Pennsylvania Route 363
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PA 73 in Worcester | ||||
North end | PA 63 in Lansdale | |||
Location | ||||
Country | United States | |||
State | Pennsylvania | |||
Counties | Montgomery | |||
Highway system | ||||
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Pennsylvania Route 363 (PA 363) is a state highway located in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania that is a spur of PA 63. The route runs 11.96 mi (19.25 km) from an interchange with U.S. Route 422 (US 422) in Audubon northeast to an intersection with PA 63 in Lansdale. The route runs mostly through suburban areas of central Montgomery County, passing some farmland in Worcester Township. PA 363 is designated along Trooper Road, Ridge Pike, Park Avenue, and Valley Forge Road. In the community of Worcester, the route crosses PA 73.
PA 363 was first designated by the
Route description
PA 363 begins at a
PA 363 continues as a two-lane undivided road past more homes before it reaches the
Upon crossing Germantown Pike, PA 363 becomes known as Valley Forge Road and continues into agricultural areas with scattered residential neighborhoods. The amount of development increases until the road comes to the junction with
The road passes through residential neighborhoods before entering commercial areas and crossing Sumneytown Pike. PA 363 heads to the southeast of North Penn High School and runs past a mix of homes and businesses as it gains a center left-turn lane on the approach to the Allentown Road junction. A short distance later, the route enters the borough of Lansdale and passes homes as a two-lane road. PA 363 reaches its northern terminus at an intersection with PA 63 (West Main Street) in Lansdale, where Valley Forge Road continues north as a local street.[3][4]
History
When Pennsylvania first legislated routes in 1911, present-day PA 363 was not given a number with the exception of the Ridge Pike portion, which was designated as part of Legislative Route 146.[5] In 1928, PA 363 was designated to run between PA 23 in the Port Kennedy section of Upper Merion Township and PA 63 in Lansdale. The route headed north across the Schuylkill River near the present US 422 bridge, before heading north on Trooper Road and east on Egypt Road to an intersection with US 422 (Ridge Pike). PA 363 headed west concurrent with US 422 before heading north on Park Avenue and following its current alignment north to Lansdale. At this time, the route was paved between PA 23 and the north end of the US 422 concurrency.[2] By 1930, PA 363 was rerouted to follow Trooper Road between Egypt Road and US 422. At this time, the entire length of the route was paved.[6]
By 1989, the southern terminus of PA 363 was cut back to its current location at the US 422 interchange.[13] In 1991, the Betzwood Bridge, which formerly carried PA 363 over the Schuylkill River, was closed because of structural issues.[14] The bridge was removed in 1995 and limited bicycle and pedestrian access to Valley Forge National Historical Park from the north, with a temporary bike path being erected on the parallel US 422 bridge.[15] There were plans to replace the Betzwood Bridge with a structure carrying two vehicle traffic lanes and a multi-use trail. These plans never advanced. Ultimately, the National Park Service secured federal funding for a mixed-use trail bridge to connect the trails in the north and south sides of Valley Forge National Historical Park at the site of the old bridge. Named Sullivan's Bridge after Revolutionary War General John Sullivan, construction began on the new bridge in May 2014[16] and it opened August 19, 2016 for pedestrian and bicycle traffic.[17] In 2013, work on improvements to the interchange between PA 363 and US 422 started, which added a ramp from PA 363 to westbound US 422 and from eastbound US 422 to PA 363.[18] The new ramps opened to traffic on December 1, 2015.[19]
Major intersections
The entire route is in Montgomery County.
Location | mi[1] | km | Destinations | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
US 422 (Pottstown Expressway / County Line Expressway) – Pottstown, King of Prussia Trooper Road south | Interchange; southern terminus | ||||
Worcester Township | 7.675 | 12.352 | PA 73 (Skippack Pike) – Skippack, Center Square | ||
Lansdale | 11.960 | 19.248 | PA 63 (West Main Street) – Hatfield, Sellersville | Northern terminus | |
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi |
See also
- U.S. Roads portal
- Pennsylvania portal
References
- ^ a b Bureau of Maintenance and Operations (January 2015). Roadway Management System Straight Line Diagrams (Report) (2015 ed.). Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
- Montgomery County (PDF)
- ^ a b Pennsylvania Highway Map (Philadelphia Metro) (Map). Gulf Oil. 1928. Retrieved November 8, 2007.
- ^ ISBN 0-87530-775-2.
- ^ a b c d Google (January 27, 2011). "overview of Pennsylvania Route 363" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
- Pennsylvania Department of Highways. 1911. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
- ^ Tourist Map of Pennsylvania (PDF) (Map). Pennsylvania Department of Highways. 1930. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
- ^ Montgomery County (Map) (Sheet 2 ed.). Pennsylvania Department of Highways. 1945.
- ^ Official Road Map of Pennsylvania (PDF) (Map). Pennsylvania Department of Highways. 1950. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
- ^ Montgomery County (PDF) (Map) (Sheet 1 ed.). Pennsylvania Department of Highways. 1950. Retrieved May 21, 2007.
- ^ "State R. 83 to Become Route 183". The Morning Call. Allentown, Pennsylvania. April 28, 1961. p. 5. Retrieved March 18, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Montgomery County (PDF) (Map) (Sheet 1 ed.). Pennsylvania Department of Highways. 1967. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
- ^ Official Map of Pennsylvania (PDF) (Map). Pennsylvania Department of Highways. 1970. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
- ^ Pennsylvania Official Transportation Map (PDF) (Map). Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. 1989. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
- ^ Goodman, Rhonda (April 7, 1994). "Wheels Are Turning On Bike Trail Project". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved February 3, 2011.
- ^ "Old Betzwood Bicycle/Pedestrian Trail Project" (PDF). Boles, Smyth Associates, Inc. Retrieved February 3, 2011.
- ^ Rotenberg, Carl (May 14, 2014). "Sullivan's Bridge construction begins with groundbreaking ceremony; Route 422 bridge project to begin three years early". The Times Herald. Norristown, PA. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
- ^ Rotenberg, Carl (August 19, 2016). "Sullivan's Bridge opens in Valley Forge National Historical Park". The Times Herald. Norristown, PA. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
- ^ "Trooper Road Interchange Remedies". GVF Transportation. Archived from the original on May 12, 2014. Retrieved May 10, 2014.
- ^ Rotenberg, Carl (December 1, 2015). "Two ramps connecting Trooper Road to Route 422 open". The Times Herald. Norristown, PA. Retrieved December 7, 2015.