Skip to main content

Interstate 70 at Kammerer Construction Photos

Image
By
A few weeks ago in response to my post about the early construction of Interstate 70 in Southwestern Pennsylvania, I received a handful of photos from Randy Metz of the construction of the highway at the Kammerer exit which is now Exit 31.  These photos which date from the mid-1950s show the conversion of an at-grade intersection of then Alternate PA 71 and McIlvanie Road to an interchange. 

Alternate PA 71 was known as the "Express Highway" that gave Mid-Mon Valley towns a direct link to the Pennsylvania Turnpike in New Stanton.  This highway would be added to the Interstate Highway System as Interstate 70S in 1960 and changed to Interstate 70 in 1964.  When the four-lane highway was originally built, it was built as a mix of interchanges and at-grade intersections.  These intersections were either replaced with overpasses or slowly converted to interchanges in the late 1950s.

Mr. Metz's family still resides and operates a farm nearby.  He was kind enough to share these photos that show the early history of one of Western Pennsylvania's busiest highways.

Image courtesy Randy Metz
This photo shows the construction of the overpass that carries McIlvanie Road over the highway.  What is now Exit 31 on Interstate 70 is just beginning to take place.  The Carlton Motel was already in business and was served via a driveway that was at grade with the highway.  It also appears that Alternate 71 ended here temporarily.

The Carlton Motel was built by the Carl family and opened in 1953 and would expand from seven to 25 rooms by 1960. (1)

Image courtesy Randy Metz
The large tree in this photo was removed to make way for what would be the offramp from westbound I-70.  That again is the Carlton Motel in the background.  After the interchange was built, the motel's driveway in the first photo was moved to the westbound offramp.  When the motel added a restaurant in 1960,  the odd driveway off the exit ramp was removed.

Image courtesy Randy Metz
The color photo show some of the various dump trucks that were used in the highway's construction.  As a result of building the new highway, the Metz Family farm would be spilt in two as the state needed 26 acres of their property for the right of way.   The family did get a 7' x 7' tunnel under the highway connecting the split properties and allowing cattle and tractors to go from one side of the Interstate to the other.

cardcow.com
This old postcard shows the Carlton Motel and Restaurant along with Interstate 70 sometime in the 1960s.  This shows how substandard the Interstate highway was 50 years ago.  The center median was a 6-inch wide x 4-inch high raised curb.  In addition, it appears that the outside shoulders were not paved. 

Site Navigation:
Labels:

Comments

Malibu72 said…
A "turnpike" design, largely modeled after the first turnpike, the 1940 Pennsylvania, later I-76. These substandard roads, state of the art for their time, were grandfathered into the Interstate System. Worst features were the narrow median and lack of consistent shoulders, as well as abrupt on and off ramps, where stop signs were sometimes utilized.
12:18 PM
Anonymous said…
They just razed the former Cartlon motel building about a year or so ago. Last time I was thru the restaurant is still standing but the actual restaurant has ceased operations at that site and is now located in nearby downtown Bentleyville.
7:29 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Grand Loop Road of Yellowstone National Park

By
  Grand Loop Road is a 140 mile loop highway which traverses the interior of Yellowstone National Park.  Grand Loop Road connects all of the major attractions and geological features of Yellowstone National Park along with the entrance roads.  Grand Loop Road is a seasonal highway and despite some conjecture never has been part of the US Route System.   Part 1; the history of Grand Loop Road The majority of history pertaining to Grand Loop Road was taken from the below National Park Service article: Historic Roads - Yellowstone National Park (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov) Yellowstone was declared the first National Park of the United States on March 1st, 1872.  The first real highway to access Yellowstone National Park came in 1873 when a tolled facility was constructed from Bozeman, Montana via Yankee Jim Canyon to Mammoth Hot Springs.  Numerous attempts were made to fund construction of roadway infrastructure during the early years of Yellows...
Post a Comment
Read more

The last 1956-63 era California Sign State Route Spade?

By
Along southbound California State Route 170 (the Hollywood Freeway Extension) approaching the Hollywood Freeway/Ventura Freeway interchange a white California State Route 134 Sign State Route Spade can be observed on guide sign.  These white spades were specifically used during the 1956-63 era and have become increasingly rare.  This blog is intended to serve as a brief history of the Sign State Route Spade.  We also ask you as the reader, is this last 1956-63 era Sign State Route Spade or do you know of others?  Part 1; the history of the California Sign State Route Spade Prior to the Sign State Route System, the US Route System and the Auto Trails were the only highways in California signed with reassurance markers.  The creation of the US Route System by the American Association of State Highway Officials during November 1926 brought a system of standardized reassurance shields to major highways in California.  Early efforts to create a Sign State Route ...
Post a Comment
Read more

California State Route 70; the Feather River Highway

By
From 2017 through to early 2019 I drove the majority of the California State Route 70; the Feather River Highway from CA 89 southwest to CA 99. CA 70 is an approximately 178.5 mile state highway which starts at US 395 near the Nevada State Line and travels west through the Feather River Canyon to CA 99.  CA 70 is often referred to as the Feather River Highway" given it's close association with the river.  Historically CA 70 was previously signed as US 40A and CA 24.  The Legislative Routes prior to the 1964 California Highway Renumbering that made up the current route of CA 70 are as follows: -  Legislative Route Number 21 from US 395 westward to Oroville. -  LRN 87 from Oroville south to Marysville. -  LRN 232 from Marysville to the current junction with CA 99.  CA 70 was even dual signed with CA 99 into Sacramento on what was LRN 232 for a time. The change from US 40A/LRN 21/LRN 87/LRN 232 can be seen by comparing the 1963 State Highway Ma...
Post a Comment
Read more