U.S. Route 15 (US 15) is a 791.71 mi (1,274.13 km)-long United States highway, running from

Walterboro, South Carolina Walterboro is a city in Colleton County, South Carolina, United States. The city's population was 5,398 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Colleton County. Walterboro is located west of Charleston and is located near the ACE Basin reg ...

, north to

Painted Post, New York Painted Post is a village in Steuben County, New York. The village is in the town of Erwin, west of the city of Corning. The population was 1,809 at the 2010 census. The name comes from a Seneca carved post found by explorers at the junction ...

. In

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 highway runs for 194.89 miles (313.65 km), 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 just south of Gettysburg, north to the

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

state line near Lawrenceville.

Route description

US 15 enters Pennsylvania south of Gettysburg, Adams County, from Frederick County,

, on a

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 ...

alignment. The route heads to the north and bypasses Gettysburg, where the route has an interchange with

US 30 U.S. Route 30 or U.S. Highway 30 (US 30) is an east–west main route in the system of the United States Numbered Highways, with the highway traveling across the northern tier of the country. With a length of , it is the third longest ...

. The freeway alignment ends temporarily at York Springs, carrying US 15 on a four-lane, divided alignment with at-grade intersections until the route upgrades to a freeway again in Dillsburg. The route continues north toward

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 ...

, where the freeway terminates again as US 15 joins with

US 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 ...

. The two routes begin to follow the west shore of 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 ...

with limited-access sections until they split across the river from Sunbury. US 15 continues north into Williamsport, joining I-180 and

US 220 U.S. Route 220 (US 220) is a spur route of US 20. It runs in a north–south layout in the eastern United States, unlike its parent route as well as conventionally even-numbered highways which run east-west. US 220 extends for fr ...

. At I-180's western terminus, US 220, signed south, heads due west toward

Jersey Shore The Jersey Shore (known by locals simply as the Shore) is the coastal region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. Geographically, the term encompasses about of oceanfront bordering the Atlantic Ocean, from Perth Amboy in the north to Cape May Po ...

and

Lock Haven Lock Haven is the county seat of Clinton County, in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Located near the confluence of the West Branch Susquehanna River and Bald Eagle Creek, it is the principal city of the Lock Haven Micropolitan Statistical Area ...

, while US 15 turns due north through

Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area (followed by Sutton-in-Ashfield). It gained the Royal Charter of a market tow ...

and crosses into

near Lawrenceville, Tioga County. The majority of US 15 is four lanes, alternating between limited and unlimited access. There are two segments where the road is two lanes. One is from East Pennsboro Township, Cumberland County, just north of the interchange, to just south of

Duncannon Duncannon () is a village in southwest County Wexford, Ireland. Bordered to the west by Waterford harbour and sitting on a rocky headland jutting into the channel is the strategically prominent Duncannon Fort which dominates the village. Pr ...

. The other is between White Deer and South Williamsport. The segment between Williamsport and the New York state line will eventually be designated I-99.

History

With the adoption of the US Highway System, US 15 originally terminated at Harrisburg, while US 111 serviced the modern route north of that point. In 1937, US 15 was extended north to the New York state line, effectively replacing US 111 north of Harrisburg. However, instead of replacing US 111's old routing directly, US 15 ran along the east bank of the Susquehanna River between Harrisburg and Williamsport while the road on the western bank of the river was PA 14 between Lemoyne and Duncannon, US 11 between Duncannon and Shamokin Dam, and PA 404 between Shamokin Dam and Williamsport. In 1941, US 15 was rerouted to follow the western bank of the river between Harrisburg and Williamsport, replacing PA 14 between Lemoyne and Duncannon, running concurrent with US 11 between Lemoyne and Shamokin Dam, and replacing the entire length of PA 404. The former alignment of US 15 on the east side of the river became PA 14.

Future

The section of US 15 north of Williamsport will gain the additional designation of I-99 when the connection from

I-76 Interstate 76 may refer to: Interstate Highways in the United States * Interstate 76 (Colorado–Nebraska) * Interstate 76 (Ohio–New Jersey), running through Pennsylvania Video gaming * ''Interstate '76 ''Interstate '76'' is a vehicular ...

I-86 Interstate 86 may refer to any of three unconnected Interstate Highways in the United States: * Interstate 86 (Pennsylvania–New York) * Interstate 86 (Idaho) * Interstate 84 (Pennsylvania–Massachusetts) Interstate 84 (I-84) is an I ...

is completed. No additional work is needed to upgrade this stretch, as it is already up to

Interstate standards Standards for Interstate Highways in the United States are defined by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) in the publication ''A Policy on Design Standards: Interstate System''. For a certain highway to ...

. As part of the construction of the

Central Susquehanna Valley Thruway The Central Susquehanna Valley Thruway (CSVT), also known as the Central Susquehanna Valley Transportation Project, is a partially-completed bypass (road), highway bypass along the U.S. Route 15 in Pennsylvania, U.S. Route 15 (US 15) corrid ...

, US 15 is planned to be rerouted to the new freeway between Selinsgrove and Union Township, bypassing Shamokin Dam. The former alignment of US 15 through Shamokin Dam will be designated as US 15 Bus., partly running concurrent with US 11.

Major intersections

References