The President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Expressway, commonly referred to as the President Biden Expressway, and formerly known as the Central Scranton Expressway, is a short

freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...

southeast of downtown

Scranton Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U ...

in the U.S. state of

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. It runs east-southeast from U.S. Route 11 (US 11)/

Pennsylvania Route 307 Pennsylvania Route 307 (PA 307) is a north–south route of the Pennsylvania Highway System that runs for . The southern terminus is PA 435 in Covington Township and the northern terminus is PA 92 in Tunkhannock Township. The highway is ...

(PA 307) near downtown to

Interstate 81 Interstate 81 (I-81) is a north–south (physically northeast–southwest) Interstate Highway in the eastern part of the United States. Its southern terminus is at I-40 in Dandridge, Tennessee; its northern terminus is on Wellesley Island ...

(I-81). The highway is one of only two freeways in Pennsylvania with no posted route number; the other is the Airport Connector near

Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Pennsylvania, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the List of c ...

. In the Location Referencing System, it is designated State Route 3022 by the

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) oversees transportation issues in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The administrator of PennDOT is the Pennsylvania Secretary of Transportation, currently Yassmin Gramian. Presently, Pe ...

(PennDOT). In 2021, the road was renamed after President Joe Biden, who was born in Scranton.

Route description

The President Biden Expressway begins at an interchange with US 11/PA 307 and Cedar Avenue in Scranton, with access to northbound US 11/PA 307 and from southbound US 11/PA 307. From here, the President Biden Expressway heads east-southeast as a four-lane freeway. The road runs between residential neighborhoods to the southwest and Roaring Brook to the northeast. The freeway passes under the

Harrison Avenue Bridge The Harrison Avenue Bridge was a concrete deck arch bridge carrying Harrison Avenue (unsigned SR 6011) in Scranton, Pennsylvania, United States. History and architectural features Its three spans included an open-spandrel ribbed arch over Roari ...

before ending at a

directional T interchange In the field of road transport, an interchange (American English) or a grade-separated junction (British English) is a road junction that uses grade separations to allow for the movement of traffic between two or more roadways or highways, using ...

with I-81.

History

Construction began in 1964 alongside the adjacent section of I-81. The road was built along a portion of the former

Lackawanna and Wyoming Valley Railroad The Lackawanna & Wyoming Valley Railroad, more commonly known as the Laurel Line, was a Pennsylvania third rail electric interurban streetcar line which operated commuter train service from 1903 to 1952, and freight service until 1976. Its main li ...

right-of-way passing beneath the

. It opened with a temporary western terminus feeding into Front Street at Prospect Avenue. By the early 1970s, the current interchange at the western terminus was opened, connecting to a new road replacing the demolished Spruce Street Bridge. In July 2021, there was a proposal to rename the Central Scranton Expressway after incumbent U.S. President Joe Biden, who was born in Scranton. On July 20, 2021, the Scranton City Council unanimously voted to rename the Central Scranton Expressway to the President Joseph R. Biden Jr. Expressway along with renaming Spruce Street to Biden Street. PennDOT replaced signage on the northbound lanes of I-81 on September 29, 2021, and replaced signage on the southbound lanes of I-81 on the following day. The sign installation was completed on October 4, 2021, at the exit 185 off ramp along I-81.

Route description

History

Exit list

References

See also