While travelling on the I-76, we encounter the Pennsylvania turnpike, an engineering master piece. Started in 1940, the turnpike accommodates the travel needs of millions of drivers apart from the beautiful scenic drive. The tunnels and the nature make the drive interesting while the darkness and poor turn signs make night drive risky.
The Pennsylvania turnpike is expanded to over five hundred miles and offers a unique driving experience. The natural mountains, terrains, fields, and rocks give the drivers a wonderful view. The roads and turns seem like engulfing the car and consuming you sometimes. At times, you may feel that the turn is endless. The falling rock symbols literally mean and seem that the rocks may fall down on the car. Further, the trees on either side of the road grow diagonally according to the terrain. The trees seem like they are cover the road and may fall any time. At night, when you see a Fog symbol, you must not be surprised to see the fog immediately due to the height of the mountains. 🙂
The Allegheny mountains add to the beauty of the state with extensive nature life of plants and animals. The plateaus, rivers, lakes, mountains, forests, and the trees make it a must travel destination for the state visitors. The PA turnpike through the mountains leave you wondering about the engineering expertise and skill with which the roads and tunnels are built.
While it may be tedious for the drivers to concentrate on the road due to the turns. The turns are large and close that by the time the driver recovers from a turn another turn is awaiting ahead. I must the say the tolls and service plazas in between are in tact. But, the road symbols, turn signals, the marking beacons on the road, the glowing flashlights on the sides are poorly maintained. I think there are too many turns and hence the maintenance people left it to the fate of the drivers about the safety.
The country song ‘Pennsylvania Turnpike, I Love You‘ composed by Vaughn Horton in the 1970s is good listening and is funny. 🙂 Visit the official website for travel times, road conditions, exits, service plazas, gas stations, and other information before travelling the turnpike. Note that the state government has made the turnpike a text-free zone.