Pennsylvania Route 3
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Pennsylvania Route 3 (PA 3) 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 the southeastern portion 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 route runs from U.S. Route 322 Business (US 322 Bus.) in West Chester east to PA 611 in
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
. The route begins in downtown West Chester and heads east out of the borough as a
one-way pair A one-way pair, one-way couple, or couplet refers to that portion of a bi-directional traffic facilitysuch as a road, bus, streetcar, or light rail linewhere its opposing flows exist as two independent and roughly parallel facilities. Descriptio ...
of streets. Between West Chester and
Upper Darby Upper Darby Township, often shortened to Upper Darby, is a home rule township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The township borders Philadelphia, the nation's sixth most populous city as of 2020 with 1.6 million residents. As of the 2020 cen ...
, PA 3 follows a four-lane
divided highway A dual carriageway ( BE) or divided highway ( AE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are ...
named West Chester Pike through suburban areas. Along this stretch, the route passes through Edgmont,
Newtown Square Newtown Township is a township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Prior to 1789 it was part of Chester County. The population was 12,216 as of the 2010 census, and was 19,705 as of 2017. History The first mention of the township was in 1684, ...
, Broomall, and
Havertown Havertown is a residential suburban unincorporated community in Haverford Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. It is located approximately 9 miles west of the center of Philadelphia. Havertown's ZIP Code is 19083 and "Havertown" is a posta ...
. The route has an interchange with
Interstate 476 Interstate 476 (I-476) is a auxiliary Interstate Highway of I-76 in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The highway runs from I-95 near Chester north to I-81 near Scranton, serving as the primary north–south Interstate corridor throu ...
(I-476) between Broomall and Havertown. Upon reaching Upper Darby, PA 3 heads into Philadelphia along
Market Street Market Street may refer to: *Market Street, Cambridge, England *Market Street, Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia * Market Street, George Town, Penang, Malaysia *Market Street, Manchester, England *Market Street, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia ...
. In Philadelphia, the route follows multiple one-way pairs, running along Chestnut Street eastbound and Walnut Street westbound in
West Philadelphia West Philadelphia, nicknamed West Philly, is a section of the city of Philadelphia. Alhough there are no officially defined boundaries, it is generally considered to reach from the western shore of the Schuylkill River, to City Avenue to the nort ...
before heading into
Center City Philadelphia Center City includes the central business district and central neighborhoods of Philadelphia. It comprises the area that made up the City of Philadelphia prior to the Act of Consolidation, 1854, which extended the city borders to be coterminous wi ...
along Market Street eastbound and John F. Kennedy Boulevard westbound and ending at
Philadelphia City Hall Philadelphia City Hall is the seat of the municipal government of the City of Philadelphia. Built in the ornate Second Empire style, City Hall houses the chambers of the Philadelphia City Council and the offices of the Mayor of Philadelphia. It ...
. Philadelphia and West Chester were linked by a dirt road dating back to 1793. The Philadelphia and West Chester Turnpike Company was created to build a
toll road A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road (almost always a controlled-access highway in the present day) for which a fee (or ''toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented ...
between the two places in 1848. The turnpike was built as a
plank road A plank road is a road composed of wooden planks or puncheon logs. Plank roads were commonly found in the Canadian province of Ontario as well as the Northeast and Midwest of the United States in the first half of the 19th century. They were oft ...
between Philadelphia and Newtown Square in the 1850s before becoming a stone road in the 1880s. A horse-drawn rail line was built along part of the turnpike in the 1850s and a trolley service was introduced in the 1890s. The state took over the West Chester Pike in 1918. In 1927, the route was designated as part of PA 5. PA 3 replaced the PA 5 designation between West Chester and Philadelphia in 1937. Trolley service was replaced by buses in the 1950s to allow for the widening of PA 3 between West Chester and Philadelphia to four lanes. By 1960, PA 3 was shifted to end at
US 13 U.S. Route 13 (US 13) is a north–south U.S. highway established in 1926 that runs for from Interstate 95 (I-95) just north of Fayetteville, North Carolina to US 1 in the northeastern suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in Morrisville ...
in
Southwest Philadelphia Southwest Philadelphia (formerly Kingsessing Township) is a section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The section can be described as extending from the western side of the Schuylkill River to the city line, with the SEPTA. The nor ...
