Pennsylvania Route 61

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PA Route 61
Length:	76 mi[1] (122 km)
Formed:	1963
South end:	US 222 BUS in Reading
Major junctions:	I-78 near Hamburg I-81 in Frackville
North end:	US 11/15 in Shamokin Dam
Counties:	Berks, Schuylkill, Columbia, Northumberland, Snyder
Pennsylvania State Routes < PA 60 US 62 > Legislative

Pennsylvania Route 61 is a state highway in southeast Pennsylvania, covering a distance of 76 miles (122 kilometres). It runs from U.S. Route 222 Business in Reading to U.S. Route 11 and U.S. Route 15 in Shamokin Dam. PA 61 meets up with Pennsylvania Route 54 in Ashland and these highways split just outside of Ashland. PA 54 goes towards Mount Carmel and PA 61 heads towards Centralia.

PA 61 was assigned in 1963, comprising the section of the decommissioned U.S. Route 122 from Sunbury to Reading.

Contents 1 Route description 1.1 Berks County 1.2 Schuylkill County 1.3 Columbia County 1.4 Northumberland and Snyder Counties 2 Major intersections 3 History 3.1 Centralia Branch of PA 54/61 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Route description

[edit] Berks County

PA 61 begins at the intersection of Centre Avenue and North Fifth Street (US 222 Business) in downtown Reading, Berks County. The first three blocks of Centre Avenue are restricted to northbound travel, forcing PA 61 southbound to take the southbound-only North Fourth Street to Greenwich Street to access US 222 Business. At Fourth Street, Centre Avenue becomes bi-directional, allowing the city street to carry both directions of PA 61. The road continues northward through the city, paralleling the Schuylkill River for a short distance prior to interchanging with Pennsylvania Route 12, the Warren Street Bypass, on the northern edge of Reading.

In the inner ring of suburbs surrounding Reading, PA 61 becomes the Pottsville Pike in Muhlenberg Township roughly two miles south of an interchange with U.S. Route 222 on the bank of the Schuylkill. On the opposite side of US 222, the surrounding of PA 61 changes rapidly, transitioning from tightly-packed suburbs to scattered communities. Near Leesport, three miles from US 222, PA 61 meets the western terminus of Pennsylvania Route 73. The route then passes through Leesport and begins to parallel the Schuylkill once more.

At Shoemakersville, the now-four lane, divided highway PA 61 breaks from the river and runs along the eastern edge of the borough, intersecting the northern terminus of Pennsylvania Route 662 near the center of town. In Hamburg, PA 61 and the Schuylkill River meet once more, with the Schuylkill passing under PA 61 just southwest of an overpass crossing the former routing of U.S. Route 22 into Hamburg. PA 61, which skirts the western edge of the borough, meets the current routing of US 22, concurrent here with Interstate 78, at a near-complete cloverleaf interchange due west of town.

North of I-78 and US 22, PA 61 takes a notably northwest routing as it passes over the Schuylkill again and enters the appropriately named Schuylkill County.

[edit] Schuylkill County

On the opposite bank of the Schuylkill, PA 61, now carrying the name Center Street, runs along the western foot of the Blue Mountain as it enters the small community of Port Clinton. Here, PA 61 separates from the Schuylkill once more as the river heads west from the borough while PA 61 follows the Little Schuylkill River north out of town. A mile from the northern edge of the borough, PA 61 passes over the Little Schuylkill, bringing about the northern terminus of Blue Mountain.

Past the mountain and its surrounding hills, PA 61 heads northwest and, eventually, due west through moderately level terrain, intersecting Pennsylvania Route 895 and running concurrent with the route near Deer Lake in West Brunswick Township before passing south of Orwigsburg on a bypass. Southwest of Orwigsburg, PA 61 intersects Pennsylvania Route 443, the main road through Orwigsburg. The two routes join westward to the borough of Schuylkill Haven, a short distance east of Cressona. Near the northern edge of town, PA 443 splits from PA 61, heading south into the heart of the community while PA 61 turns north and follows the now-split Schuylkill River into a valley straddling Second Mountain and Sharp Mountain.

