Skip to main content

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

Image
By
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:


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Crescent City Connection (New Orleans, LA)

By
The Crescent City Connection is a massive dual-span steel truss bridge that spans the lower Mississippi River at downtown New Orleans, about 95 river miles upstream from the mouth of the great river at the Head of Passes Light. If counted as a single bi-directional highway bridge, the parallel spans combine to form the single busiest bridge on the Mississippi River and its importance as a linchpin in the region’s transportation network cannot be overstated. While there have been various schemes over the years to construct bridges downriver from Algiers Point, this bridge has been the southernmost bridge on the Mississippi River since its initial construction in the 1950s. The years immediately following the end of World War II were a transformational period in the history of New Orleans. Already one of the great economic and cultural centers of the American Deep South, it was recognized at this time that major changes and improvements to the city’s transportation infrastructure would b...
Post a Comment
Read more

Old US Route 99 through Tipton, Tulare, and Tagus Ranch

By
This summer I had a look into the alignment history of US Route 99 through the Tulare County communities of Tipton, Tulare, and Tagus Ranch.  While this slab below might seem like much it is one of the few remaining reminders of how US Route 99 was during the 1920s in Tulare County. 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 Part 1; the history of US Route 99 in Tipton, Tulare, and Tagus Ranch Tipton and Tulare were both founded in 1872 as sidings of the Southern Pacific Railroad.  The Southern Pacific Railroad laid the groundwork for development of southern San Joaquin Valley.  Previous to the Southern Pacific Railroad travel via wagon or foot in Central California tended to avoid San Joaquin Valley in favor of the Stockton-Los Angeles Road.  The Stockton Los Ange...
Post a Comment
Read more

Former US Route 101 and California State Route 41 through Paso Robles

By
Paso Robles is a city located on the Salinas River of San Luis Obispo County, California.  As originally configured the surface alignments of US Route 101 and California State Route 41 converged in downtown Paso Robles.  US Route 101 originally was aligned through Paso Robles via Spring Street.  California State Route 41 entered the City of Paso Robles via Union Road and 13th Street where it intersected US Route 101 at Spring Street.  US Route 101 and California State Route 41 departed Paso Robles southbound via a multiplex which split near Templeton.   Pictured above is the cover of the September/October 1957 California Highways & Public Works which features construction of the Paso Robles Bypass.  Pictured below is the 1935 Division of Highways Map of San Luis Obispo County which depicts US Route 101 and California State Route 41 intersecting in downtown Paso Robles.   Part 1; the history of US Route 101 and California State Route 41 i...
Post a Comment
Read more