Gribblenation

It's often overlooked in Pittsburgh, but for about a decade, there was a road-building renaissance in the region from about 1985 to 1992.  The construction of long-delayed freeways and the closing of some missing links in the highway network occurred during this span.  With the completion of the North Shore and East Street Valley Expressways, Interstate 279 was finished.  Crosstown Boulevard and the Veterans Bridge completed Interstate 579.  The PA 65 Freeway connected the North Shore to Ohio River Boulevard. Finally, in the western outreaches of Allegheny County, another new freeway, known as the Southern Expressway, was completed quickly - just over two years - opened in time for the opening of Greater Pittsburgh International Airport's new midfield terminal.   The Southern Expressway is a seven-and-a-half-mile new freeway that connected the Airport Parkway near Montour Run Road to the Beaver Valley Expressway near Flaugherty Run Road.  While providi...

The roads around Pittsburgh International Airport have a lot of history and intrigue.  The growth of the airport and resulting land acquisitions have changed the routing of many roads in Western Allegheny County.  As the airport grew and traffic around the airport increased, the need for new highways would also change the landscape.  Of course, the fact that this is Pittsburgh means there were also plans for roads that never came to be.  Two of these never built highway plans, the Beaver Valley Expressway (BVE) extension and the full-speed connection to the Southern Expressway at Flaugherty Run Road have traces - specifically ghost ramps - of highways that never came to be. Beaver Valley Expressway Extension: Pavement stubs for a never-built extension of the Beaver Valley Expressway that would have bypassed the Greater Pittsburgh International Airport terminal.  (Adam Prince - October 1998) For nearly three decades, this unused piece of roadway along t...

With Interstate 376 replacing PA 60 from US 22/30 outside of Pittsburgh to Interstate 80 in Sharon, there was some concern on what a short five and a half  mile section of former PA 60 from I-80 to Business US 62 would be.  A detached PA 60? No. A Business Spur I-80 or 376? Not that either.  Instead the state came up with a never before used route designation, PA 760 .  Highway 760 has recently been signed and Joe Gerard was kind enough to send along some photos to myself and Jeff Kitsko. Prior to the designation change, PA 60 ended at Business US 62 in downtown Sharon.  Here is how it looked around 2001 in a photo from John and Barb Bee. Nearly a decade later, it looks like the US 62 shield is the same, but the PA 60 sign has been replaced with its new designation, PA 760. End and Begin for PA 760 and Interstate 376 are now found at the interchange with I-80. So it looks like I need to get to work on updating this page , pronto.  I haven't tou...