- Capital Beltway (Harrisburg)
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Capital Beltway
Harrisburg Expressway 
Route information Maintained by PennDOT Length: 27.51 mi[2] (44.27 km)
PA 581: 7.36 mi (11.84 km)[1]Existed: 1997 – present Major junctions Beltway around Harrisburg 
I-83 / PA 581 in Lemoyne
I-283 / US 322 in Lawnton
I-81 / I-83 in Colonial Park
I-81 / PA 581 west of EnolaLocation Counties: Cumberland, Dauphin Highway system Roads in Pennsylvania
Interstate • US • State • Legislative← 
PA 580PA 582 
→The Capital Beltway is a beltway surrounding Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is co-designated as Interstate 81 (I-81), I-83, U.S. Route 11 (US 11), US 322, and Pennsylvania Route 581 (PA 581) at various locations along the route. The beltway is primarily located in the suburbs of Harrisburg; however, part of its southern leg passes along the southern edge of downtown. The southwestern section of the highway is named the Harrisburg Expressway. All of the beltway was complete by 1995; however, it was not designated as the Capital Beltway until 1997.
Contents
Route description
The Capital Beltway begins at the interchange of the eastern terminus of PA 581 and I-83 2 miles (3.2 km) west of Harrisburg in Lemoyne. This junction is colloquially known as the "York split".[3] From the split, the beltway crosses the Susquehanna River on the John Harris Bridge, connecting Harrisburg to its west shore (a colloquialism of the western bank of the Susquehanna across from Harrisburg) suburbs of the city.
Continuing on I-83, the beltway parallels Paxton Street (formerly US 322), passing the Harrisburg Mall as the road approaches the Eisenhower Interchange. At the junction, the Capital Beltway continues on I-83 as it turns north, while beginning a concurrency with US 322. Continuing for three miles (5 km), I-83 ends at I-81 at an interchange locally known as the "81/83 split".[4][5] US 322 and the Capital Beltway continue on I-81 south.
On I-81, US 322 exits off I-81 at exit 67B, heading in a northerly direction to State College, beginning a concurrency with US 22 west. Exit 67A is for US 22 east, Cameron Street, which is where the Farm Show Arena Complex is located (a half mile south of the beltway). The Capital Beltway crosses the Susquehanna the second time on the George N. Wade Memorial Bridge. The beltway makes a southerly turn just beyond the bridge, near the western end of the Susquehanna Water Gap of Blue Mountain.
Continuing on I-81 until exit 59, the Capital Beltway exits onto PA 581, also known as the Harrisburg Expressway. US 11 begins a concurrency with PA 581 starting at exit 3, and then exits off and starts a concurrency with US 15 in Camp Hill, at the Camp Hill Shopping Center (formerly Camp Hill Mall). The beltway continues for two miles (3 km) until it completes the loop by reaching I-83 at the York split.
History
The I-81 and I-83 sections of the beltway were both fully completed by the 1970s. A expressway connecting I-81 to I-83 had been planned, and the portion of the highway from the York split to US 11 and US 15 in Camp Hill was completed in 1992. It became known as the Harrisburg Expressway, and it was given the PA 581 designation. The section from Camp Hill to I-81 remained incomplete until 1995 when construction began on the segment. It was finally completed and opened for public use in 1997. The PA 581 designation was extended northwestward to the interchange with I-81 when it opened. The Capital Beltway designation was assigned to its current alignment at this time. Engineering for the project was provided by Gannett Fleming of Camp Hill.