. The routing was shifted to US 13 west of University City by 1970 before the route was extended east to Philadelphia City Hall during the 1970s.


Route description


Chester and Delaware counties

PA 3 begins at an intersection with US 322 Bus. (High Street) in the downtown area of the borough of West Chester in
Chester County Chester County may refer to: * Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States * Chester County, South Carolina, United States * Chester County, Tennessee Chester County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, th ...
near the historic Chester County Courthouse. From here, the route heads northeast on the
one-way pair A one-way pair, one-way couple, or couplet refers to that portion of a bi-directional traffic facilitysuch as a road, bus, streetcar, or light rail linewhere its opposing flows exist as two independent and roughly parallel facilities. Descriptio ...
of East Market Street eastbound and East Chestnut Street westbound. The one-way streets carry two lanes in each direction as they pass downtown businesses. At the intersection with Matlack Street, the westbound direction of PA 3 shifts from East Chestnut Street to East Gay Street. The route continues to follow East Market Street eastbound and East Gay Street westbound through commercial areas, passing north of the terminus of the
West Chester Railroad The West Chester Railroad is a privately owned and operated tourist railroad that runs between Market Street in West Chester, Pennsylvania, in Chester County, and the village of Glen Mills, Pennsylvania, in Delaware County. It operates on of ...
at the West Chester station along East Market Street. PA 3 leaves West Chester for
West Goshen Township West Goshen Township is a township in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 23,040 at the 2020 census. In 2013, ''Money Magazine'' voted West Goshen as the 10th best place to live in America. West Goshen has also been ra ...
and intersects Montgomery Avenue (westbound only) and Garfield Avenue/Westtown Road before it comes to an eastbound exit and westbound entrance with Paoli Pike. At this point, both directions of the route join and head east along four-lane
divided Division is one of the four basic operations of arithmetic, the ways that numbers are combined to make new numbers. The other operations are addition, subtraction, and multiplication. At an elementary level the division of two natural numb ...
West Chester Pike, passing through residential areas in the community of Chatwood. PA 3 comes to a
partial cloverleaf interchange A partial cloverleaf interchange or parclo is a modification of a cloverleaf interchange. The design has been well received, and has since become one of the most popular freeway-to-arterial interchange designs in North America. It has also bee ...
with the
US 202 U.S. Route 202 (US 202) is a spur route of US 2. It follows a northeasterly and southwesterly direction stretching from Delaware to Maine, also traveling through the states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Mass ...
/
US 322 U.S. Route 322 (US 322) is a long, east–west United States Highway, traversing Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. The road is a spur of U.S. Route 22 and one of the original highways from 1926. A portion of it at one time was concurrent with ...
freeway and runs past businesses and some homes. The road curves east-southeast at the Strasburg Road intersection and crosses into East Goshen Township, where it continues past suburban neighborhoods and commercial establishments, crossing the East Branch Chester Creek and passing through the community of Goshen. PA 3 enters Westtown Township and reaches an intersection with PA 352, forming a short concurrency with that route before PA 352 splits to the southeast. The road heads east through wooded areas with residential subdivisions as it continues into Willistown Township. The route intersects the eastern terminus of PA 926 and curves east-northeast through a mix of fields and woodland with some homes, crossing the
Ridley Creek Ridley Creek is a tributary of the Delaware River in Chester and Delaware counties, Pennsylvania in the United States.Gertler, Edward. ''Keystone Canoeing'', Seneca Press, 2004. The entire drainage basin is in the suburban Philadelphia area, but ...
before coming to a junction with Delchester Road. PA 3 enters Edgmont Township in Delaware County as it passes to the north of
Ridley Creek State Park Ridley Creek State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Edgmont, Middletown, and Upper Providence Townships, Delaware County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The park, about north of the county seat of Media, offers many recreational act ...
