Why the I-76 Schuylkill Expressway in Philadelphia is the MOST DANGEROUS Highway in Pennsylvania
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- Опубликовано: 18 июн 2024
- In the fall of 2022 I finally got to experience the Philadelphia's infamous Schuylkill Expressway. On this video we take a look at what makes it so dangerous and what Pennsylvania is doing to try and improve its safety.
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I-76 Philadelphia westbound:
• I-76 West - Philadelph...
I-76 Philadelphia eastbound:
• I-76 East - Philadelph...
I-95 Philadelphia northbound:
• I-95 North - Philadelp...
I-95 Philadelphia southbound:
• I-95 South - Philadelp...
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Sources and further reading:
transform76.com/news/penndot-...
I-76 info:
www.pahighways.com/interstate...
I-76 Improvement Plan:
transform76.com/news/penndot-...
Philadelphia Skyline:
The Philadelphia Negro, CC BY-SA 2.5 creativecommons.org/licenses/..., via Wikimedia Commons
Liberty Bell:
Anush, CC BY-SA 4.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/..., via Wikimedia Commons
Time Stamps:
Intro: 0:00
Causes of Safety Issues: 1:20
Attempts to Improve: 5:48
The New Plan: 8:35
Thoughts and Conclusion: 12:26
The Schulkill distressway is awful. The main way for 90 percent of the state to get into Philadelphia is on this road, which makes it awful.
Pennsylvania used to have a famous railroad. The idea of making everyone drive cars to get into large cities like Philadelphia was flawed to begin with. You just can't build roads wide enough to ever make it practical.
Distressway 😂
Regional Rail?
@ElmerCat I always take the R7 into Philly and don't have the problems this dude has
If only more people took SEPTA
During the early pandemic, I drove through the Schuylkill with barely any other traffic around, it felt unreal.
Beautiful time sadly.
That was a beautiful time to drive on the roads, and I miss it.
It was great. It's now back to crap and just overloaded.
I drive from Strawberry Mansion to Devon, PA M-F. When I tell you I got to work in 15 mins during the pandemic……….GODSEND
I drive a truck on this roadway at least once a day at about 4 in the morning. I needed to use 76 to get from jersey to the turnpike early pandemic. (Accident on the blue rt) I made it from the toll to gladwyne in 14 mins at around 8:45am, I was amazed! I miss pandemic traffic
Driven this road more times than I can count. The only redeeming quality is when go come around a bend and all of a sudden the Skyline, Art Museum, and Boat House row are right in front of you. Probably the best view the city has to offer. Usually traffic is not moving more than 5 mph in that spot, so you have time to appreciate it.
Facts lolol
Ikr, truly breathtaking view
I'm from Philly. I often tell folks that if you can drive the Schuylkill, you can drive just about anywhere. If you learned to drive in Philly, hitting the brake often was a thing you learned quickly on this highway.
Try driving in New York....that's some out shit..
My dad would say the same exact thing haha. If you can drive on the Schuylkill you can drive anywhere.
So true-we moved away 42 years ago & I had to drive into the city from Plymouth Meeting making daughters wedding arrangements & I wrote at the time that I should drive through Philly 1x a month just to maintain psychotic driving skills. I still got it though. Parallel parked my van like a champ near City Hall
Add the Airport, and Ellisburg circles over in Jersey.
If you could navigate all three of these during a workday, You're NASA QUALIFIED TO PILOT A SPACESHIP!
@@reginaldwright247 LOL
As a native Philadelphian I agree 100% with your analysis of this ancient outdated deadly highway
Would you concede that it is drivers who make an inert road 'deadly'?
@@thedubwhisperer2157 Philadelphia is the largest poor city in the country. And IQ is highly correlated to economic accomplishments. There you go. I solved why it's so dangerous.
@@firstlast9292 Poorly designed infrastructure also makes things much more dangerous than they should be. Imagine an intersection with no stop sign or light that desperately needs one. Even though people are still individuals, bad design will make accidents more frequent than otherwise when all else is equal.
Poor education doesn't help, but it doesn't explain everything either.
Baltimore is definitely a Northeastern City. That mason Dixon line crap died with the Civil War. Delaware and Maryland are now considered part of the northeast.
@@firstlast9292 I think Baltimore is right up there as far as poor big cities.
Growing up in Philly, I know that 76 is hell! Learning the back roads outside the city, increased my drive time to King of Prussia by 15 minutes, but worth the lack of anxiety.
I work in KOP and I would’ve never dare go on 76 I’m rush times
My favorite back in 2015-2017 was Conshi State/23. Going through Lower Merion.
Does the “Lee Tire Curve” still exist? Every morning in the 70s I’d wake up to the same traffic report, citing backups and/or accident on the LTC, & of course rubber-necking delays in the opposite direction. I learned to drive on the Schuykill, and it’s made me a better driver for it.
@@scottjs5207 yup 23 for the win forsure lol
@@scottjs5207 and everytime I pass lower merion hs school I make sure to tell anyone who is within earshot "hey you know Kobe went here" lmao
I drive from Lancaster to Philadelphia every day using the old 30 and the Schuylkill expressway. My only experiences with this highway is nobody goes the speed limit and the holes on the road are outrageous and if one accident happens, they shut every laying down for no reason You’re dodging potholes getting cut off by speeding people. It’s definitely a fun experience for someone who has never drove on this road.
That's why I take the train for my semi-annual eye appointments at the Scheie Eye Institute. No "surekill distressway" for me.
It’s definitely fun when it’s not packed with traffic
Not for niggaz in the city that don't drive lol try broad st at 1-6 anyday fuck septa tho its for youngbulls bums and center city workers give me 76 🎢🛣🏎 15:18
I live in NY and we went to Lancaster several times for a get away. Pretty sure we took 30.
Try it with a 60 foot rig! My GPS routed me through there as opposed to going through DC (which is the way I prefer to go) because of how atrociously bad the traffic was on the Beltway. Heading back to Georgia through VA and TN on 81 eventually. So, unbeknownst to me (not from around there), I came over a bridge in NJ on a nice road and was greeted to THIS with a 24 foot boat behind me in a 4 door F-250 Super Duty with a long bed! The tongue of that trailer is at least 6 feet beyond the bow of the boat! So I had at least 30 feet behind me and the truck itself is 25 feet long! It was quite a blast bouncing around wondering if the next bump was going to kick the boat into the wall. I’ve been on multiple strips of road with 0 shoulder, but never one for that long accompanied by that many potholes. I-85 has some really bad spots iMO if you’ve ever been on that road. Particularly in Alabama! There is one stretch in Georgia where they leave you 0 room for error! Like literally the walls are on the fog line. If I’m towing, I literally just hog the entire road so no semis get any funny ideas about trying to push me into the wall with the draft off of their trucks
As a former Pennsylvanian who still has plenty of family there, we just call it “Penndot” not “Penn D-O-T” but overall great video. It’s roads like this that make me avoid Philly at all costs, not to mention how far away it is from me (like almost 3 hours)
the PennD-O-T the whole video was driving me crazy
@@JohnThePA Same here
Manny Yoonk Youse Gahz!
