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The Pennsylvania Turnpike is considered by some to be America's first superhighway. The original 160-mile (257 km) section between Irwin, Pennsylvania and Middlesex, Pennsylvania was built as a toll road on the right-of-way of the South Penn Railroad, a paper railroad established to present a competitive threat to the Pennsylvania Railroad. It was constructed in 20 months, and opened in 1940. It was the first modern toll road controlled-access highway in the United States for use by all vehicles. Although it was preceded by the similar parkway system in the New York City metropolitan area, those roads were designated solely for non-commercial use. The Pennsylvania Turnpike, in turn, was the model followed by other states that constructed turnpikes after World War II.Later extensions to Ohio, New Jersey, and Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania in the northeastern part of the state were built to make the Turnpike part of the northeastern toll road system, which, when complete, made it possible to drive from Maine to Chicago, Illinois without stopping at a traffic light. The total Turnpike system, including extensions, is now 528 miles (850 km) long, and carried 162.3 million vehicles in fiscal year 2000-01. Today, the Turnpike is part of the interstate highway system, signed as Interstate 70Wabaunsee County, Kansas Interstate 70 is a long interstate highway in the United States. It runs from Cove Fort, Utah at Interstate 15 to a Park and Ride in Baltimore, Maryland. Length Major Cities Along the Route Denver, Colorado Topeka, Kansas Kansas C; Interstate 76Two interstate highways named Interstate 76 exist in different parts of the United States. The western I-76 commemorates Colorado, which became a U. state in 1876; the eastern I-76 commemorates the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence,; Interstate 276 ; and Interstate 95Interstate 95 or (I-95) is an interstate highway that runs 1907 miles (3070 kilometers) north and south along the eastern United States coast. The southernmost point is in the city of Miami, Florida; the northern terminus is at the Canadian border at Houl (when a connection between that highway and the Turnpike is built); with Interstate 476 being a Northeastern Extension of the Turnpike.
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Roads
Transportation in Pennsylvania
Historic civil engineering landmarks
