Interstate 476 in Pennsylvania

When an interstate highway in the United States has three digits (such as 476) it usually means that it is an auxiliary interstate highway. This means it is an offshoot of a main interstate highway that takes travelers around a particular city or a particular part of the state. This is to avoid heavily trafficked areas or to get to a different part of the state. Interstate 476 is like this in Pennsylvania. This highway is an offshoot of Interstate 76, which is the main route for the southern tier of the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

The southern-most section of I-476 is known as the Blue Route. The highway mile markers start near the city of Chester and the Philadelphia Airport as a turnoff for Interstate 95. The road then travels north through the Philadelphia suburban areas of Delaware and Montgomery counties to Plymouth Meeting and the Mid-County Interchange. It is at that point where the highway turns into a toll road as the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. It ends in Clark Summit north of Scranton.

At Plymouth Meeting, the road connects to both the southern and northeast extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The toll both is known as the Mid-County interchange. Drivers then can go either east or west on the southern tier of the turnpike, or continue north on the northeast extension of the Pennsylvania turnpike, also known as I-476. The northeast extension continues north to Lansdale and Quakertown through the Lehigh and Mahoning Valleys, and takes travelers to the Pocono Mountain resorts along Interstate 80. It then passes right through the Scranton and Wilkes-Barre area before ending north of Scranton in Clarks Summit.

The entire length of the road is 132 miles. There are two service plazas along the turnpike portion near Allentown and the Poconos.

The law offices of O’Connor Law have had a presence along both portions of the Interstate 476 corridor for years. The firm has offices in Bala Cynwyd and the city of Philadelphia near the southern portion of the road known as the Blue Route. There are also branch offices in Allentown, Stroudsburg, Wilkes-Barre and Scranton near the Pennsylvania Turnpike’s Northeast Extension. Interstate 476 has its share of automobile, truck, motorcycle and tractor-trailer accidents. This is especially true during the peak rush hour times in the Delaware Valley (Philadelphia area), Lehigh Valley and Scranton and Wilkes-Barre areas.

A deadly four-vehicle crash on Interstate 476 occurred in early May 2013. According to Pennsylvania State Police-Media Barracks, two people were pronounced dead at the scene.

All lanes of the highway were closed for several hours, from Exit 5 (U.S. Route 1) to Exit 9 (Broomall), while crews cleared the crash for the highway to be reopened. A gold colored Oldsmobile Royale, was traveling on I-476 southbound near mile marker 8 in Maple Township in the northbound lanes of travel. The Oldsmobile then struck a green Chevrolet Venture, in the left lane, head on.

Both vehicles had come to a stop on the roadway when both were then struck by a Mack tractor-trailer and a Volvo tractor-trailer that were attempting to avoid from the crash, according to State Police.

In July 2013, one person was critically injured in a multi-vehicle accident that shut down portions of the Pennsylvania Turnpike’s Northeast Extension between Quakertown and Lansdale for several hours. State Troopers said the crash involved a minimum of four vehicles. The person critically injured was transported to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest. The accident happened on Interstate 476 south between Exit 44 in Milford and Exit 31 in Towamencin. The accident, which was reported at 4:40 a.m., also involved a fuel spill. That stretch of the turnpike remained closed until early afternoon, causing major delays in the area.

The length of Interstate 476 in Pennsylvania runs 311 miles from near Chester, Pa. to the south, through the Mid-County interchange of the Pennsylvania Turnpike at Plymouth Meeting, and through to the turnpike’s end at Clarks Summit to the north.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (Penn DOT) keeps records of accidents that occur on the road every year. The latest records that are available are from 2012. The statistics are broken down into several categories depending in the vehicle type and the type of accident.

In 2012, Passenger vehicles were involved in 229 total crashes on Interstate 476. The statistics include the following: 6 angle crashes; 0 head on; 71 hit fixed object; 0 hit pedestrian; 16 non-collision; 12 other/unknown; 112 rear end; 0 sideswipe (opposite direction); 12 sideswipe (same direction)

In 2012, 3 motorcycles were involved in crashes on Interstate 476. The statistics include the following: 0 angle crash; 1 hit fixed object; 1 non-collision; 0 other/unknown; 1 rear end; 0 sideswipe (same direction)

In 2012, there were 7 cases of legally intoxicated drivers arrested on Interstate 476. The statistics include the following: 0 angle crashes; 0 head on; 4 hit fixed object; 0 non-collision; 3 rear end; 0 sideswipe (opposite direction); 0 sideswipe (same direction).

In 2012, there were 30 crashed involving heavy trucks on Interstate 476. The statistics include the following; 0 angle crashes; 0 head on; 4 hit fixed object; 0 hit pedestrian; 8 non-collision; 0 other/unknown; 16 rear end; 0 rear to ear; 0 sideswipe (opposite direction), 4 sideswipe (same direction).

In 2012, there were 14 cases of distracted drivers getting into crashes on Interstate 476. The statistics include; 0 angle crashes; 2 hit fixed objects; 0 non-collision; 11 rear end; 1 sideswipe (same direction).