Route Description
The Schuylkill Expressway begins at the Valley Forge Interchange of the Pennsylvania Turnpike in King of Prussia. The Interstate 76 designation continues west on the Turnpike from this point, while the Turnpike from this point east is designated Interstate 276. Immediately southeast of the interchange, the expressway interchanges with U.S. Route 202, U.S. Route 422, and the King of Prussia Mall. It continues eastward though Upper Merion, interchanging with Pennsylvania Route 320 in Gulph Mills. It continues towards Conshohocken, where it interchanges with Interstate 476 and Pennsylvania Route 23.
The highway then begins to run along a narrow cliff-top route high above its namesake Schuylkill River, which it parallels from this point. This section of the highway is very prone to flooding and mudslides during periods of heavy rain, due to water runoff from the cliffs above. It is not uncommon to see this section of the highway closed as a result.
East of Conshohocken at about mile marker 331, it curves sharply southeast in a 90-degree turn locally known as the "Conshohocken Curve", which has a history of traffic congestion and dangerous conditions. The western terminus of the Ten Mile Loop was to be located near this area.
Continuing southeast, interchanges provide access to the Main Line community of Gladwyne and the Philadelphia neighborhood of Manayunk.
The expressway then enters the city of Philadelphia, interchanging with City Avenue (US Route 1); US-1 briefly overlaps with the expressway at this point. Entering Fairmount Park, U.S. 1 splits off as the Roosevelt Expressway to the northeast. The Schuylkill Expressway continues south through the park towards Center City, with Boathouse Row on the opposite bank of the river. At the southern end of the park, the Vine Street Expressway (Interstate 676) splits off to the east.
The road then dips down below street level, running immediately adjacent to the river on the eastern edge of University City. This section is frequently the most congested because it is at its closest point to Center City, and it is only two lanes wide in each direction, with a few left lane exits and entrances. The road is so narrow because it is squeezed between the River and a large set of passenger railroad tracks. At this narrow point are Amtrak/SEPTA 30th Street Station, Cira Centre, the city's former main Post Office facility, and streets leading to the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University to the west, and Center City Philadelphia to the east. It then crosses the river and skirts the eastern edge of the Philadelphia Gas Works, until its interchange with Pennsylvania Route 291 and Oregon Avenue. South of the interchange, the expressway curves sharply east. It interchanges with Pennsylvania Route 611 and Interstate 95, and crosses the Delaware River on the Walt Whitman Bridge into New Jersey.
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