Exit list
County Location Mile[1] Exit Destinations Notes Cumberland Lemoyne 41.41 41A PA 581 westInner loop exit and outer loop entrance; east end of concurrency with PA 581; south end of concurrency with I-83 41.31 41B Highland Park Outer loop exit and entrance 41.63 42 South 3rd Street Outer loop exit and inner loop entrance 42.01 Lowther Street Inner loop exit and outer loop entrance Dauphin Harrisburg 42.70 43 2nd Street 43.13 44A 13th Street 43.54 44B 17th Street / 19th Street Swatara Township 45.11 45 32nd Street Outer loop exit Paxton Street Inner loop exit 45.92 46 I-283 south (Eisenhower Interchange)45.96 47 US 322 east (Eisenhower Interchange)Outer loop exit and inner loop entrance; south end of concurrency with US 322 46.76 47 US 322 east / Derry Street / Paxton StreetInner loop exit and outer loop entrance; south end of concurrency with US 322 Lower Paxton Township 47.92 48 Union Deposit Road, Penbrook 49.23 50 
US 22 (Jonestown Road)Split into exits 50A (east) and 50B (west) on outer loop 50.21 51 I-81 / US 322 westSplit into exits 51A (west / south) and 51B (north) on inner loop; east end foe concurrency with I-81; north end of concurrency with I-83 69.70 70 I-83 south / US 322 east – Hershey, Harrisburg AirportInner loop exit; east end of I-81 overlap; north end of I-83 overlap Susquehanna Township 68.70 69 Progress Avenue Serves Widener University 67.13 67B US 22 / US 322 west – Lewistown, State CollegeNorth end of US 322 overlap; left exit on inner loop 67A 
US 22 east to PA 230 (Cameron Street)Serves Harrisburg Area Community College; left exit on outer loop 65.97 66 Front Street – Downtown Harrisburg Serves Amtrak Terminal Cumberland East Pennsboro Township 64.78 65 
US 11 / US 15 – Enola, MarysvilleServes Central Pennsylvania College; split into exits 65A (south) and 65B (north) Hampden Township 60.85 61 
PA 944 (Wertzville Road)59.13 59 PA 581 east (Harrisburg Expressway) to US 11 – Camp HillOuter loop exit; west end of concurrency with PA 581 and I-81 0.00 1 I-81 (American Legion Memorial Highway)Split into exits 1A (north) and 1B (south loop exit; west end of concurrency with PA 581 and I-81 1.00 2 Creekview Road 2.10 3 US 11 north (Carlisle Pike)West end of concurrency with US 11 Camp Hill 4.09 4 
PA 641 (Trindle Road) / Central Boulevard / Church Street5.07 5B US 15 south (Corps League Memorial Highway)5A US 11 / US 15 north (32nd Street)Cloverleaf interchange; east end of concurrency with US 11 Highland Park Area 7.36 6 I-83 (VFW Memorial Highway)Split into exits 6A (north) and 6B (south) on outer loop; east end of PA 581 overlap; south end of concurrency with I-83 overlap See also
- Capital Beltway, in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area
References
- ^ a b DeLorme Street Atlas USA 2007 software
- ^ "National Highway Planning Network GIS data". FHWA. version 2005.08. http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/nhpn/. Retrieved 2008-04-11.
- ^ "The Profile" (PDF). ASHE Harrisburg. http://www.asheharrisburg.org%2Fnewsletters%2FASHEProfile_April07.pdf. Retrieved 2007-12-24.
- ^ "Fatal Crash Closes Interstate 81 for Nine Hours". ABC27. 2007-08-22. Archived from the original on 2008-03-29. http://web.archive.org/web/20080329195059/http://www.abc27.com/news/stories/0807/449446.html. Retrieved 2007-12-24.
- ^ "Police Charge Truck Driver for Deadly Crash on Interstate 81". ABC27. 2007-08-22. Archived from the original on 2008-03-29. http://web.archive.org/web/20080329195548/http://www.abc27.com/news/stories/0807/449463.html. Retrieved 2007-12-24.
Roads in the Susquehanna Valley Beltway Capital BeltwayInterstate Highways U.S. Routes Limited-access Pennsylvania Routes Other Pennsylvania Routes PA 17 · PA 23 · PA 25 · PA 34 · PA 39 · PA 72 · PA 74 · PA 94 · PA 114 · PA 117 · PA 147 · PA 174 · PA 225 · PA 230 · PA 233 · PA 235 · PA 241 · PA 274 · PA 325 · PA 340 · PA 341 · PA 343 · PA 419 · PA 441 · PA 443 · PA 462 · PA 465 · PA 501 · PA 533 · PA 641 · PA 645 · PA 696 · PA 722 · PA 743 · PA 772 · PA 849 · PA 850 · PA 897 · PA 934 · PA 944 · PA 997 · PA 999Other Quadrant Routes SR 3015 · SR 3020Other notable roads Categories:- Orbital roads in the United States
- Roads in the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania area
- Interstate 83
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