Pennsylvania Turnpike
Bedford Township, Bedford County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
This is one of the original service plazas for the nation's first long-distance superhighway. On October 1, 1940, the Turnpike opened, stretching 160 miles from Irwin to Carlisle. The Turnpike Commission had been created in 1937; construction utilized the old South Pennsylvania Railroad's right-of-way and tunnels. By 1957 the Turnpike spanned 360 miles across the State and extended 110 miles north to Scranton.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
The Pennsylvania Turnpike opened on October 1, 1940, a 160-mile run from Irwin to Carlisle that introduced Americans to the limited-access superhighway. Built along the right-of-way and tunnels of the unfinished South Pennsylvania Railroad and overseen by a commission created in 1937, it dispensed with intersections and traffic signals entirely. Service plazas such as this one kept motorists moving, and by 1957 the road reached 360 miles across the state with a 110-mile extension toward Scranton.
Why it matters
The turnpike pioneered the design and operation of the modern American superhighway, setting the template for the Interstate era that followed.
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Related events
- · Opening of the Pennsylvania Turnpike (October 1, 1940)
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Pennsylvania Turnpike
Bedford Township, PA · est. 1990
When the Pennsylvania Turnpike opened on October 1, 1940, running 160 miles from Irwin to Carlisle, drivers experienced something America had never seen: a long-distance, limited-access superhighway with no cross traffic and no stoplights. Engineers routed it along the abandoned grade and tunnels of the never-finished South Pennsylvania Railroad, and service plazas like this one let travelers fuel up and rest without leaving the road. By 1957 the turnpike stretched 360 miles across the state with a spur reaching toward Scranton.
Fraser Tavern
Bedford, PA · est. 1952
As General Forbes's army pushed toward the Ohio in 1758, frontier settlements sprang up in its wake. Here John Fraser and his wife established an inn and trading post that same year, feeding officers at nearby Fort Raystown, the outpost that grew into Bedford. Fraser was no ordinary tavernkeeper—he had served as a guide and interpreter for a young Colonel George Washington in the tense years before the war.
Forbes Road, 1758, Fort Bedford to Fort Duquesne - Fort Bedford-Raystown (PLAQUE)
Bedford, PA · est. 1930
Fort Bedford, built at the frontier settlement of Raystown, served as the great supply depot and mustering ground for General John Forbes' 1758 campaign against Fort Duquesne. Here an army of nearly eight thousand men gathered before setting out westward toward the forks of the Ohio. The fort anchored the eastern end of the road that still bears Forbes' name.
Bedford County
Bedford, PA · est. 1982
One of Pennsylvania's oldest western counties, Bedford was formed in 1771 and once stretched across much of the state's frontier. In 1758, during the French and Indian War, Fort Bedford rose here as a key link in the British campaign against the French, and the Forbes Road was cut through the wilderness to reach the Ohio country. That military road became one of the great early highways carrying settlers and commerce west.