. The road continues east with some homes and businesses, crossing Providence Road. After passing to the south of a shopping center, the route crosses
Crum Creek Crum Creek (from the Dutch, meaning "crooked creek") is a creek in Delaware County and Chester County, Pennsylvania, flowing approximately , generally in a southward direction and draining into the Delaware River in Eddystone, Pennsylvania. I ...
into Newtown Township and heads south of the Delaware County Veterans Memorial, running past a mix of fields and development. PA 3 curves east at the Boot Road intersection and passes between a business campus that includes
SAP Sap is a fluid transported in xylem cells (vessel elements or tracheids) or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant. These cells transport water and nutrients throughout the plant. Sap is distinct from latex, resin, or cell sap; it is a separa ...
's North America headquarters to the north and a residential neighborhood to the south. The road heads into business areas and reaches intersections with Bishop Hollow Road and
PA 252 Pennsylvania Route 252 (PA 252) is a north–south state highway in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania that connects PA 320 in Nether Providence Township at its southern terminus to PA 23 in Valley Forge at its northern terminus. The route runs ...
in the community of
Newtown Square Newtown Township is a township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Prior to 1789 it was part of Chester County. The population was 12,216 as of the 2010 census, and was 19,705 as of 2017. History The first mention of the township was in 1684, ...
. Following the PA 252 intersection the route continues east through a mix of suburban residential and commercial areas. At the Media Line Road junction, PA 3 crosses into Marple Township and soon intersects Springfield Road. The road passes more homes and businesses and comes to a junction with PA 320 in the community of Broomall. The route continues near suburban neighborhoods with some businesses before it reaches a partial cloverleaf interchange with
I-476 Interstate 476 (I-476) is a auxiliary Interstate Highway of I-76 in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The highway runs from I-95 near Chester north to I-81 near Scranton, serving as the primary north–south Interstate corridor throu ...
. Past the I-476 interchange, PA 3 intersects Lawrence Road and crosses the Darby Creek into
Haverford Township Haverford Township is a Home rule municipality (Pennsylvania), home rule municipality Township (Pennsylvania), township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Delaware County, Pennsylvania.Havertown Havertown is a residential suburban unincorporated community in Haverford Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. It is located approximately 9 miles west of the center of Philadelphia. Havertown's ZIP Code is 19083 and "Havertown" is a posta ...
, reaching a junction with Eagle Road. PA 3 has an intersection with Manoa Road as it passes to the north of the
Llanerch Country Club The Llanerch Country Club is a private club in Haverford Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, USA (postal address Havertown, Pennsylvania). The Llanerch Country Club has been operating under its present name since 1919 and unde ...
, continuing through suburban development. Farther east, the route crosses
Naylors Run Naylors Run is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of Cobbs Creek in Haverford and Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania, United States. In 1975, a s ...
and heads into the community of
Llanerch Llannerch (sometimes spelled Llanerch) was a commote in the cantref of Dyffryn Clwyd which later became the Marcher Lordship of Ruthin. Situated in an area south of Ruthin the commote covered an area of which included the parishes of Llanfair ...
, where it intersects Darby Road a short distance before coming to a junction with
US 1 U.S. Route 1 or U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs from Key West, Florida, north to Fort Kent, Maine, at the Canadian border, making ...
. After crossing US 1, PA 3 enters
Upper Darby Township Upper Darby Township, often shortened to Upper Darby, is a home rule township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The township borders Philadelphia, the nation's sixth most populous city as of 2020 with 1.6 million residents. As of the 2020 cen ...
and continues past suburban businesses and homes. The road crosses State Road and heads into more urban areas of residential and commercial development. A set of
SEPTA The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly 4 million people in five coun ...
trolley tracks begins running in the median before the route comes to Terminal Square, where it crosses SEPTA's Route 101 and 102 trolley lines at-grade and intersects Victory Avenue/Garrett Road. Past this, PA 3 heads east on four-lane undivided
Market Street Market Street may refer to: *Market Street, Cambridge, England *Market Street, Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia * Market Street, George Town, Penang, Malaysia *Market Street, Manchester, England *Market Street, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia ...
as it passes between SEPTA's
69th Street Transportation Center The 69th Street Transportation Center is a SEPTA terminal in the Terminal Square section of Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, just west of the city limits of Philadelphia. The terminal serves the Market–Frankford Line, Norristown High Speed Line, and t ...
to the north and urban businesses to the south, gaining a median before the 69th Street intersection. The route becomes undivided again and runs past more commercial development, forming the border between the borough of Millbourne to the north and Upper Darby Township to the south. PA 3 heads past some homes before turning into a divided highway at the eastern edge of Millbourne as SEPTA's
Market–Frankford Line The Market–Frankford Line (MFL) (also called the Market–Frankford Subway–Elevated Line (MFSE), the Market–Frankford El (MFE), the El (), or the Blue Line) is one of three rapid transit lines in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; it and the Broad ...
rises to pass over the road.