There are many former pennsylvanians, the smartest people got the fuck out of that shithole. And the ones who remain wonder why such brain-drain has occurred...
i came to the comments to see if anyone else mentioned that 🤣
Lived in Philadelphia for 5 years... personally, I took Amtrak and SEPTA as much as possible rather than driving on Schuylkill but when I did drive into the city on 76 I always loved seeing Boathouse Row, the Art Museum and skyline.. one of the best views in America
There are some who suggest the view from that approach to a major city is unique in the world. And, yes, it is stunning.
Best time to drive into the city, hopefully no sports events, is Sunday. Saturday is sometimes okay. It depends what is happening in the city.
Oh man, I remember how much of a nightmare driving on the Schuylkill Expressway was. And this was back in the 1990's. I don't know if this was mentioned in the video, but one of the most dangerous parts was the right-merging on-ramps with very short acceleration lanes, which ended abruptly in a concrete wall. Can't merge in time? Your only option is to stop on the ramp and try to right-merge into 70+ mph traffic from a full stop. Insane.
I see you've encountered the South Street on-ramps...
@@donkensler Yes indeed! But the ones I was actually thinking of are the ones right next to the University of Pennsylvania to get on 76 towards the Vine Street Expressway. I don't know if they're still bad today, but navigating those at night was terrifying.
@@mushroomsteve They're the same. Rear end accidents there all the time. The entrance at 320 up by KOP is kind of even worse. At least with south street you can floor it at the beginning and be close to highway speeds. The other one to the north you have 100 feet between the wall and coming out of a sharp curve, so even flooring it you're lucky to have reached 45 by the end of the merge.
I had that exact merging scenario you were talking about and all a Jeep in the right lane had to do was move over to the left lane and I would have been able to easily and safely merge from the on-ramp, but instead I had to come to a complete stop while the Jeep guy had a middle finger ready to go as he passed by me while I was stopped.
That's why everyone should buy v8s
A few things you forgot to mention that also make it dangerous. For one thing, the random hairpin turns. Especially around the Girard Ave exit and another one shortly after Packer Ave. It doesn't look like much when you're approaching it, I could easily see a tourist thinking it's just a small bend, but then you realize you're going at this hairpin turn at 75 mph. Another thing: faded line paint. There are parts of the Schuylkill (and all over Philly in general) where the lines are just non-existent and randomly fade out. And then there's the spot at Vare Ave, where the two middle lanes just randomly converge together with no signage or warning at all. You just kind of have to hope nobody's next to you. And on top of people driving recklessly and overall INSANE on this road, I can't stand being on it lol.
You can see the Girard Ave. exit at 13:52 ; a sharp curve, also visually confined by bridges, where traffic always slows. This creates an accordion effect backing traffic for miles. Downtown, the expressway is built out over the Schuylkill River since there was physically not room between the railroad tracks and the river.
Westbound there are some hills at Gladwyne and Conshohocken that create a similar concertina effect as trucks cannot maintain speed up the hills.
P.S. forget self drive / lane assist in Philly, as all the paint lines are worn out. Some city streets have only 10 ft. of double yellow line at a street corner, which abruptly stop, and then start up 10 ft. from the next intersection.
I’m normally not on 76 as far down as Vare Ave so when you said that the two middle lanes become one without signage or warning, I needed to see if it was that bad. Went on google maps and sure enough it’s as bad as you described. I cannot believe anybody thought of that and said “yeah, that’s a great idea”
Wow. You described the Surekill Distressway perfectly. Been driving it for 40 years. There is no speed limit, it’s whatever speed you can reach. The police have no where to sit and do speed traps due to the congestion. They can only get you by following you. Philadelphia PD will not enforce on it either, it’s all left up to the state police. Just one thing, Manayunk is pronounced Manny-unk. 👍🏻
Two contributing factors to the regional congestion on and around the Schuylkill Expressway are:
1. The geology of the river course between U.S. 1 (Bala Cynwyd & East Falls) and Conshohocken is generally a narrow gorge with walls of very hard gneiss formations that are older than the first dinosaur. The Expressway, 2 active railroads, and the remains of a third railroad are wedged into a very confined geographic trench. Every inch of available lane width was taken long ago.
2. The railroads in the region are among the oldest in the country. Their rights of way were established in an era of ruthless competition dating back to the 19th Century. Those rail barons made a point of NOT providing convenient, efficient passenger exchanges - an ancient and myopic business strategy to protect market share. As a consequence, today's SEPTA Regional Rail system has numerous unrealized junction opportunities where lines cross but no passengers change trains. So commuters buy cars and sit in traffic jams.
Thank you for this! I lived in Philly for 36 years and have a degree in geology from Penn, where we actually studied how the Schuylkill was squeezed in between those rocks and the railroads and river. When Mike said "it's the geography," I thought "GEOLOGY!" But he was close enough. Your comment is an excellent summary of why the road is doomed to remain stuck in the 1950s.
@@larry4111 You two are exactly right. There's nowhere to go
@@larry4111 I'm curious about whether your U Penn geology studies offered an explanation about how straight the Schuylkill River is after a hard 90 turn by Conshohocken on the one hand and the U.S. 1 bridges downriver at East Falls. Upriver from Conshy the river meanders, including a famous bend around the Valley Forge encampment (national park). Below U.S. 1, commencing with the crew regatta race course, the river takes another 90 turn and resumes meandering.
If one traces a line from West Conshy to the Morris Arboretum that's an ancient fault that runs under the Schuylkill. Do you know if the Conshy-to-US1 segment is also a fault?
@@bagoquarks Great question! We absolutely studied it. The northeasterly bend below Conshohocken is the exact boundary of the Conestoga Formation's soft limestone to the north and the harder felsic gneiss to the south. As soon as the river hits the gneiss it is blocked and takes that northeastward turn (a gneiss move). There's also about a 300' rise in elevation right along that line. It then carves its way down to the southeast through the Wissahickon Formation (oh, schist). The straight line basically marks the Wissahickon Formation. As soon as it exits those rocks it hits softer material as elevation drops back down towards sea level and begins to meander again toward the Delaware. That straight section is essentially a canyon. The Delaware River itself marks the Atlantic Seaboard Fall Line.
