Interstate 476

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Interstate 476 (I-476) is a 132-mile north–south highway in eastern Pennsylvania. It’s an auxiliary route of I-76 and runs from I-95 near Chester up to I-81 near Scranton, serving as the main north–south corridor in the region.

The highway has two main parts:
- The Blue Route / Mid-County Expressway (about 20 miles) travels through Delaware and Montgomery counties near Philadelphia. It connects I-95 with I-76 and I-276, and it passes near towns like Wallingford, Swarthmore, and Radnor before reaching Plymouth Meeting.
- The Northeast Extension (about 110 miles) is the Pennsylvania Turnpike Northeast Extension, which links the Delaware Valley with the Lehigh Valley, the Pocono Mountains, and the Wyoming Valley, ending near Scranton.

Key interchanges include I-76 in West Conshohocken, I-276 (Pennsylvania Turnpike) at Plymouth Meeting, US 1 near Springfield, PA 3 in Broomall, US 30 near Villanova, US 22 near Allentown, and I-80 near White Haven. The northern end connects with I-81, US 6 and US 11 near Clarks Summit.

History and significance:
- The Blue Route portion is known for passing through the western Philadelphia suburbs and is designated a Pennsylvania Scenic Byway, nicknamed the Blue Route.
- The Northeast Extension began as part of the Pennsylvania Turnpike system and was opened in stages from 1955 onward. It became part of I-476 in 1996, making I-476 one of the nation’s longest auxiliary Interstates. The route includes the Lehigh Tunnel, which got a second tube opened in 1991 to ease congestion.
- The final piece of I-476 was opened in December 1992, completing the highway from I-95 to I-81.

Tolls and operations:
- The Northeast Extension uses all-electronic tolling (tolls by plate or E-ZPass). Tolls are collected via gantries between exits.
- In the past, toll systems used tickets, but the turnpike now bills by plate or E-ZPass. As of recent years, tolls for a passenger car traveling the Northeast Extension can be around $38.88 with plate billing or about $19.44 with E-ZPass (rates may vary by vehicle type and changes over time).
- Service plazas along the Northeast Extension provide food, fuel, and other amenities, with Allentown and Hickory Run as major stops.

Widening and future plans:
- Widening projects have expanded lanes and added ramp improvements between Mid-County and Lansdale, with further widening from Lansdale to Quakertown completed by the late 2020s.
- A planned Scranton Beltway would create two high-speed connections between I-476 and I-81 to bypass congested sections through Scranton and nearby areas. Construction was anticipated to start in the mid-2020s, with tolling to be handled by E-ZPass or plate billing.