Philadelphia County

PA 3 crosses the
Cobbs Creek Cobbs Creek is an U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of Darby Creek in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It forms an approximat ...
into the city of
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
in
Philadelphia County Philadelphia County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the most populous county in Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, Philadelphia County had a population of 1,603,797. The county is the second smallest county in Pennsyl ...
, where it immediately splits from Market Street by turning south onto Cobbs Creek Parkway at the 63rd Street station on the Market–Frankford Line. The route follows four-lane undivided Cobbs Creek Parkway between woods along the creek to the west and urban development to the east before it splits east onto a one-way pair. The eastbound direction of PA 3 follows Chestnut Street while the westbound direction of PA 3 follows Walnut Street a block to the south. Chestnut Street carries three lanes of one-way eastbound traffic while Walnut Street carries two lanes of one-way westbound traffic. PA 3 follows Chestnut and Walnut street east through residential areas of
West Philadelphia West Philadelphia, nicknamed West Philly, is a section of the city of Philadelphia. Alhough there are no officially defined boundaries, it is generally considered to reach from the western shore of the Schuylkill River, to City Avenue to the nort ...
, passing several blocks of
rowhome In architecture and city planning, a terrace or terraced house (British English, UK) or townhouse (American English, US) is a form of medium-density housing that originated in Europe in the 16th century, whereby a row of attached dwellings party ...
s with some businesses. Walnut Street passes to the north of William L. Sayre High School between 59th and 58th streets while Chestnut Street passes south of
West Philadelphia High School West Philadelphia High School is a secondary school located in the West Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at the intersection of 49th Street and Chestnut Street. History The original West Philadelphia High School (WPHS) building ...
before crossing 49th Street, south of the
Community College of Philadelphia The Community College of Philadelphia (CCP) is a public community college with campuses throughout Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The college was founded in 1965 and is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. It offers over ...
's West Regional Center past 48th Street, and south of
West Catholic Preparatory High School West Catholic Preparatory High School is a co-educational Catholic high school in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. It is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at 45th and Chestnut Streets, the University City neighborhood of West Philadelphia. ...
prior to crossing 45th Street. Farther east, the route reaches the University City neighborhood of Philadelphia, where Walnut Street runs along the edge of the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
campus. The streets cross a SEPTA trolley track at 40th Street. Upon reaching
US 13 U.S. Route 13 (US 13) is a north–south U.S. highway established in 1926 that runs for from Interstate 95 (I-95) just north of Fayetteville, North Carolina to US 1 in the northeastern suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in Morrisville ...
, westbound PA 3 shifts from Walnut Street to Market Street, running concurrent with US 13 southbound on four-lane divided 38th Street between Market and Walnut streets; 38th Street carries a SEPTA trolley track in the northbound direction. East of US 13, westbound PA 3 follows on Market Street, a three-lane road with a
center left-turn lane A reversible lane (British English: tidal flow) is a lane in which traffic may travel in either direction, depending on certain conditions. Typically, it is meant to improve traffic flow during rush hours, by having overhead traffic lights and li ...
. At this point, SEPTA's Market–Frankford Line runs underneath Market Street, with SEPTA's Subway–Surface Trolley Lines joining at 36th Street. Eastbound PA 3 continues east on one-way Chestnut Street. The route passes several multistory commercial buildings as it runs through the northern part of the
Drexel University Drexel University is a private research university with its main campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Drexel's undergraduate school was founded in 1891 by Anthony J. Drexel, a financier and philanthropist. Founded as Drexel Institute of Art, S ...
campus. At 33rd Street, eastbound PA 3 turns north and joins the westbound direction on Market Street, continuing east. Upon reaching 32nd Street, PA 3 splits into another one-way pair, with eastbound PA 3 continuing east along Market Street and westbound PA 3 following four-lane John F. Kennedy Boulevard, both being two-way streets. The route passes under
CSX CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...