@@larry4111 Interesting, thanks. If you look at the micro canyons on the Wissahickon (NE) side and the Lower Merion/Belmont (SW) side, they appear to line up somewhat which would suggest the Schuylkill is NOT sitting on a strike-slip fault. SE Pennsylvania is too far south to be affected by continental ice sheets. So is it a thrust fault? Or did the region rise slowly enough to give the river time to carve the canyon? Another way to ponder this is the question: how old is the Schuylkill River itself?
I live in Manayunk (pronounced like Manny - unk with a short u) and I am one of those people who would ditch driving in favor of transit a good amount of the time when the Manayunk/Norristown line gets better service. The main issue right now is frequency of trains. They run once an hour and depending on the day of the week the last one is around 10-11pm which is completely useless if you're trying to get into or out of center city for any kind of event.
The road is absolutely dangerous and a traffic nightmare, but most locals (myself included) have kind of adapted to it. I'm always leaving ample space in front of me in preparation for slow-downs and leaving extra time on trips just in case. It's not the worst driving in the world, for me that's the carmageddon known as Atlanta.
There's really no way to drive safely on the expressway. Like, you leave ample space, which is good. But also potentially dangerous. Many drivers will start to merge into your lane because you're leaving so much space. Then drivers behind you will start to get mad that you're letting so many cars in and they'll start to drive recklessly to pass you. It's a mess.
Yeah, Septa doesn't make the trains very accessible. I know there are costs associated with increasing frequency, but once every half hour or even 20 minutes would make the trains a lot more attractive. Meanwhile, the lack of a beltway line makes any sort of east-west transit on the trains a real pain. Getting from Chestnut Hill West via train to Conshohocken shouldn't require a pit stop in Center City. Yes, you can use a bus for these transits, but the radial design hurts our train functionality.
Mona-yoonk 🤣
I worked on the project installing the new electronic speed limit signs on the schuylkill. Every sign we would park in a crash truck and a crew would perform directional drilling. I made $50 an hour because it was a state job, and I still felt underpaid at times. Absolutely terrifying road to work on. I could write a novel about the 4 months i spent on the shoulders of that death trap
You can imagine how the penndot operators feel making 22 an hour and working up there.
I have lived in this area all my life and have traveled this road way too many times. Glad the engineers felt that risking the workers lives to install those useless speed signs. They were supposed to help congestion. During rush hour they will show 35 MPH, meanwhile you are in a line of traffic doing 10 - 15 MPH for miles. Complete waste of tax payer money by the clowns in power.
@bintheredoneit they made the Kane crew come out and work an extra week because the grass seed they planted was not PennDOT approved. Such a dumb job, but I made a lot of money
Well-researched and comprehensive! I moved to Philly to attend the school in your intro and stayed for 36 years. In fact, this is literally the road that took me straight to the university the first time I visited. When I decided to move out of center city, my choice was either the northeast (commuting via I-95) or just off Roosevelt Blvd/US1 (via I-76). I ended up moving to the northeast, where I lived for 29 years, largely because the choice came down to 95 vs 76 and I chose 95. It was that critical that my choice of neighborhoods for 29 years came down to not wanting to drive on the Schuylkill Expwy. I dreaded it every time I had to use it so I avoided it like the plague and feel sorry for those who have no choice.
Larry Richman from WMMR? (I'm Penn '82)
@@juanone66 Yes indeed!
I think one of the more effective things drivers can do to prevent a rear end collision when traffic is suddenly stopped ahead is turning on 4-ways/hazards to alert traffic behind you. It seems more effective that just relying on brake lights. Truckers use them when encountering stopped traffic since drivers typically can't see beyond our trailers. We only leave the hazards on until traffic is safely stopped behind us.
Thats a good idea that will never come to fruition because people are stupid
I’ve seen this being use in Europe by regular motorist. It caught me off guard at first but I quickly understood what it meant. Here in the US, truckers are taught to hit their flashers once we go slower than 50 MPH or 40 MPH. It can prevent several potential rear ends.
That's fascinating, I actually just saw a truck doing that on i95 today and I was curious why since traffic wasn't moving THAT slowly but I understand better safe than sorry
In the Netherlands, we always use our warning lights to warn the traffic behind us of dangerous situations in front of us. Kinda surprised this is not mandatory in the united states.
I do this in my car in Canada don’t see many people do it but it is useful
I've been up and down the Schuylkill quite a few times and, yes, it's a nightmare (with excellent views). The last time I had to drive to South Philly from the west, I got off at I-476 and looped around from the south and up the I-95... and it was an absolute joy compared to I-76. Highly recommended.
95 is much better south of the I-676 exit. North of 676 it's a nightmare that's always under construction
this is the only way to do it
Nothing they are going to do with the signals and signs will do anything to fix 76. They need to widen to 6 lanes or double decker highway
@@ocsrc Pave the river would probably be easier.
Live in king of Prussia what a joke it took two years to cross a trolley track still not done they can't get anything done in this area
The Surekill is one of the most congested and dangerously narrow highways in the country on the interstate highway system. It might give DC and NY city traffic a run for it's money because of a poor design along the river, and railroad line. Can't beat the Philly skyline scenes when driving it though. That makes it a little bit enjoyable minus massive traffic jams along the way. Great commentary on the highway 👍
I drive a semi truck and unfortunately have to drive this road quite frequently. I can say with certainty that the variable speed limit is ignored by 30-40 percent of motorists, including semi trucks. Makes for some anxiety-inducing moments.
Yeah, I've ridden the Schuylkill driving a rented U-Haul box truck a few times and believe me my attention was at a very high uncomfortable level.
Be safe. I had a cdl learners and learned how much it takes to stop. And that was on an empty trailer. Much love from Richmond va
I've driven the Schuylkill many times. If SEPTA was more frequent and ran later into the night I would probably not drive into the city. Most of my travel is off peak, when headways on the Manayunk (MAN-ee-unk) Norristown line are 1hr or more (as much as 2hr, especially on weekends). Or when the event I'm attending ends after service stops (the last train of of Center City leaves before 11pm). Of course, where SEPTA will find the money to improve service is a bigger issue, relying on political will.
TL:DR I'd prefer SEPTA over driving if it was actually useful.
Also PennDOT is pronounced "PEN-daht"
I grew up in Lower Merion and we avoided it all the time unless it's after 9pm at night. There's just no room for expansion but the route is also critical for accessing center city from the west. Still, it's often just faster and safer just to take back roads.
Also from bala you could’ve taken the Ben Franklin parkway to cc
@@phillygrunt2154 On the east side of the river, there's always Henry/Ridge ave.
