The World's Largest Public Domain Media Search Engine
1954 - New Lehigh Valley Thruway - 21 Sep - Allentown PA

Similar

1954 - New Lehigh Valley Thruway - 21 Sep - Allentown PA

description

Summary

New Lehigh Valley Thruway - 21 Sep - Allentown PA
The Lehigh Valley Thruway's origins begin in 1949 when the Lehigh Valley Motor Club asked the Pennsylvania State Highway Department for a Route 22 bypass. The major reason for the request was that the existing Route 22 using Tilghman Street and Union Boulevard was dangerous and not suitable for city streets to serve as a through highway. Later in 1948, a bypass plan was approved by the Federal Bureau of Public Roads, which provided federal funding for the plan.
Construction began on the Thruway in 1951 with a 4-lane limited-access highway to the north of Allentown and Bethlehem, along with the William Penn Highway between Bethlehem and Easton. Construction continued until 1954 when the section between Easton in the east and Khunsville in the west was formally dedicated on September 21st. A speed limit of 60mph was set except in Easton where the dangerous curve reduced the speed limit to 35mph. By 1959, the freeway was completed west to Foglesville and also to Lenhartsville.
With the passage of the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956, the Route 22 bypass was designated as Interstate 78. The highway was co-designated as an Interstate highway until 1969, when I-78 was terminated to the west of Khunsville after the people of Easton successfully opposed the I-78 designation, and subsequent highway improvements. Subesquently, a proposal was presented to build a new I-78 south of Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton into New Jersey

The first major modification to the highway was in 1971 when the Airport Road intersection north of Allentown was totally rebuilt and modernized. In the years since then, various modifications to intersections and paving improvements have been performed, however the basic highway design remains the same. Various proposals for expansion have been proposed and rejected primarily due to cost.

date_range

Date

1964
create

Source

Wikimedia Commons
copyright

Copyright info

public domain

Explore more

1950 s photographs allentown pennsylvania
1950 s photographs allentown pennsylvania
picryl logo

The World's Largest Public Domain Media Search Engine

PICRYL is the largest media source for public domain images, scans, and documents. PICRYL is an AI-driven search & similarity engine. PICRYL makes the world's public domain media fun to find and easy to use.

Get Archive LLC, creator of PICRYL, endeavors to provide information that it possesses on the copyright status of the content and to identify any other terms and conditions that may apply to the use of the content, however, Get Archive LLC offers no guarantee or assurance that all pertinent information is provided, or that the information is correct in each circumstance.

Permission for use, re-use, or additional use of the content is not required. GetArchive believes there are no usage restrictions or limitations put on content in the U.S. Get Archive LLC does not charge permission and license fees for use of any of the content on PICRYL, however, upon request, GetArchive can provide rights clearance for content for a fee.

Get Archive LLC is the owner of the compilation of content that is posted on the PICRYL website and applications, which consists of text, images, audio, video, databases, tags, design, codes, and software ("Content"). However, Get Archive LLC does not own each component of the compilation displayed and accessible on the PICRYL website and applications. If you have specific questions or information about content, the website, and applications, please contact us.

Developed by GetArchive, 2015-2024