You've heard of Rails to Trails. How about turnpikes to bike pikes?
In southern Pennsylvania, cyclists can have the expressway to themselves where an abandoned stretch of the Pennsylvania Turnpike is being turned into a bike path.
Bike 2 Pike runs about 8.5 miles between Breezewood and Hustontown. Four paved lanes. Two tunnels (above): Rays Hill Tunnel, 3/4-miles long; Sideling Hill Tunnel, more than a mile.
I remember taking the Pennsylvania Turnpike from on trips from Ohio to Washington DC back in the early '60s. It was exciting to pass through those tunnels in a car; it must be quite a thrill riding in complete darkness on a bike. It must also be an eerie experience to ride on an abandoned superhighway where wildflowers grow through cracks in the asphalt.
The segment of now-abandoned turnpike opened in 1940 and linked Harrisburg to Pittsburgh. Eventually, the two-lane tunnels constricted the high volume of traffic, and a bypass was built and the section closed in 1968. The Southern Alleghenies Conservancy (SAC) acquired the segment in 2001 and began its transformation into a bike trail.
Although cyclists in the area regularly use the old turnpike, it's not officially opened. Cycling isn't forbidden, although the SAC website warns bikers when a local National Guard post trains in the area.
The Pittsburg Post Gazette reports that SAC has a $2.6 million plan to upgrade the route. Plans call for solar-powered L.E.D. lighting in the tunnels, one repaved lane, bathrooms, and more.
A county official told the newspaper that he expects a half-million visitors the second year after it opens. Not only is there curiosity about cycling on the old turnpike and through tunnels, but the route cuts through forested land where deer, bears, turkeys and other wildlife are regularly seen.
The Pike2Bike website tells where to access the abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike segment.
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