CONSTRUCTION OF THE PENNSYLVANIA TURNPIKE INTERSTATE HIGHWAY SYSTEM MD77994

Want to support this channel and help us preserve old films? Visit / periscopefilm
Visit our website www.PeriscopeFilm.com
This documentary, produced by the Portland Cement Association, describes the construction and utility of The Pennsylvania Turnpike, completed October, 1940, was a landmark construction project completed in that served as the grandfather of the interstate highway system. The planning process began in the 1920s as automobiles rose in popularity. After the onset of the Great Depression in the 1930s and President Franklin Roosevelt’s establishment of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in order to employ the homeless, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission was established to create the highway.
The Turnpike was the longest uninterrupted road in America at the time it was completed and contained several mountain tunnels, a feat thought unattainable at the time. The Turnpike laid the groundwork for the Interstate Highway System by proving that large-scale construction projects supported by the government could be effectively implemented and useful to the public at large
0:21 shows a nice areal shot of the Turnpike with cars running down it. Band music plays in the background, and the narrator discusses the importance of the highway.
0:47 gives a list of the names of the members of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, including Chairman Walter A. Jones, Frank Bebout, Charles, T. Carpenter, Thomas J. Evans, Lamont Hughes, and others. Chairman Jones was born in Pittsburgh, and proved to be integral to the project by using his political heft to interest President Roosevelt in the Turnpike.
1:45 provides more areal shots of the highway as well as some shots from the perspective of a car on the road. The narrator describes the industrial purpose of the highway.
2:15 gives a map of the project and shows the ways in which the highway saves manufacturers time.
3:36 describes the tunneling process for the highway and the features of the tunnels. There are several shots of the tunnels from the inside, from above, and from the distance, all showing the paths of traffic through and out of the tunnels.
4:49 shows a side-hill cut made to allow traffic to pass. Several shots from above and of the hillside.
5:35 describes the logistic of creating the Turnpike, showing the process of removing rocks and describe the kinds of equipment used to speed the project along. There are several clips of machinery including side-forms, pneumatic hammers, earth tampers, mixers, etc.
9:10 describes how rock for paving was attained, sorted, and recycled for use in the road. Lots of footage of pavers and visuals specific to the machinery being described. Describes dual-drum mixers and transverse finishing machines and the process of creating concrete.
15:00 describes placing and sealing joints in the road and texturing the road with burlap to prevent skidding. Plenty of relevant visuals.
17:13 describes the process of testing the concrete on the street in order to ensure quality.
18:24 discusses the finished project, showing the safety precautions taken and the potential uses for the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
19:15 shows ways to enter the Turnpike and discusses rigid frame intersection design for overpasses, also mentioning applications for national defense. Video footage of the Turnpike is paired with verbal locations.
21:07 describes the contributions and economic timeline of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission while showing more videos of the Turnpike.
21:50 gives the physical timeline of construction with a visual animation of the progress.
We encourage viewers to add comments and, especially, to provide additional information about our videos by adding a comment! See something interesting? Tell people what it is and what they can see by writing something for example: "01:00:12:00 -- President Roosevelt is seen meeting with Winston Churchill at the Quebec Conference."
This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit www.PeriscopeFilm.com

[@tenfourproductionsllc]

Took less than 2 years but it takes longer than that to repair a 1000 foot section of interstate these days.

[@jamesbieniek6583]

If speedy construction is need modern construction diesnt want to do it..

[@mikelees4435]

It's much easier to work on something without a half a million cars flying by at 60-90mph...but I agree with the sentiment nonetheless lol

[@kirbyswarp]

Or in California, it just doesn't get repaired as another mystery 20 cent per gallon tax is put on gasoline.

[@davejones5640]

Your state might not be that one would like to visit.

[@8avexp]

My father remembered seeing, "Reasonable and prudent speed" signs on the Turnpike in the early 50s. He said it was common to see older cars whose engines would catch on fire after trying to do 80 mph. His own '50 Chevy started to burn oil after he pushed it to 80. Splash-lubed Stovebolt six with a 4.11 rear end - screaming engine at that speed.

[@8avexp]

@Gman 2060 You really didn't want to do more than 50 mph on those Chevys.

[@ednorton47]

Today, it would take 2 years just to do the Environmental Impact Study.

[@michaeleisinger8668]

Probably more like 3 or 4.

