Eastern PA to and from NYS
Do yourself a favor and do all you can to avoid the I81 - I476 north-south corridor through PA.
We drove this a little over a week ago, and it was even worse than the usual bone-jarring experience of driving in PA. Nearly the whole stretch from Allentown to the state line is either under construction or is in terrible condition. As soon as you cross into NYS the problems are gone.
I don't know what it is about PA highways. For decades it seems that every highway I ever use there is under construction. We used to joke that the state flower is the orange cone. They make huge use of those concrete barriers on both sides of a construction zone, so you are driving mile after mile hemmed in by very narrow lanes with collision consequences on both sides of you if anyone wavers even a tiny bit. Towing and being passed by an 18-wheeler at 55 MPH in one of these zones is enough to send you to the looney bin.
The worst thing is, in spite of this never-ending construction, the roads are almost all in terrible condition.
Either their construction methods are suspect, or their entire highway department is corrupt. Or maybe their geology is so different from any place else that the roads can't withstand regular use. I've never seen another place like it. It's frustrating that PA stands between my home and a large part of the country that I really like to travel to.
-Speak
We drove this a little over a week ago, and it was even worse than the usual bone-jarring experience of driving in PA. Nearly the whole stretch from Allentown to the state line is either under construction or is in terrible condition. As soon as you cross into NYS the problems are gone.
I don't know what it is about PA highways. For decades it seems that every highway I ever use there is under construction. We used to joke that the state flower is the orange cone. They make huge use of those concrete barriers on both sides of a construction zone, so you are driving mile after mile hemmed in by very narrow lanes with collision consequences on both sides of you if anyone wavers even a tiny bit. Towing and being passed by an 18-wheeler at 55 MPH in one of these zones is enough to send you to the looney bin.
The worst thing is, in spite of this never-ending construction, the roads are almost all in terrible condition.
Either their construction methods are suspect, or their entire highway department is corrupt. Or maybe their geology is so different from any place else that the roads can't withstand regular use. I've never seen another place like it. It's frustrating that PA stands between my home and a large part of the country that I really like to travel to.
-Speak