@@kjell1979 you can take ridge Ave alll the way to the end of Montgomery County, it turns into High St in 19464z
I take backroads everywhere I go now. I avoid highways and tolls unless it's completely necessary. Too many maniacs on the road nowadays. Women have started getting into the road rage game over the last 15 years.
I grew up in Lower Merion too, that always was nice being able to take West River Drive to Ben Franklin parkway to get downtown. I used to know all sorts of shortcuts through Fairmount Park to various parts of the city.
I'm a truck driver that regularly travels through here for deliveries. I can't count the amount of times people have just thrown themselves at my truck or other cars. That's the biggest issue in my eyes with it: The people. They drive like maniacs.
You make a lot of really good points. Great video!
Also I should add that the variable speed signs work as a "There's traffic ahead" signal, but nobody follows the speed on the sign. It's a lawless wasteland and always will be
I got into the only accident of my life merging on to 76 from UPenn campus to NJ.
I did a reverse commute to NJ at the time to work for Lockheed in Moorestown.
I was aware of how crazy the highway was and, like you, I found the only way was to never plan to stop at the short on ramp. You simply floor it and merge and the cars have to adjust to you or you’ll crash into them. It was like a game of chicken played every day.
This one fateful morning, I did my usual flooring and looking over to see between which cars I could merge, and I look up and the car in front of me is at a full stop.
In all my years of commuting, I’ve never seen a car stopped there (there’s no stop sign) so I slammed the brake but too late and I rear ended the car.
I took blame and my insurance paid them, but in hindsight, I wonder if I could argue that it was her fault not mine. Why is she stopped there at the end of an on ramp where you have to merge on to 70mph traffic? Is there an argument to be made there where I could have won?
Those electronic signs are great but sadly, most people don’t read them. I’m a over the road truck driver so I read most signs already. I have always said that someone could put up a official looking sign that says, “every driver who pulls off at the next exit will receive $1,000” and nobody will pull over to claim it.
You can tell he’s not from around here. Everyone calls it PennDot, not Penn D.O.T. 😂 Also, I love how he butchered Manayunk 🙃
Ikr, plus Baltimore is in Maryland so it’s part of the South
Y’all wild
@@rachelgarber1423 what’s part of the south lol
@@TrentMcNary420 Maryland, it’s south of the Mason/Dixon line. The narrator mentioned Maryland early on in the video
@@rachelgarber1423 thank you sir!!! Truthfully I thought b more was north and east. Taught me something new
As a Philly native who uses the Schuylkill many times a week I would have to agree with this video. I will say on top of all your reasonings for the making it the deadliest road in the state, the type of driving is a big reason as well. I must say the aggressive driving is engrained in the nature of Philadelphians with tight roads, heavy traffic and horrible road confidtions makes for frustrated drivers who often speed way to fast and cut other cars off just to get where theyre going. I know because I am also guilty of doing so
Google Maps tends to recommend I take the Schuylkill, but I almost always get off at the Lancaster exit instead and just go through the Mainline and West Philly. It takes longer but I just have no desire to go from 60 to zero over and over again.
This highway is the soul sucking bane of my existence. I take route 30 and 45 minute longer to get in and out...but at least I'll live to drive another day. There can be no enforcement because of the narrow shoulders and no turnoffs, so aggressive drivers cause accidents everyday.
People who drive it drive fast, switch lanes like madmen, and it is very much an every man for himself kind of a thing. I have survived it many times, but once during flash flooding was the most daunting! Making it to where you’re headed always gives one a feeling of accomplishment! 🤣
I've driven on that section of i-76 many times, and that "unexpected panic breaking event" thing you talked about is 100% on point. You're going to have to apply some strong brakes, period lol. One time, it was so bad that I activated my car's ABS and ended up warping my brake rotors. Someone was smiling on me because I have no idea how I wasn't rear-ended
I think the solution is to have overhead digital speed limit signs getting active traffic feedback to post 20 35 30 as an example, letting motorists know the next limit interval to bring down speed before the accordion becomes too kinked. If everyone were spaced at 30 or 35 mph, rear ends might be dramatically reduced. If everyone realizes that 30 mph will get you through without brake lights, flow would improve. Overhead signs would flash yellow if one car or cars were going above the posted limits. Using Tesla and Waze technologies might be the answer.
What REALLY warped your rotors kid ??
I've " activated" ABS on several vehicles multiple times, and the rotors never warped.
Must be one of them mysteries we won't understand
@@Jake-yf9ky The Schuylkill is a car killer all the way Especially people from out of state with more lenient or no safety inspections are a big part of the accidents due to vehicle failure.
The road has rapid positive and negative grades of several hundred feet that are over 10% to 25% grades. Add that to the very rough asphalt, average speeds of 75+ (if you don't speed like that you will be tailgated or passed on the inside by Jersey Delaware, Pensatucky and NY drivers) and the rapid turns you're making and it can easily cause a cheap and old rotor to warp or break disabling the car.
There's probably 10-20 cars a day the Schuylkill disables due to blown tires, brake failures, boiling brake fluid, blown gaskets, transmission failure, and body work shaking off cars and causing damage. You'll see at least a few trim bits, bumpers, lights, &c sitting on the side of the road on the regular, or stuff actually falling off other cars while you drive it, and they clear it every night.
@@Jake-yf9ky what he really means to say is when he was going quite fast "following 2inches behind the bumper of the guy in front of him down 76..." that he burnt up his already degraded break pads and started grinding the calipers in to the cars rotors and had to replace them all.
I cut my teeth driving that stretch as a new driver in the late 90's. As a small town kid driving to the jersey shore it was intimidating, but it definitely prepared me for city life in my adult life. You conquer that road you can handle any road in the US
I recently retired after driving this horrible highway every working day for over twenty years, on my way from the Philly suburbs to my office in New Jersey. It had gotten worse and worse over that period. I myself was rear ended on my regular commute home and pushed into the car in front of me, so I had both rear end and front end damage. That was the result of one of those sudden stoppages and a probably inattentive or distracted driver. I was somewhat amused by the fact that the guy who rear ended my Acura was in a Mercedes and the car I was shoved into was an Audi, so it was a very upscale accident. Fortunately, no one was injured, but it shut down one of the three lanes for a bit and continued to cause a gaper delay (my favorite kind) for awhile. The thing I miss the least in retirement is my daily commute and the part of that commute I miss the least is the Sure Kill expressway- which BTW continues to be potholed and rutted. (Also, look up the correct pronunciation of Manyunck before your next video on the region).
As a truck driver, 90% of the country is stuck in time lol
I can't think of any American city where the traffic and infrastructure isn't obviously just awful. So much so, it seems ridiculous to call any "the worst in the country." It is ALL "the cost of doing business" in every country as populations and the number of vehicles have only grown. Sadly, the pain of expanding and modifying these massive, ongoing projects only make things worse for years at a time. My advice, live closer to work, work closer to home, or take a bike or the bus, but forget about complaining YOUR commute is the worst in the country as it will fall mostly on deaf ears. Bad drivers are everywhere. We can only change ourselves.
