Pennsylvania Route 297 (PA 297) 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 ...
located in
York County,
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 southern terminus is at
PA 921 in Zions View. The northern terminus is at
PA 262 in
Cly. PA 297 is a two-lane undivided road in the northern section of York County. The route heads north along
Susquehanna Trail
The Susquehanna Trail was an auto trail in the United States linking Washington, D.C. with Niagara Falls, New York. It passed through Baltimore, Maryland; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Williamsport, Pennsylvania; and Buffalo, New York.
In relativel ...
a short distance to the west of
Interstate 83
Interstate 83 (I-83) is an Interstate Highway in the Eastern United States. Its southern terminus is at a signalized intersection with Fayette Street in Baltimore, Maryland; its northern terminus is at Interstate 81 in Pennsylvania, I-81 near H ...
(I-83) before reaching an interchange with the highway and heading to the east of it. PA 297 turns northeast in
Strinestown and crosses
PA 382 before it comes to its northern terminus.
The portion of PA 297 along the Susquehanna Trail became a part of the namesake
auto trail
The system of auto trails was an informal network of marked routes that existed in the United States and Canada in the early part of the 20th century. Marked with colored bands on utility poles, the trails were intended to help travellers in ...
in 1920. The Susquehanna Trail was designated as
PA 4 in 1924 and also as
U.S. Route 111 (US 111) in 1926; the PA 4 designation was removed from US 111 in 1928. The section of the present route north of Strinestown was paved in the 1930s. US 111 was moved off the Susquehanna Trail and onto I-83 in the 1950s. The current alignment of the route was designated PA 295 in 1961. In December 2018, the route was redesignated PA 297 in response to the extension of
I-295 Interstate 295 is the designation for several Interstate Highways in the United States:
*Interstate 295 (Delaware–Pennsylvania), a bypass of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
*Interstate 295 (Florida), a beltway around central Jacksonville
*Interstate 29 ...
into Pennsylvania.
Route description
PA 297 begins at an intersection with
PA 921 in the community of Zions View in
Conewago Township, heading north on the township-maintained
two-lane undivided
Susquehanna Trail
The Susquehanna Trail was an auto trail in the United States linking Washington, D.C. with Niagara Falls, New York. It passed through Baltimore, Maryland; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Williamsport, Pennsylvania; and Buffalo, New York.
In relativel ...
. The road passes through rural residential areas before heading through a mix of farmland and homes. The route crosses Poplar Run, becomes state-maintained, and passes businesses as it comes to an interchange with
I-83
Interstate 83 (I-83) is an Interstate Highway in the Eastern United States. Its southern terminus is at a signalized intersection with Fayette Street in Baltimore, Maryland; its northern terminus is at I-81 near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Most ...
. From here, PA 297 passes residences in the community of
Strinestown before running through a mix of woods and homes. The road turns northwest to descend a wooded bluff overlooking the
Conewago Creek, crossing the creek into
Newberry Township. Immediately after the creek, the route turns east onto Cragmoor Road, curving to the northeast a short distance later. PA 297 passes a few homes before running through a patch of farmland. The road enters forested areas with residences as it continues to the community of Pleasant Grove. Here, the route turns northwest onto Pleasant Grove Road briefly, passing industrial buildings before turning northeast onto Reesers Hill Road and reaching an intersection with
PA 382. After this, PA 297 descends a wooded bluff with some homes and comes to its northern terminus at
PA 262 in the community of
Cly on the
Susquehanna River
The Susquehanna River (; Lenape: Siskëwahane) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, overlapping between the lower Northeast and the Upland South. At long, it is the longest river on the East Coast of the ...
.
History
When Pennsylvania legislated routes in 1911, the portion of present-day PA 297 along Susquehanna Trail and Old Trail Road was designated as part of Legislative Route 250, which ran between
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
and the
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 ...
area.
In 1920, this section of road became part of the Susquehanna Trail, an
auto trail
The system of auto trails was an informal network of marked routes that existed in the United States and Canada in the early part of the 20th century. Marked with colored bands on utility poles, the trails were intended to help travellers in ...
running between
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
and
Williamsport, Pennsylvania
Williamsport is a city in, and the county seat of, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, United States. It recorded a population of 27,754 at the 2020 Census. It is the principal city of the Williamsport Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a popula ...
.
[ The Susquehanna Trail was designated as PA 4 in 1924.] With the creation of the U.S. Highway System
The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these h ...
in 1926, US 111 became concurrent
Concurrent means happening at the same time. Concurrency, concurrent, or concurrence may refer to:
Law
* Concurrence, in jurisprudence, the need to prove both ''actus reus'' and ''mens rea''
* Concurring opinion (also called a "concurrence"), a ...
with PA 4 on the Susquehanna Trail, which was paved. By 1926, Cragmoor Road, Pleasant Grove Road, and Reesers Hill Road were unnumbered, unpaved roads. The concurrent PA 4 designation was removed from US 111 in 1928.[ ][ ] The section of present-day PA 297 north of US 111 in Strinestown was paved in the 1930s. US 111 was realigned off Susquehanna Trail and Old Trail Road onto I-83 in the 1950s. PA 295 was designated in 1961 to run along the present alignment of the route from PA 921 in Zions View north to PA 262 in Cly in order to provide a numbered route at the interchange with I-83. Also around this time, the road's jurisdiction south of Poplar Run in Conewego Township was transferred to the township.[
In August 2018, the route's internal designation was updated from SR 0295 to SR 0297 in response to the extension of ]I-295 Interstate 295 is the designation for several Interstate Highways in the United States:
*Interstate 295 (Delaware–Pennsylvania), a bypass of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
*Interstate 295 (Florida), a beltway around central Jacksonville
*Interstate 29 ...
into Bucks County
Bucks County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 646,538, making it the fourth-most populous county in Pennsylvania. Its county seat is Doylestown. The county is named after the English ...
, because the same internal designation cannot be used for two separate routes in Pennsylvania. PennDOT announced on November 30, 2018 that the change would be expanded to the posted route number. Roadside route markers were replaced the following week, with replacement of route shields on I-83 guide signs expected to be completed later under a separate construction contract.
Major intersections
See also
*
*
References
External links
{{commons category, Pennsylvania Route 297
Pennsylvania Highways: PA 297
297
__NOTOC__
Year 297 ( CCXCVII) 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 Valerius and Valerius (or, less frequently, year 1050 '' ...
Transportation in York County, Pennsylvania