 73 interchanges with [[Pennsylvania Route 100]], then continues southeast through [[Gilbertsville, Pennsylvania|Gilbertsville]]. In contrast to the mountainous Berks County terrain of 73, the elevation in Montgomery is much less, ranging from 100 feet (30 m) to 350 feet (106 m) [[above sea level]]. It then heads east as Big Road, where [[Pennsylvania Route 663]] briefly joins the route from the south before leaving again on its own alignment. PA 73 continues southeast through [[Upper Frederick Township, Pennsylvania|Frederick]] and [[Zieglerville, Pennsylvania|Zieglerville]], where it joins with [[Pennsylvania Route 29]] to head south on Gravel Pike, paralleling the [[Perkiomen Creek]] and [[Perkiomen Trail]]. The road turns into Main Street through central [[Schwenksville, Pennsylvania|Schwenksville]]. PA 73 leaves for its own alignment, known as Skippack Pike, south of Schwenksville, crossing the [[Skippack Creek]] before heading southeast once again, entering the outer suburbs of [[Philadelphia]]. The route continues past [[State Correctional Institution - Graterford|Graterford Prison]], entering central Skippack, where it meets [[Pennsylvania Route 113]]. It briefly crosses [[Evansburg State Park]], intersecting Bustard Road which provides access to [[Interstate 476]] before heading through [[Worcester Township, Pennsylvania|Worcester Township]], where it intersects [[Pennsylvania Route 363]]. It passes under Interstate 476 without a direct interchange before entering [[Blue Bell, Pennsylvania|Blue Bell]], where it intersects with [[U.S. Route 202]]. It continues southeast through Blue Bell, passing [[Fort Washington State Park]] before crossing the [[Wissahickon Creek]], and turning south onto [[Bethlehem Pike]] for a brief distance before again turning east onto Church Road. [[Image:Mayfair.JPG|left|thumb|Cottman (PA-73) and Frankford Avenues, a central location in [[Northeast Philadelphia]]]] PA 73 continues east through the densely populated northern [[Philadelphia]] suburbs, interchanging with the [[Fort Washington Expressway]] in [[Springfield Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania|Springfield]], and with [[Pennsylvania Route 152]] in [[Glenside, Pennsylvania|Glenside]]. It briefly turns northwest onto Washington Lane before heading southeast again onto Township Line Road, which forms the boundary between [[Cheltenham Township, Pennsylvania|Cheltenham]] and [[Abington Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania|Abington]] townships. It intersects with [[Pennsylvania Route 611]] before entering the city of Philadelphia. ===Philadelphia=== The road continues as Cottman Avenue through [[Northeast Philadelphia]], meeting [[Pennsylvania Route 232]] at an intersection locally known as the Five Points. Passing through the [[Lawncrest, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Lawncrest]] and [[Rhawnhurst, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Rhawnhurst]] neighborhoods, it intersects [[Roosevelt Boulevard]] ([[U.S. Route 1 (Pennsylvania)|US 1]]) at a massive interchange near [[Pennypack Park]] with PA 73 intersecting the outer six lanes of the Boulevard while the inner six pass under Cottman. It continues through the [[Mayfair, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Mayfair]] neighborhood, meeting [[U.S. Route 13]] on Frankford Avenue. It then briefly operates as a [[one-way pair]] along Torresdale and Princeton Avenues and State Road and Cottman Avenue, before interchanging with [[Interstate 95 in Pennsylvania|Interstate 95]] and turning southwest onto New State Road. This road turns into a [[traffic circle]] at the foot of the [[Tacony-Palmyra Bridge]]; PA 73 traverses the circle and crosses the bridge into [[New Jersey]], where it continues as [[New Jersey Route 73]]. ==History== [[Image:Reading PA topo map 1947.png|thumb|right|290px|Former [[Reading, Pennsylvania|Reading]] designation of Route 73.]] The Skippack Pike, a portion of PA 73 between [[Skippack, Pennsylvania|Skippack]] and [[Bethlehem Pike]] in [[Whitemarsh Township, Pennsylvania|Whitemarsh]], dates back to 1713, when settlers in Skippack petitioned Philadelphia officials for a road to their community for purposes of hauling grain to the mill in Whitemarsh. During the [[American Revolutionary War]], [[George Washington]]'s army suffered a defeat at the [[Battle of Germantown]] on October 4, 1777 and had to encamp along the Pike until October 8. The Americans later marched east on the road while preparing for a counterattack at the [[Battle of White Marsh]]. The [[Skippack Turnpike Company]] was incorporated in 1845 to construct a turnpike from Whitemarsh to Skippack but the project was abandoned after several efforts. In 1853, a second charter was granted and the turnpike was completed in 1855 near [[Worcester Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania|Worcester Township]]. When the state began maintenance over roads via the [[Pennsylvania State Route|Sproul Road Bill]] (signed May 31, 1911), the system did not include the direct [[Reading, PA|Reading]]–[[Philadelphia]] routes that PA 73 and [[U.S. Route 422]] are today. PA 73 was adopted