I agree, I despise having to drive through Philadelphia
Like two lanes on 95 in South Carolina?
I’ve grown up in the area and it’s ALWAYS a nightmare, I try and take public transportation whenever I can
Drivers in Pennsylvania are dangerous. You'll find some cars traveling at 40mph, while others are going 90. Tailgating is normal, even at high speeds, and drivers lane change without directionals. If you use a directional, someone will race forward to block you. I saw one man with a book on his steering wheel. He was reading it as he drove.
no u have the entitled going slow in the left impeding vs ppl that have to get to work wondering what the are doing
Yep they think slow lane is for speeding even when it's two lanes honestly don't understand why it's only two lanes with they way Pennsylvania drives they need four to be blunt
@@phillyracer83 I've lived in PA almost half my life and worked in Philly for years. Yes, there are slow drivers in the fast lane but there are also high speed tailgaters in the slow lane who seem to try to push them out of the way instead of passing like normal people do.
@@kimberlainodriscoll4781 if someone is in left doing 30 and someone in the right doing 35 slightly passing yes someone is going to get behind the faster car . Because the ahole in the left won't move over and many tend to drive side by side oblivious .. its even worse for me since I drive rigs on all the area highways daily
PA isn't really that bad imo. Philly is -- Philly drivers are terrifying and lawless. But the rest of the state is pretty mild in my experience, compared to other nearby states. Worse than Ohio, better than Maryland or NJ.
Commuted on this nightmare daily for about two years until going remote recently. The double decker option is a great one imo. No matter the time of day on i-76, you can guarantee you will come to a complete stop and enjoy some traffic - a great time to inspect your tires for any flats from all the potholes you'll be plowing through.
It's KILL or be "SURE-KILLED"!!!
What makes it all the more egregious is that, according to my late father, the Schuylkill Expressway exceeded its designed capacity from the day it opened! It's baffling how not much has been done over the 6-7 decades of its existence that has a real effect on the highway conditions.
Pennsylvania used to have a famous railroad. The idea of making everyone drive cars to get into large cities like Philadelphia was flawed to begin with. You just can't build roads wide enough to ever make it practical.
@@ElmerCat
not true.
phoenix arizona has modern roadways and freeways for the majority of its city, and has long been off the top 50 most congested places to live.
and you can't build roads wide enough yes, but there is a such thing as tunneling and going up by building double, triple and quad deck freeways that are unpopular but do help with the problems. also there is a such thing as providing alternatives but i do know how you feel bout that so its fun to point that out.
Apparently the surekill was over congested at 6 months & the designer committed suicide
@@louish5228 thats crazy. maybe they should've never built it?
@@Zeakthecat sorry Kermit, the geography makes that a non starter. The second deck idea was Pie in the Sky idea from the get-go. You're not moving things like railroad lines, a major river, Solid Rock.
Roosevelt Boulevard (US-1) in Philadelphia is also very dangerous and sucks.
it contains two of the most dangerous intersections in the US.
It's gotten very slightly better with the speed cameras, because at least now it's not a 75 mph death trap, just a 40 mph death trap.
One of the most dangerous roads in the country.
As someone who lives in Jersey who used to travel on the schuykill expressway everyday for work, it’s horrible. Especially traveling home after work (before 6:15am it’s not so bad). On Friday’s during the summer, I would drive completely out of my way by taking the PA turnpike to the NJ turnpike, which would add an additional 20 minutes to my commute, just so I wouldn’t have to sit in traffic on the schuykill.
Congrats on pronouncing Schuylkill correctly. 😊 You are absolutely correct about I-76. I was always grateful to have safe trips when driving it. When driving it, I thought about being the safest I could be, because that is the only variable I could control. I live in New Jersey, now, in one of those Townships you mentioned in your NJ video. You can definitely see a difference in road quality and manageability when driving in NJ. Safe travels!
I hope you one day do a video on the Roosevelt boulevard, which is considered to be one of the most dangerous roads in the country. I wish septa would build a subway extension to help alleviate the congestion and tragedies on RB.
Facts septa needs to build it 💯
I’ve seen a video I forgot who channel it was . But the abandoned subway tunnels showed they we’re supposed to make an subway for the bully
That’s a must,the boulevard is arguably the worst and most dangerous roadways in the country …not only for drivers but even more so for pedestrians…trying to cross is basically tempting fate, and it’s getting worse every day…
I always thought digging the express lanes into a tunnel under the local lanes and making twelve lanes each way. Though you got admit driving the Blvd, switching inner to outerlanes with a row of tree in between sure is exciting
Ah, the “Bully.” Great memories, though.
I think this is making me homesick :P
The Schuykill is a nightmare: The left exit at City Line; The exit for Girard Ave that backs up trafffic for miles on a saturday when people are going to the zoo; The road can't be expanded becuase it cuts through a rock cliffs; the dreaded conshohocken curve; the narrrow lines with trucks a whisker away at 70 mph; it is just one nightmare after another.
I’m a trucker, have driven on there frequently, and can confirm that too many of my fellow truckers ignore safety when navigating that route.
@@mumblesbadly7708 Am a trucker also. I avoid that route at all costs. I won't go on it. I'd rather use 476 to 95 or vice versa.
Very well done video with interesting graphs, statistics, and visual aids. Good job brother
finally a video that properly captures the pure rage I feel in my heart every time I think about driving on 76
The 1967 song "Expressway (To Your Heart)" by The Soul Survivors was inspired by the Schuylkill. Fifty-six years later it's still "much too crowded". I remember there being traffic jams even on Saturday afternoons when I would drive back to NJ from Manayunk. I think there's a spot where it whittles down to 2 lanes from 4 in a pretty short length of road.
I grew up near Philly, and the Surekill was part of life as far as visiting my mom's relatives outside of Harrisburg. The best thing I can say about it is that, when I would visit my parents for Christmas, the view of the Art Museum and Center City meant I was soon there!
Lived there in the 80s. I always heard it as slowkill expressway
I currently live in Philly and I live in the more eastern part of the city away from i-76; it's that bad?
A big piece of its history that you missed: The road was completely closed and rebuilt in the late 80’s, reopening in the fall of 1989. It was already closed for quite a while when I started at Villanova a year before.
Speaking of which, You might want to also study the history of the Blue Route (I476 from PA Turnpike in Plymouth Meeting to I95 near Ridley Park. Construction started in 1956 and the road finally opened to Traffic in December of 1991. That’s 35 years to complete a 23 mile long road.Mostly NIMBYs fighting it
I do not recall it ever being closed .