[@timothybarney7257]

That's no joke. Just look at all the issues faced when extending Route 220 (new I-99) from Bald Eagle to I-80 north of State College. Tree cutting shut down by environmentalists over a bat population that had never been found within 20 miles of the construction area. Excavated bedrock from the Skytop cut between Port Matilda and State College that had to be treated as and disposed of as hazardous waste (including requiring construction of a water treatment plant to process the runoff) and so on. Surprised even that section was finished (30-40 years and counting and it's still incomplete @ I-80).

[@davidtrindle6473]

And we have a healthier more beautiful and safer state. If we abuse the environment we abuse ourselves our children and their children. God bless the protectors of the environment we depend on for life.

[@airplanes42]

it was a different country then. liars didn't proclaim environmental protection at every turn.

[@vulcan_thunder]

Thank you for posting this. This was a real treat to watch

[@alanrogers7090]

My family and I drove on the Pennsylvania Turnpike many times over my life. We entered at Pittsburgh and got off at the US 30 entrance to drive to Atlantic City, New Jersey. We took this vacation every two years, with a vacation to Miami Beach, Florida every third year, as my Father could not take a three week holiday but every third year. When we were at Atlantic City, wee stayed for two weeks. Of course, this was long ago, in the 1950's and '60's, long before gambling was legal there. I remember renting bicycles to ride on the boardwalk. I wonder if they still have the Steel Pier?

[@DeaconG1959]

It's still there. IIRC, they were in the middle of a rebuild of the pier.

[@fromthesidelines]

0:44- Frank Bebout was a businessman who was a member of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. He never lived to see the Turnpike's official opening, as he died of a heart attack on August 22, 1940, at the age of 74. Ironically, he had his heart attack while driving on the as yet unopened Turnpike, towards home.

[@jagboy69]

He'd have heart failure again today if he saw the state of this road.🍺

[@Kenny-re8ko]

Barry I. Grauman...I was thinking he ended up encased in one of the overpasses because he didn't follow the "receive 2 loads of cement, pay for three" rule.

[@mitchdakelman4470]

@@jagboy69 Sadly, that original Turnpike fell apart within 12 years and was repaved so in 1962 all 160 miles of original turnpike was repaved. Over the last 25 years a good deal of Turnpike has reconstructed, with new overpasses with full restoration of several of the originals. Read my Turnpike books

[@ScottRothsroth0616]

Barry I. Grauman I did not know that, thank you.

[@fromthesidelines]

You're welcome!

[@77x5ghost]

wow this is the first time i see the pennsylvania turnpike in its original configuration

[@bshingledecker]

Abandoned portion by Breezewood is quite interesting, and bike-able to go through the old tunnels. The vandals are killing it at a steady pace, so if you want to go, time is of the essence.

[@GranpaTruck]

This is what I love about you tube. Thanks for your post

[@cdavidlake2]

YT at its best.

[@elljay4587]

It should be renamed the expensivania turnpike

[@danielburgess7785]

And it's been "Under Construction" ever since.

[@DeaconG1959]

Yes, the NE Extension is finally getting some love and the I-95 Interchange is partially open.

[@williamchristian8389]

I drove TP many times in tractor trailer.. My favorite road. Always very interesting trips heading to the east coast.

[@randywilson944]

I love all of the videos you post! Thank you 😊

[@stepheng3667]

Fascinating to watch. I remember reading not long ago that Pennsylvania's roads are some of the worst in the country. Not hard to believe as I guess they are some of the oldest.

[@NZDC69]

Smarty Jones it’s not even close. What’re you talking about? Texas, followed by California, has the most roads BY FAR of any US state.

[@thunderdrums6551]

A great video ruined by ads

[@farmcentralohio]

Just watched the whole video, didn't see one ad lol

[@buddyclem7328]

Still less than on television.

[@merc-ni7hy]

in 1964 the first tunnel [ laurel hill tunnel was bypassed ]..in 1968 2 more tunnels and a stretch of road were bypassed..[ sideling hill and rays hill tunnels] ...ironically the longest [ sidelinghill ] and shortest tunnel [ rays hill tunnel ] are about 5 miles apart from each other and both bypassed by 1968 ...google or youtube [ abandoned p,a turnpike ] for cool pictures and video

[@artkemberling7764]

Was on it westbound between Philadelphia and Harrisburg. It's so bad in spots, my feet actually bounce off the accelerator! They should pay the cars to drive on it.

[@turboredcart]

Tolls are automatically increased till the year of 2044- this to pay for mass transit in Philly

[@heedfulnewt6625]

Awesome

[@jpolar394]

A wonderful road ruined by high tolls and corrupt politicians.

[@brosefmcman8264]

Democrats

[@cdavidlake2]

My Grandfather's machine shop built the exhaust fans for these tunnels.