as Legislative Route 197, the main route that connected Philadelphia and its northwest suburbs. Legislative Routes paved the way for Pennsylvania's first [[List of State Routes in Pennsylvania|Traffic Routes]] in 1924 and a new set of routes, including PA 73, that were added in the late 1920s. In the original 1928 routing, PA 73 deviated from its current route west of [[Manatawny, Pennsylvania|Manatawny]] to follow Hoch Road, Bertolet Mill Road, and Main Street in the [[hamlet (place)|hamlet]] of [[Oley Township, Pennsylvania|Oley]]. The route then turned south to leave the hamlet on what is now Friedensburg Road to [[Reading, Pennsylvania|Reading]] and continued south along the current [[Pennsylvania Route 625]] routing to end at [[Pennsylvania Route 23]] near [[Blue Ball, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Blue Ball]]. The highway entered the city of Reading from the south as the New Holland Road, Lancaster Avenue and Bingaman Street into downtown Reading, [[concurrency (road)|concurrent]] with [[U.S. Route 122|U.S. Routes 122]] and [[U.S. Route 222|222]]. North of the [[Schuylkill River]] crossing, PA 73 turned east to overlap [[U.S. Route 422]] along Perkiomen Avenue. East of the city in [[Mount Penn, PA|Mount Penn]], PA 73 followed Friedensburg Road to Oley. The current segment from Oley to [[Leesport, PA|Leesport]] was designated as [[Pennsylvania Route 383]]. PA 73 originally ended at [[Roosevelt Boulevard (Philadelphia)|Roosevelt Boulevard]] ([[U.S. Route 1 in Pennsylvania|US 1]]) in [[Northeast Philadelphia]]. After the [[Tacony-Palmyra Bridge]] was built in 1929, the eastern terminus was moved to its current location on the bridge at the [[New Jersey]] state line. It followed Cottman Avenue, Frankford Avenue, and Levick Street into the bridge. By 1966, the western terminus was moved to its current location in [[Leesport, PA|Leesport]]. ==Major intersections== {{PAinttop|length_ref=}} {{PAint |county=Berks |cspan=6 |location=Ontelaunee Township |mile=0.00 |road={{jct|state=PA|PA|61|name1=Pottsville Pike}} }} {{PAint |location=Maidencreek Township |mile=2.7 |road={{jct|state=PA|US|222|name1=Allentown Pike}} }} {{PAint |location=Ruscombmanor Township |mile=6.63 |road={{jct|state=PA|PA|12|name1=Pricetown Road}} }} {{PAint |location=Oley Township |lspan=2 |type=mplex |mile=8.84 |road={{jct|state=PA|PA|662|dir1=north|name1=Memorial Highway}} |notes=Western terminus of concurrency }} {{PAint |type=mplex |mile=10.51 |road={{jct|state=PA|PA|662|dir1=south|name1=Memorial Highway}} |notes=Eastern terminus of concurrency }} {{PAint |location=Boyertown |mile=20.21 |road={{jct|state=PA|PA|562|name1=Reading Avenue}} |notes=Eastern terminus of PA 562 }} {{PAint |county=Montgomery |cspan=12 |location=Douglass Township |ctdab=Montgomery |mile=21.17 |road={{jct|state=PA|PA|100}} |notes=Interchange }} {{PAint |location=New Hanover Township |lspan=2 |type=mplex |mile=24.30 |road={{jct|state=PA|PA|663|dir1=south|name1=North Charlotte Street}} |notes=Western terminus of concurrency }} {{PAint |type=mplex |mile=24.54 |road={{jct|state=PA|PA|663|dir1=north|name1=Layfield Road}} |notes=Eastern terminus of concurrency }} {{PAint |location=Lower Frederick Township |type=mplex |mile=30.16 |road={{jct|state=PA|PA|29|dir1=north|name1=Gravel Pike}} |notes=Western terminus of concurrency }} {{PAint |location=Perkiomen Township |type=mplex |mile=32.41 |road={{jct|state=PA|PA|29|dir1=south|name1=Gravel Pike}} |notes=Eastern terminus of concurrency }} {{PAint |location=Skippack Township |mile=36.06 |road={{jct|state=PA|PA|113|name1=Bridge Road}} }} {{PAint |location=Worcester Township |mile=39.78 |road={{jct|state=PA|PA|363|name1=Valley Forge Road}} }} {{PAint |location=Whitpain Township |mile=43.58 |road={{jct|state=PA|US|202|name1=Dekalb Pike}} }} {{PAint |location=Whitemarsh Township |mile=48.63 |road=[[Bethlehem Pike]] |notes=Formerly [[U.S. Route 309 (Pennsylvania)|US 309]] }} {{PAint |location_special=[[Springfield Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania|Springfield Township]] |mile=49.67 |road={{jct|state=PA|PA|309|name1=Fort Washington Expressway}} |notes=Interchange }} {{PAint |location=Cheltenham Township |lspan=2 |mile=52.16 |road={{jct|state=PA|PA|152|name1=Limekiln Pike}} }} {{PAint |mile=54.41 |road={{jct|state=PA|PA|611|name1=Old York Road}} }} {{PAint |county=Philadelphia |cspan=5 |location=Philadelphia |lspan=5 |mile=57.22 |road={{jct|state=PA|PA|232|name1=Oxford Avenue}} }} {{PAint |mile=59.15 |road={{jct|state=PA|US|1|name1=[[Roosevelt Boulevard (Philadelphia)|Roosevelt Boulevard]]}} }} {{PAint |mile=60.03 |road={{jct|state=PA|US|13|name1=Frankford Avenue}} }} {{PAint |mile=61.04 |road={{jct|state=PA|I|95}} |notes=Exit 30 (I-95) }} {{PAint |mile=62.51 |road={{jct|state=NJ|NJ|73|name1=[[Tacony-Palmyra Bridge]]}} |notes=Continuation into [[New Jersey]] }} {{PAintbtm}} ==External links== {{commonscat}} *[http://www.bcbridges.org/bridge_info/tacony.asp Burlington County Bridge Commission - Tacony-Palmyra Bridge] *[http://www.state-ends.com/paends/state/73.html PA State Route 73 Ends] {{Philadelphia Road Transportation}} {{Cheltenham}} {{coord missing|Pennsylvania}}