Pennsylvania Route 97 (PA 97) is one of two
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, ...
state highways
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 ...
that carries the PA 97 designation; the other
PA 97 is in
Adams County. The northern PA 97, in length, is a north-south highway that terminates at
PA 8 at both ends. The southern terminus is in
Union City and the northern terminus is in
Erie
Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 a ...
. 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) internally designates this road SR 0197 to distinguish it from the other PA 97.
Route description
PA 97 starts in the borough of Union City at the junction of PA 8 and PA 97. It travels west for about until it reaches the borough of
Waterford
"Waterford remains the untaken city"
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. South of the borough, PA 97 merges with
U.S. Route 19
U.S. Route 19 (US 19) is a north–south U.S. Highway in the Eastern United States. Despite encroaching Interstate Highways, the route has remained a long-haul road, connecting the Gulf of Mexico with Lake Erie.
The highway's southern ...
(US 19), joining the
Perry Highway
Perry, also known as pear cider, is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears, traditionally the perry pear. It has been common for centuries in England, particularly in Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire. It is also made ...
and following the U.S. route northward for through Waterford. North of Waterford, PA 97 splits from US 19 but remains on the Perry Highway. Although both roads head north to the city of Erie, PA 97 takes a more easterly alignment as it travels northward.
After , PA 97 meets
Interstate 90
Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, Midwest, and ...
(I-90) at exit 27 immediately south of Erie. from the exit, PA 97 meets the southern terminus of
PA 505. At PA 505, PA 97 separates from the Perry Highway and follows Old French Road north through downtown Erie to its terminus at an intersection with PA 8 two blocks south of
US 20
U.S. Route 20 or U.S. Highway 20 (US 20) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway that stretches from the Pacific Northwest east to New England. The "0" in its route number indicates that US 20 is a major coast-to-coast route. S ...
.
History
The first designation of PA 97 existed in the 1930s, from
US 6 in
Waterford
"Waterford remains the untaken city"
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to
US 19 in
Kearsarge on what is now US 19. US 6 traveled along the current PA 97 designation from Waterford to Erie as the
Lakes-to-Sea Highway The Lakes-to-Sea Highway, also known as the "Ship-to-Shore" highway, was an auto trail in the Northeast U.S., running from Erie, Pennsylvania (on Lake Erie) southeast via Harrisburg and Philadelphia to Atlantic City, New Jersey (on the Atlantic Oce ...
.
By 1940, PA 97 was moved to its current alignment.
Major intersections
See also
*
*
References
External links
{{commonscat
Pennsylvania Highways: PA 97 NorthPA 97 at AARoads.com
097N
U.S. Route 6
U.S. Route 19
Transportation in Erie County, Pennsylvania