Pennsylvania Route 163 (PA 163) is a
state highway
A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...
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, ...
. The state highway, which is a two-lane undivided road its entire length, runs from the
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
state line, where the highway continues south as
Maryland Route 63
Maryland Route 63 (MD 63) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The state highway runs from MD 65 in Fairplay north to the Pennsylvania state line near Cearfoss, where the highway continues as Pennsylvania Route 163 (PA 163). M ...
(MD 63), east to
U.S. Route 11
{{Infobox road
, country=USA
, type=US
, route=11
, map={{maplink, frame=yes, plain=yes, frame-align=center, frame-width=290, frame-height=330, type=line, from=U.S. Route 11.map
, map_custom=yes
, map_notes=US 11 in red, US 11E in blue, US 11W in ...
(US 11) in
Antrim Township in southern
Franklin County. The route begins at the Maryland border by following Williamsport Pike north before it quickly turns east onto Mason Dixon Road, with State Route 3001 (SR 3001) continuing north on Williamsport Pike. PA 163 runs immediately to the north of the state line along Mason Dixon Road, coming to an interchange at
Interstate 81 (I-81) before ending at US 11. The Williamsport Pike section of the route was originally a 19th-century
turnpike
Turnpike often refers to:
* A type of gate, another word for a turnstile
* In the United States, a toll road
Turnpike may also refer to:
Roads United Kingdom
* A turnpike road, a principal road maintained by a turnpike trust, a body with powers ...
connecting
Williamsport, Maryland, with
Greencastle, Pennsylvania. Williamsport Pike was paved by 1930 while Mason Dixon Road was paved in the 1930s. PA 163 was designated to its present alignment in the 1960s.
Route description
PA 163 begins at the Maryland state line in Antrim Township. The roadway continues south as MD 63 (Greencastle Pike) toward
Cearfoss and the town of
Williamsport. PA 163 begins heading north from the state line on two-lane undivided Williamsport Pike, then immediately turns east onto Mason Dixon Road. Williamsport Pike continues north as SR 3001, an unsigned
quadrant route, toward the borough of
Greencastle. PA 163 parallels the north side of the Maryland–Pennsylvania state line at a distance of about at Williamsport Pike. The distance reduces to less than after the state highway crosses
Norfolk Southern Railway
The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31 ...
's
Lurgan Branch at-grade. PA 163 continues east through farmland, intersecting Maugansville Road on the Maryland side before reaching its interchange with I-81 (American Legion Memorial Highway). The ramps to and from southbound I-81 are on the Maryland side of the highway, while the ramps to and from northbound I-81 are in Pennsylvania. PA 163 continues east into the unincorporated village of
State Line where the highway reaches its eastern terminus at US 11 (Molly Pitcher Highway) just north of where US 11 enters Maryland.
History
The small north-south section of present-day PA 163 between the Maryland border and Mason Dixon Road was part of a 19th-century turnpike known as the Williamsport and Greencastle Turnpike, which connected Williamsport, Maryland with Greencastle, Pennsylvania.
When Pennsylvania legislated routes in 1911, what is now PA 163 was not given a number.
By 1930, Williamsport Pike was an unnumbered paved road.
Mason Dixon Road was paved in the 1930s.
PA 163 was designated in the 1960s to run along its current alignment between MD 63 at the Maryland border and US 11 in State Line, with an interchange at I-81.
Major intersections
See also
*
*
References
External links
Pennsylvania Highways: PA 163{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070518011011/http://www.pahighways.com/state/PA151-200.html#PA163 , date=2007-05-18
163
Year 163 ( CLXIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Laelianus and Pastor (or, less frequently, year 916 '' Ab urbe con ...
Pennsylvania Route 163