Abandoned PA Turnpike

The Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike is the common name of a 13 mile stretch of the Pennsylvania Turnpike near Breezewood, PA that was bypassed in 1968. The road has become a bit of a tourist attraction due to the explosion of the internet and is referred to as the Pike 2 Bike trail. The abandoned road features two tunnels, Rays Hill and Sideling Hill. The two tunnels were two of seven tunnels that were originally part of the turnpike. Today there are four tunnels remaining, the two aforementioned tunnels were bypassed in 1968, and another one, Laurel Hill was bypassed in 1964. When the turnpike was originally built in the 1940s, each tunnel was only a single bore which would create traffic bottlenecks at the entrances of the tunnels. In order to alleviate the congestion the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission decided to make twin bores at all the tunnels, however for 3 of the tunnels (Rays Hill, Sideliing Hill, Laurel Hill) the commission decided it would be more cost effective to make a cut through the corresponding mountains with the tunnels. Laurel Hill was bypassed in 1964, and then the stretch of highway with Rays Hill and Sideling Hill was bypassed in 1968. The Laurel Hill tunnel is privately owned by Chip Ganassi Racing for aerodynamic speed car racing, and is inaccessible to the public. However it can be seen from the eastbound lanes at milepost 99.2

The stretch of highway for Rays Hill and Sideling Hill totals 13 miles, where 3 miles of it is still own by the PTC. The PTC own 1 mile at the western end, and 2 miles at the eastern end. The remaining portion is owned by the Southern Alleghenies Conservancy,a non profit group that has the goal of turning the road into a bike trail. The trail is officially closed to the public, however people are allowed to use the trail for hiking and biking (no motor vehicles) purposes at their own risk. The end parts of the trail that are still owned by the PTC are off limits.

Some other features of the trail include the remnants of a service plaza (Cove Valley) at the eastern end. Two demolished overpasses which each mark western and eastern end of the publicly accessible part of the trail. The Rays Hill Tunnel is located towards the western end of the trail, and Sideling Hill towards the eastern end.The Sideling Hill tunnel has an exploralbe ventillation room. Cylclers and hikers are advised to bring lights as the tunnels are not illuminated. This is especially true for the Sideling Hill tunnel which is over a mile long.

It should also be noted that the road and the eastern portal of the sideling hill tunnel was used in the fim "The Road".

The best way to access the trail is to get off at the Breezewood exit 161 (The beginning of the abandoned road is visible right before the exit highway approaches US 30), take the ramp to US 30 east, follow route 30 for a 1/4 mile and you will come across the first demolished overpass that marks the western end of publicly accessible trail. Right before the overpass is Tannery Road, turn left on Tannery Road and park in front of the orange fence, there is a dirt trail to the right that allows you to access the road.