Pennsylvania Roads - PA 73/29

and PA 29/73


PA 73 EB/PA 29 SB across Swamp Creek and Mine Run Creek. If the bridge was widened in 1928, it must be older. But how much?


Into Schwenksville and then looking east as PA 73 leaves PA 29 across Perkiomen Creek.


WB and EB overly wide shields on either side of US 222, which has more of the same. WB at 222 itself is this unusual sign on a hillside, pointing to Snyder Rd. (the "straight" warning that keeps traffic from following 222). I can't tell if the 1922 is the sign date, and it was repainted since then, or whether the 34 is the sign date, or whether the Historical Society of Berks County was founded in 1922.


WB past a brand-new and flat replica (on original pole) to the original embossed variety. I appreciate that PA is replacing fallen keystones, but it should be sticking to the old style.


PA 73 EB turns onto Washington Lane from Church Rd., heading toward Township Line Rd. that will take it through Philadelphia to this very bridge.


WB at PA 232, the first photo inside Philadelphia and a look at the standard tiny Philly shield/assembly.


WB at US 13, just past it by the third photo, and onward. One of these shields is DOT style, one is standard Philadelphia issue, one is completely wrong even for Philadelphia, and the first one should be tossed in the junkyard.


At and past US 1 (this one is past) are amusing shield errors like this. US/PA shield swaps are becoming more common on Philly street signs.


WB, a Philadelphia-style shield, and EB, a pointer to the PA 73 bridge (Tacony Palmyra) and a swan to the Palmyra bypass bridge, which becomes NJ 90. Don't tell me that looks like a goose, because I like swans.


As if the swan wasn't enough, look up from PA 73 EB and see this original button copy sign! There are more below.


Cottman Ave. WB, essentially a combined I-95 offramp, at State Rd. PA 73 WB turns from State Rd. and continues straight ahead.


The overhead from the State Rd. perspective. The greenouts are due to a mental lapse, since PA 73 EB has never followed Cottman to the right (since it's one-way westbound).


State Rd. SB at Princeton Ave., which is carrying PA 73 EB from the right and putting it on State Rd. straight ahead. State Rd. is used as a link from the mainline of PA 73 to the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge; it runs a lot closer to west than east (or even south), but NJ 73 runs north-south.

Somewhere along State Rd.


This ancient button copy, some of the last signage to refer to I-95 by name as well as by number, is on State Rd. SB after PA 73 has followed New State Road to the left in order to get under 95 and make it back around to the rest of State Rd. The second sign is at Disston St., and the third is at the next turn at Keystone St. There's one more right on Princeton Ave. to take traffic to the SB onramp.


Have a bunch of signs on Princeton Ave. SB, which carries PA 73 EB traffic as well as traffic that just turned the loop of old Delaware Expressway signs. This just might be all of them. The ramp to I-95 SB leaves before the PA 73 intersection and flies over it.


The white on green sign was once all over Philadelphia I'm sure, but this is the only one I've yet seen, eastbound (State Rd. SB).


Around a loop defined by Milnor and Barnett Streets, taking traffic underneath the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge so that instead of having to turn left from State Rd., it can turn around a few rights instead and not interfere with traffic coming from Robbins St. via Levick St. The "NJ" is redundant with the shape of the shield, but perhaps helpful anyway, and the Interstate shield is Philly-standard (undersized, badly pigmented, square background). The shield atop this page comes just after the last sign in this progression; considering NJ 73 is signed around to the right as well, this last reassurance in Pennsylvania doesn't help a whole lot.


BUTTON COPY!


Onto the tied arch of the bridge. When the bridge was redecked in the 1990s, the original four narrow lanes were restriped to three lanes. Probably because of the traffic lights on the Philly end, the inbound direction won the extra lane, but if it were up to me I'd have voted for a reversible lane instead. The current situation means there's a lot of congestion as four lanes of traffic (two from Levick, two from 73 East) try to merge into one to cross the bridge.

Onto PA 29 alone

Onto PA 232
Onto I-95
Onto US 1
To would-be PA 90, the Betsy Ross Bridge stub
The Tacony-Palmyra Bridge on Steve Anderson's phillyroads.com
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