Interstate 80 in Pennsylvania

Traveling cross country in an automobile can take days or even weeks to complete. Interstate 80 is one major highway in the United States that can make the trip a bit easier. This route connects New York City to Chicago, all the way to San Francisco. One can drive non-stop from either coast to the other on I-80.

Interstate 80 is also a vital artery in Pennsylvania. The highway goes from the New Jersey border at Delaware Water Gap to the Ohio border near Sharon along the northern tier of the state. It is 311 miles from border to border.

One of the interesting aspects of Interstate 80 is that it does not have a connection to the major cities in the state like Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. But it does connect several medium size cities together such as Stroudsburg, Bloomsburg, Danville and Williamsport. It also connects to north-south interstate highways such as I-476, 1-81 and I-79. Most of the 1-80 route travels through hilly and mountainous terrain. The road has seen many major accidents over the years.

Our Offices Close to Interstate 80

The law Offices of O’Connor Law have branch offices in cities such as Stroudsburg, Danville, and Williamsport and also cities that connect to Interstate 80 through connecting roads such as Interstate 380 and Interstate 81. We can meet any of our clients at any of these locations.

Our firm has highly skilled and respected personal injury attorneys, and a personal injury department to support them in handling personal injury cases, including ones involving accidents on the neighboring interstate highways. These attorneys have been taking cases like these for years and have developed a reputation for aggressive representation.

When a person is injured in an accident on an interstate it is quite often one of the worst things that has ever happened to them. High speed crashes, often involving tractor trailers and/or motorcycles are common on these highways, and our attorneys have the experience needed to win these types of cases.

Interstate 80 has Been Proposed as a Toll Road Several Times in the Past

Interstate 80 is such as vital artery in Pennsylvania that the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission wanted to make the road part of the toll road system several times during its history. The southern tier of the turnpike is the only other east-west highway in the state.

The plan faced opposition from northern Pennsylvania politicians who feared tolls would hurt the economy in the region. They also did not want their tolls going toward funding mass transit.

Congress proposed a federal transportation bill that would ban the tolling of I-80. The chief executive officer of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission had promised that the tolls would be used on highway projects in Pennsylvania and not on mass transit.

On December 12, 2007, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) rejected the plan, and returned Pennsylvania’s application for tolling I-80 with a reply stating why the state should place tolls on the highway. In September of 2008, the Federal Highway Administration rejected Pennsylvania’s application to toll Interstate 80 for the second time. On April 6, 2010, the Federal Highway Administration rejected this application for the third time.

Accidents on I-80 in Recent Times

Voted one of the “worst roads” by the readers of Overdrive magazine for most of the 1990s, Interstate 80 has rebounded on the 1999 and 2000 surveys. It came in at number one under most improved road on the 2000 survey. Most of the credit goes to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation for rebuilding most of the 311 miles of the highway from the ground up.

Large scale accidents, however, were still happening.

On December 28, 2001, two massive accidents occurred due to treacherous conditions caused by winter weather. The first happened late that day at Exit 185 for Loganton. At least 63 vehicles — a dozen cars and two tractor-trailers, with one carrying flammable material – were involved in the wreck, causing incredible amounts of damage and injuries. The truck carrying the flammable materials caught fire. The Pennsylvania State Police estimated that at least 45 cars and six tractor-trailers in the westbound lanes and about twelve in the eastbound lanes were involved. Somehow only minor injuries were sustained by those involved.

Snow plays havoc on I-80 consistently throughout most winters. On January 6, 2004 during a heavy snowfall, several multi-vehicle accidents took place on both sides of Interstate 80, one of the worst taking place between Exit 158 and Exit 178. This pile-up occurred in both the eastbound and westbound lanes between Exit 158 and Exit 161 in the late morning hours. It involved approximately 30 tractor-trailers, around 20 passenger vehicles, and resulted in six fatalities. There were still four or five vehicles, including a semi, still burning come sunrise on January 7 in the westbound lanes, and prevented investigators from beginning their work. About 17 people had been taken to Mount Nittany Medical Center and Lock Haven Hospital, and one person was flown to the trauma center at Altoona Hospital. Ambulances and fire crews were brought in from four counties to attend to the injured and extinguish the fires.

On Wednesday, February 14, 2007, conditions began to deteriorate with seven inches of snow followed by three inches of ice. Several tractor-trailers began to jack-knife and others became stuck in the snow. PennDOT closed the highway between Exit 241 and the Interstate 81 interchange on Thursday, February 15 and did not reopen I-80 until late afternoon on February 17. The storm and the problems it caused forced Governor Ed Rendell to declare a statewide disaster emergency. It took 150 employees with 141 pieces of equipment to clear the ice and snow off I-78, I-80, and I-81.

Interstate 80 (Pennsylvania) Accident Statistics for 2012

The length of Interstate 80 in Pennsylvania runs 311 miles from the Ohio border to the west, to the New Jersey state border to the east in the northern tier of the state. Following are the records of accidents for the year 2012 on Interstate 80.

Passenger vehicle (Automobile, Small Truck, SUV, Van)

In 2012, Passenger vehicles were involved in 1,037 total crashes on Interstate 80. The statistics include the following: 60 angle crashes; 3 head on; 491 hit fixed object; 0 hit pedestrian; 96 non-collision; 163 other/unknown; 161 rear end; 0 sideswipe (opposite direction); 63 sideswipe (same direction).

Motorcycle

In 2012, 13 motorcycles were involved in crashes on Interstate 80. The statistics include the following: 1 angle crash; 4 hit fixed object; 5 non-collision; 2 other/unknown; 1 rear end; 0 sideswipe (same direction).

Legally Intoxicated Driver

In 2012, there where 23 cases of legally intoxicated drivers arrested on Interstate 80. The statistics include the following: 4 angle crashes; 0 head on; 11 hit fixed object; 3 non-collision; 4 rear end; 0 sideswipe (opposite direction); 1 sideswipe (same direction).

Heavy Truck

In 2012, there were 333 crashed involving heavy trucks on Interstate 80. The statistics include the following; 43 angle crashes; 2 head on; 91 hit fixed object; 0 hit pedestrian; 35 non-collision; 15 other/unknown; 88 rear end; 1 rear to ear; 0 sideswipe (opposite direction) 58 sideswipe (same direction).

Distracted Driving

In 2012, there were 66 cases of distracted drivers getting into crashes on Intestate 80. The statistics include; 4 angle crashes; 30 hit fixed objects; 8 non-collision; 26 rear end; 0 sideswipe (same direction).