's
Harrisburg Subdivision The Harrisburg Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The line is located in the city of Philadelphia, connecting Greenwich Yard and the Philadelphia Subdivision with the Trenton Subdivisi ...
railroad line before coming to the 30th Street intersection at
30th Street Station 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...
, which serves
Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
's
Northeast Corridor The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston through Providence, New Haven, Stamford, New York City, Philadelphia, Wilmington, a ...
, the
SEPTA Regional Rail The SEPTA Regional Rail system is a commuter rail network owned by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority and serving the Philadelphia Metropolitan area. The system has 13 branches and more than 150 active stations in Philadelphi ...
system, and
NJ Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit, and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey, along with portions of New York State and Pennsylvania. It operates bu ...
's
Atlantic City Line The Atlantic City Line (ACL) is a commuter rail line operated by NJ Transit (NJT) in the United States between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Atlantic City, New Jersey, operating along the corridor of the White Horse Pike. It runs over trackage ...
. The eastbound direction passes to the south of the train station and north of the city's former main Post Office facility as a four-lane undivided street. The westbound direction bends north around the train station, running along a one-way street with two lanes of traffic that heads north on Schuykill Avenue and crosses under the SEPTA tracks before turning west on Arch Street. It then passes to the south of the
Cira Centre The Cira Centre is a 29- story, office high-rise in the University City section of Philadelphia, directly connected to Amtrak's 30th Street Station. Developed by Brandywine Realty Trust and designed by César Pelli, it was built in 2004-05 on a ...
and curves south as 30th Street under the SEPTA tracks again before turning west on John F. Kennedy Boulevard. Immediately east of 30th Street Station, PA 3 has an interchange with
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 ...
(
Schuylkill Expressway The Schuylkill Expressway , locally known as "the Schuylkill", is a Controlled-access highway, freeway through southern Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Montgomery County and the city of Philadelphia in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, Philade ...
) before it crosses over the
Schuylkill River The Schuylkill River ( , ) is a river running northwest to southeast in eastern Pennsylvania. The river was improved by navigations into the Schuylkill Canal, and several of its tributaries drain major parts of Pennsylvania's Coal Region. It fl ...
and then the
Schuylkill River Trail The Schuylkill River Trail ( , ) is a multi-use trail along the banks of the Schuylkill River in southeastern Pennsylvania. Partially complete as of 2018, the trail is ultimately planned to run about from the river's headwaters in Schuylkill Co ...
and CSX's
Philadelphia Subdivision The Philadelphia Subdivision is a railroad line owned and operated by CSX Transportation in the U.S. states of Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland. The line runs from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, southwest to Baltimore, Maryland, along a forme ...
railroad line on the river's east bank on the Market Street Bridge eastbound and the John F. Kennedy Boulevard Bridge westbound. At this point, PA 3 heads into
Center City Philadelphia Center City includes the central business district and central neighborhoods of Philadelphia. It comprises the area that made up the City of Philadelphia prior to the Act of Consolidation, 1854, which extended the city borders to be coterminous wi ...
on four-lane undivided Market Street eastbound and four-lane divided John F. Kennedy Boulevard westbound. The streets pass several downtown skyscrapers, with the westbound direction running south of SEPTA's
Main Line Mainline, ''Main line'', or ''Main Line'' may refer to: Transportation Railway * Main line (railway), the principal artery of a railway system * Main line railway preservation, the practice of operating preserved trains on an operational railw ...
tracks, which head into the
Center City Commuter Connection 250px, The ASCE plaque in Jefferson Station 250px, City plaque in Jefferson Station The Center City Commuter Connection, (CCCC) commonly referred to as "the commuter tunnel", is a passenger railroad tunnel in Center City, Philadelphia, Penns ...
tunnel at 20th Street. At the 20th Street intersection, both directions of PA 3 become one-way streets, with Market Street carrying three lanes of eastbound traffic, with the fourth right-most lane serving as a
bus lane A bus lane or bus-only lane is a lane restricted to buses, often on certain days and times, and generally used to speed up public transport that would be otherwise held up by traffic congestion. The related term busway describes a roadway ...