Immediately after passing the northern edge of Sharp Mountain, PA 61 enters Pottsville, the largest community along PA 61 since its start in Reading. Just south of the town center, PA 61 intersects U.S. Route 209. North of US 209, PA 61, now named Claude A. Lord Boulevard, snakes through the heart of the community, passing along rows of houses and streets before entering a brief stretch of isolated land between Pottsville and neighboring St. Clair. Upon passing into St. Clair, PA 61, which used to enter St. Clair directly via West Russel Street and Second Street, bypasses the borough to the immediate west, merging with North Second Street north of St. Clair.

From St. Clair north, PA 61 follows the routing of Mill Creek through a series of hills and mountains, snaking along the river valley as it progresses onward. Roughly 1.5 miles from St. Clair, the route becomes a divided highway once more, retaining this status to an interchange with Interstate 81 south of Frackville. No longer in a river valley surrounded by hills, PA 61 enters the borough on South Lehigh Street, meeting the southern terminus of Pennsylvania Route 924 in the center. At PA 924, PA 61 turns west onto West Oak Street, following the road as it runs through the densely-populated community and into Butler Township.

Outside of Frackville, PA 61 passes through a relatively rural area, bypassing the Ashland Reservoir to the north and Ashland Mountain to the south, heading toward the community of Fountain Springs the entire way. West of Fountain Springs, PA 61 begins to turn northward once more and enters Ashland as it returns to a due north alignment.

As South Hoffman Boulevard, PA 61 passes over Mahanoy Creek prior to entering the heart of the borough. Five blocks north of the waterway, PA 61 meets Pennsylvania Route 54 near the eastern edge of town. PA 61 turns west onto Centre Street, joining with PA 54 through Ashland. Near the western border of the borough, PA 61 turns north onto North Memorial Boulevard, breaking from PA 54 and proceeding into Columbia County.

[edit] Columbia County

After crossing over the county line, PA 61 begins to curve to the northeast as it passes through a heavily rural area of eastern central Pennsylvania. Approximately three-quarters of a mile from the county line, a sharp turn deposits the four-lane PA 61 onto Byrnesville Road, a narrow two-lane road upgraded by PennDOT following the closure of a severely damaged mile-long stretch of PA 61 in 1994. After three-quarters of a mile, a clearing and an old, unmaintained street once known as Byrnesville is visible to the south of the road. Continuing northward, the road reconnects with the old alignment of PA 61 a short distance south of Centralia.

Like Byrnesville to the south, an underground mine fire has crippled Centralia, reducing its population to only 12 as of 2005. Signs of the town's past are evident all along PA 61, from streets and sidewalks leading away from PA 61 but seemingly heading nowhere to empty lots located throughout the town. In the center of the borough, PA 61 meets the southern terminus of Pennsylvania Route 42 at the junction of Locust Avenue and Centre Street. While PA 42 continues north on Locust Avenue, PA 61 turns west onto Centre Street, passing two all-but-barren streets before quietly exiting Centralia.

2.5 miles to the west, PA 61's brief stay in Columbia County comes to an end as the route enters Northumberland County.

[edit] Northumberland and Snyder Counties

A short distance west of the county line, PA 61 enters Mount Carmel on East Fifth Street. The route heads into the heart of the large community, turning north on Market Street before resuming its westward track on East Avenue, West Avenue and Poplar Street, the latter of which leads PA 61 out of Mount Carmel to the northeast. One mile from the borough, PA 61 meets PA 54 for the second time.

