Access
In 2005, the PTC restricted access to the abandoned turnpike by demolishing an overpass over U.S. Route 30 (US 30) in Breezewood and an overpass on Pump Station Road near the site of the old Cove Valley Travel Plaza. The demolition of the overpasses removed the liability and expense of repairing the aging bridges, marked the property lines between the public and the PTC-owned sections of the property, and prevented motorized vehicles from easily entering the abandoned turnpike.
The original plans for the removal included an access road, but somewhere along the way, it was removed and not known to Pike 2 Bike officials until it was too late. As of 2012, the Friends of the Pike 2 Bike are seeking to obtain grants that will allow the building of an access road and to rebuild on it the last remaining original toll booth, which was obtained in 2006. The toll booth will be used to collect a parking donation that will be used to pay for maintenance. An access road was built in the late 2000s on the PTC-owned side of the former Pump Station Road overpass, making the 3.5-mile (5.6 km) section still owned by the PTC a de facto access road to the active turnpike in itself; however, like other access roads along the turnpike, it is off-limits to the public and is only used by the PTC or Pennsylvania State Police.
There are three access points to the public section of the abandoned highway:
- The intersection of Tannery Road and US 30 in Breezewood sits near the western end of the turnpike, which can be reached by climbing a small hill. Parking is available in front of the orange snow fence at the bottom of the hill. Rays Hill Tunnel lies about two miles east of this point.
- A parking lot exists on the trail at the eastern end of the turnpike off Pump Station Road north of US 30; the entrance is a service road just south of where a turnpike overpass was removed in 2005. This access point lies near the site of the former Cove Valley Travel Plaza and about one mile east of the Sideling Hill Tunnel.
- A forest service path called Oregon Road leaves US Route 30 at that highway's intersection with Pennsylvania Route 915 in the village of Crystal Spring and runs north for several miles before reconnecting with PA 915 near Valley-Hi. Oregon Road runs parallel and adjacent to the abandoned highway for much of its length, and several clearings in the forest allow for parking and access to the road. These access points lie between the two tunnels: Rays Hill is about three miles west and Sideling Hill is about two miles east.
Read more about this topic: Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike
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