It's a highway through some very pricy real estate. Of course you're going to get opposition.
Wrong it was never closed I drove that road to work every day for 20 years starting in 1984. It was reduced to one lane in each direction
I remember being on my learner’s permit, going on the Schuylkill with my dad. I’ll never forget he told me, “Chris, all those defensive driving techniques you’ve been learning? Forget them.”
Growing up in the area, driving 76 into the city was the best for driving practice and gaining experience. Sad to not hear about the infamous Conshohocken curve and just how weather makes this a deadly road in its own right.
Bob Kelly woulda mentioned it 😂
As a Philadelphia native, we should all know that the Schuylkill can't be expanded in the city. There is 30th St Station on one side, the Zoo, MLK Drive, Fairmount Park and the farther west you drive all those Suburbs don't want to give up land.
This comment should be pinned!
The way 76 and 95 interchange has always been mind boggling to me. Great video once again Mike!
My buddy and I were driving the Schuylkill back in the late 80's, at around 130am. We figured there would be no delay. We ran into construction back ups and a traffic jam at that hour. When we were finally leaving the construction area, and could see we were finally home free, I rolled down my window and yelled to the workers, "BOY HAVE YOU GOT THIS F*CKED UP!" They immediately yelled back, "F*CK YOU!". That at least made us feel good after a nightmare ride.
F*ck you is code for “welcome to Philly!” 😂😂😂
Omg 😂😂😂
@@Hellamoody I mean that in the best possible way!
i95 in Miami feels worse imo
My disastrous experience with the Sure kill expressway was in 1977. A business trip with a coworker, a strange poorly handling rental car, pouring rain at night, and construction for miles, but somehow we made it out to King of Prussia unscathed! I’ll Never forget that trip and swore to never drive it again.
Schulkill expressway. The only road you can drive and never leave the scene of an accident . Also called, The Sure Kill Expressway. I drove it everyday 1971- 73. What an experience.
I live in Philly and don't own a car (but I do have a motorcycle and I do lane split). If I'm headed in the direction of the Schuylkill Expressway I will try to take transit if possible. It's most annoying when I head towards points west of the city that don't have good transit access such as West Chester. The only actual solution would be more transit because more lanes just make the problem worse.
Great video! I used to drive from South Philly to Fort Washington, PA for work. Completely brutal ride if I was on 76. I started taking the Broad Street Train (Septa) to Olney in North Philly. I would pick up my car from there and drive back roads for 20 minutes to get to work. I’d leave my car at Olney all week. That definitely improved my commute.
Oh man, I've lived in this area (South Jersey) for my whole life and have driven on this road to Philly countless times. It never gets any easier. It's stressful every. single. time.
I woud sooner drive the Jersey Turnpike at exit 10 on a Friday afternoon than deal with the Schuykill.
same, camden county resident.
Indeed
Lived in Philadelphia from birth to 2011. I have driven the Schuylkill Expressway hundreds of times, and had a car totaling rear end hit on it. I felt it was the worst roadway to drive, but the most convenient road to get me to certain destinations. I would take public transportation (SEPTA) to Center City or the suburbs to avoid the expressway and traffic. Live in SC in the upstate now, and the highways are so much better. I just wish they would finish the 10 year project on I-85 now.
I got sent to coatesville for work just before Covid happened. I would try to go to Philly every chance I got during that period, but one thing I learned really quick was it was a lot better to take the Septa train into town. I just wish they had more trains running. The wait times between trains could take forever. And I remember one time taking the train back, the train would not go all the way to the depot I left from because it was too late at night, leaving me stranded. I had to call my partner from work and have him pick me up. The Septa has a lot of room for improvement too.
I'm so glad you posted this! I drove semis through there and it is the most narrow,congested,uncomfortable interstate in the nation. I feel sorry the commuters that have to drive on it the winter months.
i drive semi trucks daily on 76 ...its not that bad at all ..the only bad part is ppl in the left doing 20 below
I drove this portion of i76 for the 1st time last week. In a 18 wheeler at that. I hope I don't have to see it again anytime soon. The potholes, short merge lanes, and wild drivers was insane.
I think they are wild too. They also drive too fast.
Born and raised in Philly and avoided this road whenever possible. I was surprised you didn’t mention the Conshohocken curve. I’d you’re driving in the morning in early spring when you’re driving on the curve you’re suddenly blinded for about a second or two. A lot of accidents happen there.
At one time it was called "The Lee Tire Curve." I surprised nobody mentioned seeing the television towers in Roxborough in the west. They are the landmarks of North West Philadelphia.
Been a lifetime Philly Resident since 1976 and I cannot agree with you more regarding the Schuykill Expressway... great job!!!
My brother lived in Philadelphia a few decades ago, and called it the Sure Kill DISTRESSway! Thanks for the very well thought-out video. I'm thankful that I never had to drive on that road during rush hour. Had to take it to get to the Philadelphia Zoo, though!
I came here to the comments just to find one calling it the Surekill Distressway. I'm not disappointed
Just wanted to add onto this. I’ve driven to Philadelphia before but I live in western PA and Pittsburgh has very similar if not WORSE roads going into the city, left lane exits everywhere, SUPER short exits onto the highway from the city and vice versa and really sharp curves and no one follows the necessary speed limits for people to properly merge. Honestly while I agree with the video I found driving to Phili and through Phili much easier than Pittsburgh. The entire city of Pittsburgh is designed as if everything was an afterthought. Me and my girlfriend joke it’s the city of “if you know you know!” You need to drive in pittsburgh regularly to even begin to comprehend how to get around, maps app helps but even if gets it wrong.
Owen Falvo, I was born and brought up in Philly, and after my daughter moved to Pittsburgh to work at Pitt, I visited often. She lived in Highland Park, so I had an interesting time learning how to get around the Burgh. In defense of Pittsburgh, you guys have mountains to get around and over. Philly has no such impediments!
Yahoo for school! Yahoo for me!
@@MaxBeta you can never run away
My beloved home of Pittsburgh. Unofficial motto: "You can't get there from here."
Amazing how you did such an excellent job on this being from out of town! You didn't miss a thing! Well done!
Well, he pronounced Manayunk wrong. Lol. It's Man-i-yunk, not My-a-noook.
@@russellevans2446 I know! That's when I was SURE he wasn't a local. 🤣
Oh my gosh... all of your points are spot on!! It is simply mind boggling how many countless hours have been lost and wasted sitting stuck on this stretch of roadway over the years. A tree trimming crew anyplace along either side of 76 can cause hours of backup just to offer one of many examples. One has to be so vigilant to watch the traffic ahead of you as you never know when you will have to slam on the brakes. Also, the condition of the road surface is deplorable.