, and John F. Kennedy Boulevard carrying four lanes of westbound traffic as it heads into the Penn Center business district. At the 19th Street intersection, the right-most lane on John F. Kennedy Boulevard becomes a bus lane. Eastbound PA 3 passes to the north of
Liberty Place Liberty Place is a skyscraper complex in Philadelphia. The complex is composed of a 61-story, skyscraper called One Liberty Place, a 58-story, skyscraper called Two Liberty Place, a two-story shopping mall called the Shops at Liberty Place, a ...
between 17th and 16th streets while westbound PA 3 passes to the south of the
Comcast Center Comcast Center, also known as the Comcast Tower, is a skyscraper in Center City, Philadelphia. The 58-story, tower is the second-tallest building in Philadelphia and in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania (after the Comcast Technology Center), ...
between 18th and 17th streets,
Suburban Station Suburban Station is an art deco office building and underground commuter rail station in Penn Center, Philadelphia. Its official SEPTA address is 16th Street and JFK Boulevard. The station is owned and operated by SEPTA and is one of the three ...
of SEPTA Regional Rail between 17th and 16th streets, and
LOVE Park LOVE Park, officially known as John F. Kennedy Plaza, is a public park located in Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The park is nicknamed LOVE Park for its reproduction of Robert Indiana's 1970 ''LOVE'' sculpture which overlooks the pla ...
between 16th and 15th streets. PA 3 reaches its eastern terminus at PA 611 (which runs north-south along Broad Street through Philadelphia) at 15th Street, which forms the western part of Penn Square around
Philadelphia City Hall Philadelphia City Hall is the seat of the municipal government of the City of Philadelphia. Built in the ornate Second Empire style, City Hall houses the chambers of the Philadelphia City Council and the offices of the Mayor of Philadelphia. It ...
.


History

From 1793 to 1850, Philadelphia and West Chester were linked by a dirt road used by horse-drawn carriages and wagons. The Philadelphia and West Chester Turnpike Road Company was formed in March 1848 to build a
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 ...
between 38th and Market streets in Philadelphia and Newtown Square. The turnpike was to have five toll houses along its length. The West Chester Pike was constructed to improve farming and manufacturing in Delaware County. The turnpike became a
plank road A plank road is a road composed of wooden planks or puncheon logs. Plank roads were commonly found in the Canadian province of Ontario as well as the Northeast and Midwest of the United States in the first half of the 19th century. They were oft ...
between 1850 and 1868. Rail service was first used on the turnpike in 1859, when the Delaware County Passenger Rail Road Company built a horse-drawn rail line from 38th and Market streets in Philadelphia to Howard House in Upper Darby. The entire turnpike between Philadelphia and Newtown Square became a stone road by 1885. The Philadelphia and West Chester Traction Company established a trolley service along the West Chester Pike between 63rd Street in Philadelphia and Newtown Square in 1895. Steam dummies were first used but electric trolley cars were introduced a year later. The trolley line was extended west to West Chester in 1898. The trolley line followed the south side of the turnpike. Following the construction of 69th Street Terminal in Upper Darby in 1907, the route of the West Chester Pike saw increasing suburban development. In 1918, the West Chester Pike was taken over by the state, with the tolls removed. The West Chester Pike was designated as Legislative Route 133 when the Sproul Road Bill was passed in 1911. In 1927, the West Chester Pike and Market Street in Philadelphia were designated as part of PA 5, which ran along 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 Oc ...
. Between downtown West Chester and Paoli Pike, PA 5 had a concurrency with US 122/ PA 52 (later US 202) along Gay Street. In 1937, PA 3 was commissioned between US 202/US 322/ PA 100 (now US 322 Bus.) in West Chester and
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 ...
in Philadelphia, replacing the previous PA 5 designation. In Philadelphia, PA 3 was shifted by 1940 to follow Chestnut and Walnut streets east before turning north on 5th and 6th streets to meet US 30 at the approach to the
Benjamin Franklin Bridge The Benjamin Franklin Bridge, originally named the Delaware River Bridge and known locally as the Ben Franklin Bridge, is a suspension bridge across the Delaware River connecting Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Camden, New Jersey. Owned and ...
over the
Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock (village), New York, Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of N ...