West of Mount Carmel in Coal Township, PA 61 meets the western terminus of Pennsylvania Route 901 via a rare rural interchange east of Shamokin. In Shamokin, the largest borough on the route since Pottsville, PA 61 meets the northern terminus of both Pennsylvania Route 125 and Pennsylvania Route 225. North of the borough in the town of the same name, PA 61, a four-lane highway once more, meets the southern terminus of Pennsylvania Route 487.

10 miles west of PA 487, the amount of development along PA 61 increases exponentially, transitioning from rural hills and land east of the Upper Augusta Township community of Oaklyn to densely-packed villages only one mile to the west in Hamilton, where PA 61 meets Pennsylvania Route 890. The increase in development continues as PA 61 enters the city of Sunbury and forms a concurrency with Pennsylvania Route 147 southward along the bank of the Susquehanna River. After three-quarters of a mile, the two routes split via a modified trumpet interchange, allowing PA 61 to access a bridge crossing the Susquehanna and terminate at an interchange with U.S. Route 11 and U.S. Route 15 in Shamokin Dam, Snyder County.

[edit] Major intersections

County	Location	Mile	Road(s)	Notes
Berks	Reading	0.0	US 222 BUS 5th Street
			PA 12 Warren Street Bypass	Interchange.
	Muhlenberg Township		US 222	Interchange.
	Ontelaunee Township		PA 73	Western terminus of PA 73.
	Shoemakersville		PA 662	Northern terminus of PA 662.
	Tilden Township		US 22 Old Route 22	Former routing of US 22.
			I-78/US 22 William Penn Highway	Exit 29 (I-78/US 22).
Schuylkill	West Brunswick Township		PA 895	Southern terminus of concurrency.
			PA 895	Northern terminus of concurrency.
	North Manheim Township		PA 443	Southern terminus of concurrency.
	Schuylkill Haven		PA 443	Northern terminus of concurrency.
			PA 183	Northern terminus of PA 183.
	Pottsville		US 209
	Frackville		I-81	Exit 124 (I-81).
			PA 924	Southern terminus of PA 924.
	Ashland		PA 54	Eastern terminus of concurrency.
			PA 54	Western terminus of concurrency.
Columbia	Centralia		PA 42	Southern terminus of PA 42.
Northumberland	Mount Carmel Township		PA 54
	Coal Township		PA 901	Interchange. Western terminus of PA 901.
	Shamokin		PA 125	Northern terminus of PA 125.
			PA 225	Northern terminus of PA 225.
	Shamokin Township		PA 487	Southern terminus of PA 487.
	Rockefeller Township		PA 890	Northern terminus of PA 890.
	Sunbury		PA 147	Eastern terminus of concurrency.
			PA 147	Western terminus of concurrency.
Snyder	Shamokin Dam		US 11/US 15

Legend
Crossing, no access	Concurrency termini	Decommissioned	Unconstructed	Closed

[edit] History

[edit] Centralia Branch of PA 54/61

Because of the coal mine fire in Centralia, the original branch of Routes 54 and 61, which went from Centralia to Ashland, has been permanently closed because the road has severely opened up and buckled extensively. This branch was repaired in 1983 for $500,000; then in 1992 it was deemed too expensive to repair again. In 1994, the branch was permanently closed.

In 1999, Byrnesville Road (Quadrant Route 2002), located directly south of the closed section of PA 61, was upgraded and now carries PA 61, bypassing the section of PA 61 which was damaged by the underground mine fire in Centralia.

PA 54 used to run concurrent with PA 61 through Centralia but was rerouted along Pennsylvania Route 901 and three quadrant routes in 1999, completely bypassing Centralia. Nowadays, only PA 61 goes through Centralia while PA 54 now goes directly from Ashland to Mount Carmel along the aforementioned alignment via PA 901. The road signs for PA 54 were removed from Centralia several years ago.

Routes 54 and 61 meet up again at an intersection just outside of Mount Carmel.

[edit] References

1. ^ Pennsylvania Highways - Pennsylvania Route 61

[edit] External links

• Pennsylvania Highways - Centralia Mine Fire