Interstate 76 (I-76) is an east–west Interstate Highway in the Eastern United States. The highway runs approximately from an interchange with I-71 west of Akron, Ohio, east to I-295 in Bellmawr, New Jersey. This route is not contiguous with I-76 in Colorado and Nebraska.
Starting in Ohio, the highway runs west of Akron to west of Youngstown, where it joins the Ohio Turnpike as a toll road. At the Pennsylvania state line, the Ohio Turnpike ends and becomes the Pennsylvania Turnpike, also a tolled facility. Along the turnpike, the route runs approximately across most of the southern portion of the state, serving the Pittsburgh and Harrisburg areas. At the Valley Forge Interchange, I-76 leaves the turnpike and turns southeast on the Schuylkill Expressway, where it parallels the Schuylkill River toward the city of Philadelphia. After entering Philadelphia, I-76 crosses the Delaware River on the Walt Whitman Bridge into New Jersey. After only about in New Jersey along the North–South Freeway, I-76 reaches its eastern terminus, though the freeway continues south as Route 42.
Route description
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Ohio
I-76 begins at exit 209 of I-71 in Westfield Township, approximately east of Lodi, Ohio; U.S. Route 224 (US 224) continues west from the end of I-76. The interchange was previously a double trumpet but was reconstructed in 2010. Officially, I-76 begins at the beginning of the ramp from I-71 north; it merges with US 224 at mile 0.61. After passing through rural Medina County, I-76 enters Summit County and soon crosses State Route 21 (SR 21, old US 21), once the main north–south route through the area until I-77 replaced it, at a cloverleaf interchange. I-76 then passes through Wadsworth, Norton, and Barberton and then enters Akron; this section of road was built as US 224.
Soon after entering Akron, I-76 turns north onto the short Kenmore Expressway. US 224 leaves I-76 there and continues east with I-277 toward I-77. Shortly after heading north from the I-277 interchange, I-76 meets I-77 and again turns east, joining southbound I-77 south of downtown Akron on the West Expressway. A partial interchange provides access to SR 59 (the Innerbelt), and then I-76 crosses through the Central Interchange, where I-77 goes south (on the South Expressway) and SR 8 begins to the north (on the North Expressway); I-76 switches from the West Expressway to the East Expressway.
Leaving the Akron area, I-76 again heads through rural areas, crossing Portage County and entering Mahoning County.
West of Youngstown, the freeway intersects the Ohio Turnpike and I-80 via a double trumpet interchange, and the two Interstates swap rights-of-way. I-76 joins the Ohio Turnpike and heads southeast toward Pittsburgh, while I-80 exits the turnpike and continues east toward Youngstown on I-76's alignment. The Ohio Turnpike carries I-76 until the Pennsylvania border, where it becomes the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Turnpike
From the Ohio border, the Pennsylvania Turnpike carries I-76 into and across most of Pennsylvania, bypassing Youngstown, Ohio to the south and Pittsburgh to the north. There is a free interchange with US 19 and I-79 near Wexford. At one point, I-76 used to begin in Pittsburgh on a route that was signed as I-376 around the 1970s. It intersects with this highway in Monroeville.
From New Stanton to Breezewood, I-76 is concurrent with I-70. In this section are the bypass (built in the 1960s) of the Laurel Hill Tunnel, then the still-in-use Allegheny Mountain Tunnel in a relatively unpopulated section of South Central Pennsylvania, and then an indirect connection with I-99 in Bedford. The turnpike also passes through the Somerset Wind Farm and is the closest Interstate highway to the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville.
At Breezewood, I-70 exits the turnpike (making use of a short stretch of the old alignment of the Pennsylvania Turnpike), while I-76 bypasses the Rays Hill and Sideling Hill tunnels along a new alignment built in the 1960s. The major features of this section are more mountains with the Tuscarora Mountain Tunnel and then a double tunnel (Kittatinny/Blue Mountain) prior to Pennsylvania Route 997 (PA 997) near Shippensburg. I-76 intersects I-81 (indirectly) in Carlisle then I-83 and I-283 near Harrisburg, bypassing Harrisburg to the south. The Susquehanna River Bridge is a six-lane bridge that was constructed in 2003 using precast segments that replaced an older bridge across the Susquehanna River. In Morgantown, I-176 provides a connection north to Reading. At Valley Forge, I-76 diverges toward Philadelphia, but the turnpike (as I-276) bypasses it to the north.