The worst part if you're not familiar is where two lanes form one, other than that it's the drivers in the area.
Great video! Also, just a heads up for future videos, everyone in PA pronounces the "DOT" in PennDOT as it's pronounced in "polka dot".
The worst part for me is the super short on ramps. It’s a Hail Mary just to merge when traffic is moving fast - I almost prefer when traffic is backed up😅
A lot of the on- ramps in Texas are really short. I noticed a lot of on-ramps on the NY parkways are super short. The on-ramps on I-165 in KY are super short (and quite dangerous), and have not been updated to Interstate standards even though that roadway just became an Interstate!!!
Give us more
As a truck driver I hated going through that area , because it was always jammed packed in that area . And the left side exit is terrible, I have seen a few accidents in that area as well .
Ahh the “Sure Kill Crawl Way”. We used to drive into downtown Philly on Thanksgiving-night. I was amazed at the amount of traffic at 11:00 pm - 12AM heading to our mid-town hotel.
This whole video gave me flashbacks of when my family would drive from here in the Pittsburgh area to Cape May for vacation. This expressway was an absolute PAIN to go through. If it's not the stuffy traffic, it's reckless drivers and potholes. If it's not that, it's something else. Hopefully they fix it soon.
Back in the Eighties the original design was published in the local newspapers, the original design was 3 lanes for each direction plus a unique two lane center section that was designed for emergency vehicles use and could as be used (via gates every half mile) to divert traffic into this center lane so traffic could go around trouble spots or accidents. The design was inspired but would require enormous amounts of space and the local communities fought it and we have the expressway as it is. Also known as the world’s largest parking lot.
The rich people fought it just like 476 the old money establishment didn’t want 6 lanes hence the daily backup when it’s goes from 3 southbound lanes to 2 lanes
@@scrumthebum2451 Adding lanes to highways doesn't reduce traffic loads or delays (because more people just start driving and it snaps back to equilibrium). The only real way to reduce congestion is expanding light rail transit and adding a congestion charge for cars entering/leaving the 10 mile zone.
@@miramavensub
You’re obviously not from Philly or the north western burbs. It’s the only way to get into Philly from the west unless you want to go the turnpike and rt 1 & that’s 20 miles longer and takes longer than just going through the traffic. When they opened up 476 it was supposed to take the load off 76 but so many people use it that it also takes longer because southbound goes from 3 lanes to 2 lanes. I drove the road to and from work for 20 years just to get in a truck and drive it to get to my deliveries. If you’re not from around here you shouldn’t comment
What a great video; I loved the commentary!
Excellent video. My own words can't express how horrible this road is to drive on. The best way to convey these emotions is to direct you to the episode of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia called "Mac and Dennis move to the suburbs"
All my fellow Pittsburghers, we have one, Philly’s roads are more dangerous. Obviously, they’ve never had to drive through three tunnels, to get over one hill and one river, without taking three hours. Drive safe everyone.
This video was recommended to me by youtube and I'm happy it was, you summed up the schuylkill expressway experience very well and the video was well edited! I'm a subscriber now. Keep it up brother
I used to drive 76 regularly from the time I started driving in 98 til I moved to S. Fl in 2015...and this upload couldn't be more on point.
As someone that lives in the Philly area and uses the Sure-kill often, kudos on a fantastic representation of this monster. I’m sure someone also mentioned the proper pronunciation of Manayunk is Manny-unk. Great video.
I have been driving 45 incident-free years; nearly half of them as an advanced driver. Never have I discovered a 'Dangerous Road', only inattentive, unskilled, and impatient drivers...
Learn to drive people, and to have consideration for those around you.
The Golden Rule is to drive at a speed suited to the conditions and always be able to stop in the distance you can see to be clear. It really is that simple folks.
Unfortunately, people need to be motivated to adopt those driving practices.. and they aren't, because it would conflict with their main motivation.. getting from a to b in the shortest amount of time. This motivation drives their behavior every single day, and their driving habits become ingrained. They also see everyone else driving that way and it becomes contagious.. they tailgate out of habit, but also to ensure that no one else gets in front of them and costs them 1 or 2 seconds each time. As a truck driver, I have seen this risky behavior for years, and the crashes that result from it. I sit in the right lane all day and see wave after wave of tailgating 4 wheelers passing me by.. including some truck drivers dangerously riding the bumpers of the cars and trucks ahead of them..
The "cautious driver" exists, but they are in the minority. I sometimes think humans shouldn't be driving at all and that self driving vehicles will have to take over if we are ever to stop the carnage and destruction of property out on the roads. One day humans will look back at this era and be amazed by it.. and they'll consider us uncivilized for accepting it all.
@@MK-fc2hn Well said, and I am in agreement with every word. Driving is seen as a right, and whilst skills can be taught, it seems that selfish attitudes run deep and only seem to be getting worse. I shudder at the thought of self drive - some of the videos of fails are truly terrifying - but when/if it is ever successfully implemented it will certainly go a long way in reducing self-inflicted injuries and death on our roads.
@@MK-fc2hn Amen. Number of mentions on here about 70mph speed. The road was never designed for that and now especially with todays congestion it's just plain stupid.
I am a Philadelphian, and Uber driver in the area. I have and continue to drive 76 almost every day. Eastbound = seeing the city skyline, not Westbound. :-P Also, Manayunk is pronounced Man-ah-yunk (rhymes with junk) One major issue is that they do not have the space to expand to more lanes or wider lanes. As a preference I avoid 76 as much as possible as there are parallel routes to 76. While I understand your suggestions. Some of which are just not practical or able to be budgetted. Will we see improvements? Who knows, 76 has been looked at as ways to improve for 30+ years.
There are great views westbound, if you're coming from the Walt Whitman Bridge or Sports Complex headed westbound
I kept laughing at the pronunciation of manayunk 😂
Thanks, I came to comment about how he pronounced Manayunk as well.
@@fieradi I noticed that too. 😅
I’m so used to driving these roads living in the Philly area since 2017 that I barely even consider how bad the highway construction actually is lmao but the congestion is definitely terrible on weekends and evenings … crashes are common and it makes so much sense why now! Great video.
I was stuck on the other side of that pileup in 2015. The issue was a hill and curve leading to a very high bridge. An ice storm basically created a rink on that bridge, and traffic could not react coming up on the initial accident. We sat for about five hours until they finally let traffic exit prior to the bridge.
