History
U.S. Route 119 was originally signed in 1926. Until 1927 it ran from West Virginia to New York. Originally, instead of ending a US 219 in Sandy Township, it followed US 219's current alignment for 44 miles (71 km) north to Wilcox. It then followed the present-day PA 321 to Kane where it ran concurrent to US 6 to Smethport, 26 miles (42 km) to the northeast. In Smethport, US 119 travelled the current alignment of PA 46 to Bradford where it turned north to New York via US 219's current alignment. In 1927, US 119 terminated at its current location south of DuBois.
In the 1940s and 1950s, the highway was widened in several places, the most notable include: a 1940 widening from New Stanton to Greensburg; a 1948 widening in Connellsville; a 1956 widening in Uniontown. In 1965, an expressway was completed from PA 819 to PA 31, and in 1966, it was completed from Pennsville to PA 819. This expressway runs between Mount Pleasant and Scottdale.
In 1972, the Uniontown (started in 1971) and Indiana (started in 1969) bypasses were completed. In 1978 an expressway from PA 31 to the PA 66 interchange was completed, which finished the current 11-mile (18 km) expressway from Pennsville to the Pennsylvania Turnpike. In 1993 an expressway from the southern end of the Uniontown bypass to Big Six Road in Georges Township was built parallel to US 119. This is currently part of PA 43 but is the only free section of the Mon-Fayette Expressway. In 2000, US 119 was widened along its concurrency with US 22 in Westmoreland County. Many of the latest improvements have been controversial, but improvements continue to be made.
Read more about this topic: U.S. Route 119 In Pennsylvania
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