Schuylkill Expressway
The Schuylkill Expressway begins at the Valley Forge interchange of the Pennsylvania Turnpike in the community of King of Prussia in Upper Merion Township, Montgomery County. The I-76 designation continues west on the Pennsylvania Turnpike from this point, while the Pennsylvania Turnpike from this point east is designated I-276. The road heads southeast from the trumpet interchange as a nine-lane freeway carrying four westbound lanes and five eastbound lanes that is designated as part of I-76, passing through the Valley Forge Interchange toll plaza. Past the toll plaza, the Schuylkill Expressway narrows to four lanes, with two lanes in each direction, and comes to an eastbound exit and entrance with North Gulph Road, providing access to Valley Forge National Historical Park and the Village at Valley Forge residential and retail development, the latter of which contains the King of Prussia Town Center lifestyle center, and a westbound exit and entrance with Mall Boulevard, providing access to the King of Prussia shopping mall to the northeast of the road. There is also a westbound entrance from Pulaski Drive just east of the toll plaza. The freeway passes businesses and comes to an interchange with U.S. Route 202 (US 202), the eastern terminus of US 422, and Swedesford Road that serves King of Prussia. A westbound collector–distributor road carrying two lanes provides access to the US 202/US 422/Swedesford Road and Mall Boulevard interchanges. I-76 passes under Chester Valley Trail and Norfolk Southern Railway's Dale Secondary railroad line and continues east-southeast as a four-lane road between residential areas to the southwest and commercial areas to the northeast. The freeway heads east and comes to a westbound exit and entrance with South Gulph and South Henderson roads. The Schuylkill Expressway curves southeast near wooded areas of homes before coming to an interchange with Pennsylvania Route 320 (PA 320) in the community of Gulph Mills. This interchange has an eastbound exit and entrance and a westbound exit. Within this interchange, the highway passes over SEPTA's Norristown High Speed Line and crosses Gulph Creek. Past the PA 320 interchange, I-76 continues east-southeast through woodland near residential development, heading into Lower Merion Township. The freeway enters West Conshohocken and comes to an interchange with I-476 that also has ramps providing access to PA 23 and serving West Conshohocken and Conshohocken.
Past the I-476 interchange, the Schuylkill Expressway heads east and comes to a westbound exit and eastbound entrance providing access to PA 23 and Conshohocken, passing near residential and commercial development. The freeway passes over PA 23 and leaves West Conshohocken for Lower Merion Township, where it heads through wooded areas and runs on top of a cliff, with Norfolk Southern Railway's Harrisburg Line and the Schuylkill River parallel to the north below the cliff and another cliff rising above the highway to the south. East of Conshohocken at about mile marker 331, it curves sharply southeast in a 90-degree turn locally known as the "Conshohocken Curve" or "Conshy Curve", which has a history of traffic congestion and dangerous conditions. I-76 continues southeast through wooded areas, with the railroad tracks and the river parallel to the northeast. Farther southeast, the Schuylkill Expressway crosses Mill Creek and comes to a westbound exit and eastbound entrance with Hollow Road that provides access to the community of Gladwyne. The freeway passes over the Flat Rock Tunnel carrying Norfolk Southern Railway's Harrisburg Line and continues to the southeast with the Schuylkill River to the northeast and the railroad tracks to the southwest. I-76 comes to a diamond interchange with Belmont Avenue and Green Lane, with Belmont Avenue heading south through the community of Bala Cynwyd in Lower Merion Township, and Green Lane crossing the river into the neighborhood of Manayunk in Philadelphia. Following this interchange, the freeway passes under the Manayunk Bridge that carries an extension of the Cynwyd Heritage Trail across the Schuylkill River. The Schuylkill Expressway passes over Norfolk Southern Railway's Harrisburg Line and runs southeast between the West Laurel Hill Cemetery to the southwest and an industrial area to the northeast that is sandwiched between the railroad tracks and the river. I-76 comes to an interchange with City Avenue on the border of Lower Merion Township and Philadelphia in Philadelphia County; City Avenue heads southwest as US 1 and northeast across the Schuylkill River on the City Avenue Bridges to an interchange with Ridge Avenue, Lincoln Drive, and Kelly Drive. Past the City Avenue interchange, I-76 enters Philadelphia and becomes concurrent with US 1, with the Schuylkill Expressway widening from four lanes to eight lanes and running between the West Falls Yard on Norfolk Southern Railway's Harrisburg Line and the river to the north and wooded areas of Fairmount Park to the south. US 1 splits from I-76 by heading northeast on the Roosevelt Expressway, while I-76 continues south on the Schuylkill Expressway, heading through Fairmount Park and running parallel to CSX Transportation's Trenton Subdivision railroad line, Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, the Schuylkill River Trail, and the Schuylkill River to the east. The freeway curves to the southwest, with CSX Transportation's Trenton Subdivision heading east away from the road and CSX Transportation's Harrisburg Subdivision railroad line beginning to run parallel. I-76 comes to a diamond interchange with Montgomery Drive that provides access to Fairmount Park and serves the Mann Center for the Performing Arts. Following this, the Schuylkill Expressway narrows to six lanes and turns to the southeast, running through more of the park with the railroad tracks, Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, the Schuylkill River Trail, and the Schuylkill River parallel to the northeast. The freeway passes under CSX Transportation's Harrisburg Subdivision and comes to an interchange with US 13 and US 30 at Girard Avenue. Within this interchange, the highway passes under the Pennsylvania Railroad, Connecting Railway Bridge that carries Amtrak's Northeast Corridor railroad line across the Schuylkill River before heading under the Girard Avenue Bridge that carries US 13 (Girard Avenue) across the river. US 30 becomes concurrent with I-76 on the Schuylkill Expressway at this point and the road heads south, with the Philadelphia Zoo to the west and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, the Schuylkill River Trail, and the Schuylkill River still parallel to the east. The freeway turns southeast and runs between Amtrak's Northeast Corridor to the southwest and the river drive, trail, and river to the northeast, with Boathouse Row on the opposite bank of the river. The Schuylkill Expressway comes to an eastbound exit and westbound entrance with Spring Garden Street, which heads east across the Schuylkill River toward the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The freeway continues south, heading east of Amtrak's Penn Coach Yard, and comes to an interchange with the western terminus of I-676, which heads east along with US 30 on the Vine Street Expressway into Center City.