Regarding your last question regarding public transit - Philly commuters do use septa. The regional rail network is extensive and lots of people use it to get to and from work. If you get on a train at 5 pm from 30th street heading towards the suburbs, it is shoulder to shoulder. That said, septa cut frequencies during the pandemic and havent made a plan to restore them, making catching a train off-peak more of a hassle. I'm skeptical that the parking garage in conshohocken will get people off 76 to take the train instead. A recent septa study showed that most people taking regional trains walk or take other public transit to their stations, so why would those signs get people driving to change their habits?
I lived in Philadelphia 24 years ago when they completely rebuilt the Schuylkill Expy. (1983-1986). They widened it and put breakdown shoulders where they could, which wasn't much, and the surface was much better for a while. I was in college, and had a part time gig driving cabs and limos on the Schuylkill regularly, but that was 4 decades ago.
BTW, @ 6:30 it's Man-eee-YUNK.
Monoyoonk,, yeah it’s pronounced manny yunk
As a truck driver I have traversed the Schuylkill Expressway for nearly 50 years, now retired. When running this route I always planned to pass during the morning hours between midnight and 4am. This made it a breeze, even if construction was going on. Those times when I had to go through daytime, I would do it off peak traffic, namely to avoid the 2 rush hours. I know this is not a strategy commuters can use but when on the rare occasions I was in peak traffic times, I found that patience was the best virtue and road courtesy the best way to handle it. BTW, I was always fascinated by this expressway and views from it. It can be very exciting and beautiful ride.
Good report Mike!
Drove this highway several times for vacation including at 3am. Got lost and so easy to miss your exit. Wasnt bad when I drove it, but I could tell there are times when the road is a mess.
I got a job in King of Prussia coming from Warrington and I got lost and missed my exit the whole first week of driving in. 😂 My new boss was very understanding of what I was going through, thankfully.
I live near the terminus of 76 in King of Prussia. On the thankfully few days I have to travel to Philadelphia, I will use any other road if possible than that horrible excuse for a highway.
There's a reason why city drivers generally drive as if they don't care - because they have to. If you try to drive on 76 as if you are SUPPOSED to drive, you will never, ever get to your exit. You have to essentially cut people off with inches to spare, avoid the potholes, and generally drive like an ass.
And the sad part is, none of the roadways around Philly are really all that much better.
I now live in Fort Wayne, IN which is the most sedate city driving on the planet. When I take the Dan Ryan in Chicago, I switch into what I call "Philly Mode': take it or die. Delaware Valley driving is no joke.
Hey Mike, great video! I was wondering if you’re ever going to discuss “induced demand” that comes from widening highways, in addition to how transit lines can decrease traffic on highways, thanks!
I plan to eventually. I know it's a controversial topic and and I have some views on it that might not align with the majority opinion I've seen online. So I'll probably wait until the channel grows a bit larger before tackling that one.
@@MileageMike485 good point. I live in the New Jersey suburbs of NYC so I’ve seen my fair share of efficient transit lines, but Ive heard that in the south/Midwest they’re more controversial? Which surprised me because everyone from minimum wage workers to finance professionals uses the NJtransit rail service, and loves it! I wouldn’t be able to afford to get to work if I had to drive, so I’m glad transit is an option where I live!
@@johnmckiernan1177 lmao literally on it rn
@@MileageMike485 Be careful, or you may recieve a response from Alan Fischer, he chewed Economics Explained not too long ago after he made his own video on induced demand.
@@dontgetlost4078 haha, not worried about anyone’s response. I’m already well aware of their talking points and the flaws in them. Not that any of guys are completely wrong, there are just some key things that they miss in the discussion. It’ll be fun when the time comes.
What's crazy is that more lanes won't fix the problem. Atlanta, LA, and Houston have 10 lanes that get backed up constantly.
Functional public transit or a completely new highway route would need to be created.
76 is emblematic of the broader transit issue in the Philly area. Both Penndot and SEPTA are incapable of successfully implementing any changes they try to make. The proposed changes to 76 as well as 2-3 new Septa lines that have been half developed and scrapped really compound to make traveling in Philly a pain sometimes
Great video! Very thorough and you covered a lot. But you really murdered the pronunciation of Manayunk! LOL. Locally, it's Manny-yunk. The "a" in manny is like the "a" in "and", and "yunk" rhymes with "trunk." (I'm sure that a commenter will disagree with me.) But you got "Schuykill" down perfectly. For former Rep. Perzel, the accent is on the last syllable. It's hard to believe, but when the Schuylkill Expressway first opened, there weren't any dividers or barriers between the opposing lanes! Crashes with fatalities were routine, so they finally installed dividing barriers. I live in Philly, and use SEPTA regularly, but there are times when I have to drive on the Schuylkill/I-76. SEPTA bus service to the King off Prussia area from Center City is very slow. It's gets caught in the same traffic as the cars. And as the only major connector to the Westbound PA Turnpike and Northbound PA Turnpike -I-476- from most of Philly, there are times when drivers have no choice but to use the Schuylkill. SEPTA's planned rail extension to King Of Prussia from the Norristown High Speed line is now officially dead. The electronic speed limit signs that you mentioned seem to be fully installed, and they are helpful, as they let you know of slowdowns up ahead.
The pot holes are not just an issue on 76, but all the Philadephia region and that is a PennDot issue - Too much traffic, too little $ too few crews, too much road, and four seasons of hot, cold, snow, rain, baking heat, and old engineering are all key factors to poor roads.
rather a large amount of $ mismanaged.
Originally from western PA but went to school in Philly. You just brought back a lot of PTSD of hours stuck on the Schuylkill trying to get to Center City. At least Boathouse Row is nice too look at when you eventually get there.
Grew up just across the line outside of Philly in a western suburb and spent the first four decades of my life there. Worked in Philly, dated a girl in South Jersey and drove it hundreds and hundreds of times. Left for flyover country in the mid 90s. We called it the “Sure Kill” in the 60s. Thank you for this post. The videos brought back so many memories. Sorry you Philly folks still have to deal with it. Sounds like it hasn’t changed since I left thirty years ago.
Should do a vid about the I-76/42/295 interchange in NJ
The views are priceless headed towards Route 1 from I-676. Reminds me of Harlem River Drive with trucks. Those complaints are valid.
I used to commute to Bala Cynwyd every weekday for work, so I was on that thing from Vine St Expressway to City Ave exit. It was a short, but brutal trip, especially when there were accidents or events ALL the way in South Philly or even Camden on the way home, could be an hour, hour and a half. With no traffic (some summer days or when I worked late), it was not even 15 minutes. Glad I'm 100% remote now. That highway shaved years off my life from stress alone.
My Dad always called it the "Sure Kill Expressway" when I started driving I understood why. Once in a great while If you hit it at just the right time late at night or early morning in a cool car with zero traffic its actually really really fun to drive with a great view of the city.....at rush hour its a horrible disaster