[PRCo] Re: Russian___PCCs

[Edward H. Lybarger]

The "original" US 19 followed the Washington Pike as far as Canonsburg, then
went up the hill to the south and onto the (approximate) present-day
alignment at Hill Church (PA 519).  At least that's what shows on a 1931
county highway map in PTM's Archives.  The highway south of Donaldson's
Crossroads (very near my place) was originally a 2-lane concrete road from
the late '20s or early '30s, and was upgraded to the present four-lane
arrangement in 1948 or so.  I very vaguely remember the barricades at the
Crossroads.

As to the Pittsburgh-Washington Cinder Road...it was red dog by my time, as
was the "side" road where I live now.  Every year the township would hire a
contractor to touch it up, but we didn't get a whole new surface all that
often.  Paving occurred in 1954 (the township had to write PRCo to get their
crossing out so this could happen), incredibly AFTER the water line was
installed (the same water line that currently breaks on an all-too-regular
basis).

Route 19 was made four-lane from the Crossroads to Clifton (near Drake)
about 1959.  The fifth lane through most of Peters Twp. was a late '80s or
early '90s phenomenon.  Blue Ridge was out there on the
Pittsburgh-Washington-Wheeling route in the 1930s.

-----Original Message-----
From: pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org
[mailto:pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org]On Behalf Of Fred
Schneider
Sent: Tuesday, October 25, 2005 10:37 PM
To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
Subject: [PRCo] Re: Russian___PCCs


Oh, it was built as one of Pennsylvania's suicide highways, was it?
A middle lane for playing chicken!    I had forgotten that even
though I drove that road in the 1940s.

  Boris needs to understand that modern highway engineering in the
1930s called for a central passing lane that everyone could use in
both directions.   Motorists were presumed to be intelligent until it
was discovered that there was a chilling tendency for two of them to
try to pass in opposing directions all too often.     As time passed,
the middle lanes became either left turn only lanes or were
restricted to passing in one direction only.   And often, as traffic
became even heavier, a solid yellow line often was painted down the
middle of the center lane to prevent the impatient drivers from
passing (the Federal government refers to it as a "traffic calming"
method).

The chronology (and my friend Ed will tell me if I'm incorrect and
with my appreciation) was a two-lane asphalt, crowned road from
Pittsburgh to Washington via the West End, Carnegie, Bridgeville,
Morganza, Canonsburg, Houston, and Meadowlands.   This was the
original numbered US route 19.   My father remembers using that road
to get to Pittsburgh in the early 1930s to "court" my mother.  It was
probably paved sometime in the early to middle 1920s.   There was
also, until 1940, the Washington cinder road, that roughly paralleled
the present US 19, and actually passes Ed's property.  (I'd like to
hear Ed's commentary on how often the cinder road was dressed with
fresh cinders and regraded.)   Note there was no paved road near the
trolley line through much of the area of far northern Washington
County and far southern Allegheny County before 1940.   Pittsburgh
Railways had the territory to itself, but, with no roads, there were
few homes ... a farm here and there.   The population then was over
along old route 19 and the even earlier Pennsylvania Railroad.

Then in 1940 the three lane (as EHL corrected me) concrete highway
was built from Washington to Mount Lebanon, replacing the Washington
cinder road.   Now there are five lanes from Washington to Pittsburgh
(if you want to consider North Main St. as an option).  This
relegated the old Pittsburgh Pike - Morganza Road - Washington Pike
route (the old US 19) to virtual obscurity as a local road.  (Obscure
unless you have to fight traffic on it.)   I think it might have been
in the 1950s that US 19 became five lanes.  Ed knows.   I believe
this also allowed Blue Ridge buses (part of the West Penn Electric
empire) to directly compete with the trolleys.

Then, in the early 1960s, Interstate 79 was built, four lanes wide
(and six lanes north of Bridgeville) in the same corridor as the
original US 19.  In the same corridor means within one mile, and
often no more than 1/2 mile.

So now, where we had 2 lanes of roadway in 1930, a commuter railroad
(the Pennsy ran passenger trains until 1952) and an interurban until
1953, we now have 11 to 13 highway lanes of traffic.

And please do not ask Mrs. Janis Lybarger if the road capacity is
adequate.   They've been working on I-79 and ruining her commute to
Ambridge lately.   But before anyone tells me just how wonderful
trains were, lets go back and look at the 1930 Official Guide.
Leave Morganza at 6:20 AM on the first morning northbound train
arrive Pittsburgh 7:19, Leave Pittsburgh 8:05 and arrive Ambridge
8:40 and get balled out for being late for work.   Leave Ambridge at
5:20 PM get into Pittsburgh at 5:55 just in time to miss a train to
Washington, and wait for the next one at 7:59 which gets you into
Morganza at 8:51.   And then there is the trolley ride from Morganza
to home or the two mile walk.   The drive home sucks but the train
would have been worse.     In those days your employment sphere was a
lot smaller geographic circle!

John Swindler should explain to us some of his early research from
the Monongahela area papers about travel in the county.   The Mon
Valley towns were virtually isolated from the Washington County seat
for many years, and if you had business in Washington (for example,
if you were called to jury duty in Washington, Pa.)  and lived in
Charleroi or Monongahela before the trolley ... WELL JOHN, YOU
EXPLAIN HOW THEY GOT THERE.    IT'S A CHARMING STORY.

On Oct 25, 2005, at 7:47 PM, Edward H. Lybarger wrote:

> It was actually three lanes in 1940.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org
> [mailto:pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org]On Behalf Of
> Fred
> Schneider
> Sent: Tuesday, October 25, 2005 6:51 PM
> To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
> Subject: [PRCo] Re: Russian___PCCs
>
>
> And the new highway gradually evolved from two bright white concrete
> lanes in 1940 to five lanes today while the interurban disappeared.
> Public choice.
>
> On Oct 25, 2005, at 2:54 PM, Edward H. Lybarger wrote:
>
>