Skip to main content

The story of the Boy Scout Ramps on Interstate 79 North in NW Pennsylvania

If you are traveling on Interstate 79 North of Pittsburgh, you may notice the remnants of a set of off-and-on ramps at mile 100 just north of Exit 99 (US 422).  There's a story behind these ramps.  Forty years ago, these ramps were built specifically for two Boy Scout Jamborees that were held at Moraine State Park - in 1973 and 1977.  The ramps' purpose was to provide access to the north shore of Lake Arthur where the bulk of the festivities and campsite for the Jamboree was located.  (Lawrence County Memories has a great write-up and map of the festivities on its site.)

Not long after the Jamboree ended the ramps were abandoned.  There are still remnants of the Boy Scout Ramps today.



Above: Sattelite view of the Boy Scout Jamboree Ramps. 
Below: A view of the ramps from I-79 South.

You can make out the abandoned ramps in front of the grove of trees. (Adam Prince, 1998)



The google street view image above gives a view along West Park Road where the set of ramps intersected the highway.  The ramps provided direct access to North Shore Drive (which is the right turn from here.)

The benefit of these ramps was to handle the overflow of scouts and other visitors to Moraine State Park during the 1973 and 1977 Jamborees.  Moraine State Park was the eastern jamboree site in 1973 and hosted the entire Jamboree in 1977.  Over 28,000 scouts attended the 1977 jamboree.  So the need to handle the additional traffic is why the ramps were built.  This was due to the lack of direct access to the North Shore of the park from Interstate 79.  The nearby Exit 99 for US 422 is the closest to the park and provides direct access to the South Shore.  However, because of the configuration of the ramps and park service roads, direct access from I-79 or US 422 East was not possible.  The only direct access to the North Shore is via ramps from US 422 West. (See google map below)  The best access to the North Shore of Moraine State Park is via PA 488 three miles to the South via Exit 96.



Fortunately, there have been new developments in providing direct access to the North Shore of Moraine State Park from Interstate 79 and US 422 West.  In July 2017, construction began on a 15-month project that will build new ramps along US 422 East and Westbound to allow for direct access to the North Shore of the park via West Park Road.  The new US 422 interchange will allow I-79 traffic to use Exit 99 as the gateway for direct access to all points within Moraine State Park. This project will also include improvements to the Interstate 79/US 422 interchange (Exit 99).  The cost of the project is $4.5 million. (1)

Site Navigation:
Sources & Links:


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

US Route 101 in Benbow, Garberville and Redway

The communities of Benbow, Garberville and Redway can all be found along US Route 101 within southern Humboldt County.  The former surface alignment of US Route 101 in Garberville and Redway once crossed the Garberville Bluffs along what is now Redwood Drive via a corridor constructed as part of the Redwood Highway during the 1910s.  US Route 101 through Benbow, Garberville and Redway was modernized by 1935.  US Route 101 would eventually be upgraded to freeway standards in Benbow, Garberville and Redway by extension of the Redwood Freeway during 1966-68.  As the cover photo the original grade of US Route 101 and the Redwood Highway can be seen at the Garberville Bluffs during 1934.  US Route 101 can be seen in the communities of Benbow, Garberville and Redway on the 1935 Division of Highways Map of Humboldt County .   The history of US Route 101 in Benbow, Garberville and Redway Benbow, Garberville and Redway lie on the banks of the South Fork Eel River of southern Humboldt County.  D

Patterson Pass Road

Recently on a day trip to the San Francisco Bay Area I traversed the Diablo Range eastbound via Patterson Pass Road. Patterson Pass Road is an approximately 13 mile roadway which starts at Mines Road in Livermore of Alameda County.  Patterson Pass Road eastward ascends over the approximately 1,600 foot namesake Patterson Pass into San Joaquin County where it ends at Interstate 580 near Tracy.  Patterson Pass Road has an infamous reputation as being a dangerous roadway due to the lengthy one-lane section and heavy rush-hour commute traffic. Patterson Pass is one of the earliest documented European paths of travel over the Diablo Range as it was explored during the 1775-1776 Spanish Expedition led by Juan Bautista de Anza.  The 1775-1776 Spanish expedition charted out much of San Francisco Bay which led to the founding of the Presidio of San Francisco and Mission San Francisco de Asis.  Patterson Pass Road between Cross Road east to Midway Road is part of the Juan Bautista de Anza

Highways in and around Old Sacramento; US 40, US 99W, CA 16, CA 24, CA 70, CA 99, CA 275, and more

This past weekend I was visiting the City of Sacramento for a wedding.  That being the case I decided to head out on a morning run through Old Sacramento, Jibboom Street Bridge, I Street Bridge, Tower Bridge, and path of US Route 40/US Route 99W towards the California State Capitol.  My goal was to retrace the paths of the various highways that once traversed the Old Sacramento area. This blog is part of the larger Gribblenation US Route 99 Page.  For more information pertaining to the other various segments of US Route 99 and it's three-digit child routes check out the link the below. Gribblenation US Route 99 Page The old highway alignments of Sacramento The City of Sacramento lies at the confluence of the Sacramento River and American River in Sacramento Valley.  Sacramento Valley was discovered by Spanish Explorer Gabriel Moraga in 1808.  Moraga referred to the fertile Sacramento Valley akin to a "Blessed Sacrament."  By 1839 John Sutter Sr. settled in Mexican held