. The John F. Kennedy Boulevard section of PA 3 was originally part of Filbert Street. The stretch of land between Market Street and Filbert Street once contained a viaduct carrying several tracks of the
Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...
that led to Broad Street Station. The viaduct provided a physical and social barrier between areas north and south of Market Street that came to be known as the "
Chinese Wall A Chinese wall or ethical wall is an information barrier protocol within an organization designed to prevent exchange of information or communication that could lead to conflicts of interest. For example, a Chinese wall may be established to sepa ...
." In 1930, the Pennsylvania Railroad opened Suburban Station, with a new bridge over the Schuylkill River and railroad line parallel to the "Chinese Wall" leading to the new station. With the opening of the Suburban Station, the Pennsylvania Railroad planned to close Broad Street Station and demolish the "Chinese Wall", replacing it with a wide street called Pennsylvania Boulevard that would contain several office buildings. However, the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
put these plans on hold and Broad Street Station and the "Chinese Wall" would continue to be used until 1952. The station and viaduct were demolished and Pennsylvania Boulevard was constructed in the 1950s, with the Penn Center business district built along the boulevard. As part of constructing the boulevard, a new bridge was built over the Schuylkill River leading to 30th Street Station. Pennsylvania Boulevard was later renamed to John F. Kennedy Boulevard. In 1954, regular trolley service between Philadelphia and West Chester ended as plans were made to widen PA 3. Trolley service during peak periods continued until 1958. The trolley service was replaced by buses, which is today part of SEPTA's Route 104 service. During the mid 1950s and early 1960s, the West Chester Pike portion of PA 3 was widened into a four-lane road. US 202 and PA 3 were routed onto a one-way pair in West Chester along Market and Gay streets by 1959. By 1960, PA 3 was rerouted to follow Cobbs Creek Parkway and
Baltimore Avenue The Baltimore Pike was an auto trail connecting Baltimore, Maryland, with Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Today, parts of the road are signed as U.S. Route 1 (US 1), US 13, and a small portion of Pennsylvania Route 41 (PA 41). A section of the road ...
to end at US 13 at the intersection of Baltimore and Whitby avenues in
Southwest Philadelphia Southwest Philadelphia (formerly Kingsessing Township) is a section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The section can be described as extending from the western side of the Schuylkill River to the city line, with the SEPTA. The nor ...
. The route was realigned to follow Chestnut and Walnut streets to US 13 at 44th and 43rd streets by 1970. Also by this time, the US 202 concurrency in West Chester was removed as that highway was rerouted to bypass the borough to the east along US 322. PA 3 was extended east to PA 291 and PA 611 at Philadelphia City Hall during the 1970s. The route followed Chestnut and Walnut streets to US 13 at 38th Street before running along Chestnut Street eastbound and Market Street westbound to 30th Street Station, where it shifted to Market Street eastbound and John F. Kennedy Boulevard westbound. In 2012, the section of PA 3 between Adams Street in West Chester and US 202/US 322 in West Goshen Township was named the Robert J. Thompson Highway in honor of former State Senator Robert J. Thompson. A ceremony was held on October 9, 2012, with State Senator
Andy Dinniman Andrew E. Dinniman (born 1944) is an American politician who served as a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania State Senate for the 19th District from June 2006 until 2020. Early life and education Dinniman was born in New Haven, Connecticut. ...
and state and local officials in attendance. On August 16, 2021, the right lane on eastbound PA 3 (Market Street) between 20th Street and PA 611 (15th Street) and on westbound PA 3 (John F. Kennedy Boulevard) between PA 611 (15th Street) and 19th Street was converted into a bus lane as part of a pilot project to add bus lanes to streets in Philadelphia to improve public transportation.


Major intersections


See also

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References


External links

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Pennsylvania Highways: PA 3PA 3 at AARoads.comPennsylvania Roads - PA 3
003 003, O03, 0O3, OO3 may refer to: *003, fictional British 00 Agent *003, former emergency telephone number for the Norwegian ambulance service (until 1986) *1990 OO3, the asteroid 6131 Towen * OO3 gauge model railway *''O03 (O2)'' and other related ...
Transportation in Chester County, Pennsylvania Transportation in Delaware County, Pennsylvania Transportation in Philadelphia Pre-freeway turnpikes in the United States Streets in Philadelphia Monuments and memorials to John F. Kennedy in the United States