[@RomeKG471]

That poor little old truck! omg! lol A new truck today would have been flattened lol

[@carysklar8028]

The oddest thing about the PA Turnpike is that the road construction never ends. There’s always some section of the road under construction. Even when all those construction spreads are completed, they start all over again. I think the Commission justifies the toll increases by doing rework all the time. There’s even a stretch of the Pike near Norristown where the Commission experimented with a new pavement material, just to rip it up and replace it two years later.

[@8avexp]

That was my impression of the Ohio Turnpike. It seemed it was constantly being resurfaced.

[@johnjensen2217]

Of course that’s how it works when you have to maintain a road system. If your aren’t continuously maintaining it then it’s going to fall into disrepair.

[@frasmi451]

I go from NJ to Pittsburgh 4nights a week, there is definitely some kind of scam going on with construction zones,there are several of them with nothing going on and they repave sections of the road that don’t need repaving probably to justify labor jobs and the high tolls. I drive a T/T for a large company and don’t have to worry about tolls,but something crooked going on and they will always get away with it because no one is watching the trnpke commission and they no it,just my opinion 😗

[@RomeKG471]

Looks like a ten hp Wisconsin there at 11:45, or was that a Honda? lol

[@kirbyswarp]

A Honda motor in 1938-1940? Are you serious?

[@RomeKG471]

Feed the mixers!!!!! they're hungry!!! lol

[@ridgec5670]

At 5:53, that dump driver must have some serious body pain after 4 hours on the job. Getting bounced around like that while loading that oversized ass rock.

[@joekugelman4196]

When is it going to be finished?🤦🏻‍♂️

[@Melissa0774]

I'm surprised how many of the jobs were done by hand.

[@jpolar394]

Yes, that's why roads back then lasted as long as they did.

[@smartyjones7459]

it would be almost impossible to find young men now a days to do that type work...

[@Melissa0774]

@@smartyjones7459 I don't know about that. There's always lots of ex cons coming home from prison who can't get any other kind of work. They tend to do a lot of those kinds of jobs and I wouldn't be surprised if that was true back then too.

[@AnthonyTolhurst-dw1nc]

Vital military value.... there it is

[@72polara]

For some very recent footage of a few of the tunnels check out a channel called Post10.

[@merc-ni7hy]

he is at the abandoned tunnels on the turnpike

[@theone2be33]

And for all that hard work my grandpa said he got paid 2 peanuts a day!

[@RomeKG471]

18:28 "Farm Zone 25 MPH"

[@airplanes42]

I wonder if any original sections remain.

[@brosefmcman8264]

Still working on it in 2021

[@johnjensen2217]

I think it’s funny all the people complaining about the PA turnpike. You can see from the video it was built quickly and cheaply. Concrete laid directly in soil without any compacted sub base, no rebar, nothing. I grew up in Pittsburgh and drove countless miles on that road in the 70s and 80s and it was a piece of shit at that time. It’s only in the last 15 years that they have finally gotten it in decent shape by completely removing all of the original pavement, preparing a proper roadbed and laying thicker concrete. Everybody likes to complain about the state of our infrastructure but heaven forbid you ask to increase the gas tax to pay for it which hasn’t been done at the federal level for nearly 30 years.

[@brosefmcman8264]

Pennsylvania has the highest gas tax in the nation And rebar in concrete rusts and is worse for road beds! So you are actually talking out of the side of your neck! People on here who think they know what they’re talking about and DON’T spreading false information is worse than people complaining! These roads lasted many years longer because of the way they were constructed and the materials they used. Today it’s done with cheaper materials and is why Pennsylvania roads are terrible! Education is neat !! 😎

[@dubdaze68]

Apparently, these slabs only lasted 10 years. They were too long at 70 feet, and they started to lift at the ends.

[@ArmyOne519]

I remember driving the Turnpike when the signs said The speed limit is still 55 🙄

[@SpectralightPhoto]

Here's my experience driving through the 4 active tunnels of the I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike: kzbin.info/www/bejne/j5OpgpRrmZaHbpI

[@johncholmes643]

No grade exceeding 3% 😂🤣😅 Definitely not out west

[@jagboy69]

This was the last time they paved this shitty highway!

[@256beans]

Too many damn ads!

[@rowanmoormann9532]

The End

[@frtls]

Should have built that railroad instead...

[@deerepower337]

The most expensive turnpike in America and also the most crappiest

[@ScottRothsroth0616]

Deere Power Depending on who you ask, lPennsylvania has a bad reputation for road maintenance.” Again depending on who ask.