For those of you who live in a certain part of the country, hearing the name of the town, "Breezewood, PA," will renew a tiny bit of bitterness, but with no one in particular to direct it to.
You see, you can drive from anywhere in Western Pennsylvania, or anywhere in the Midwest or from way out West to Miami, Florida, totally on interstate highways, without encountering a single stop sign or stop light (construction delays excluded, of course). But if you choose to take Interstate 80 and shift to 76 in Ohio as you start the move southward, you will soon be driving on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
And where the Pennsylvania Turnpike branches off from Interstate 70/270 - at Breezewood - you CANNOT GO DIRECTLY FROM ONE INTERSTATE TO THE OTHER! You MUST exit the PA Turnpike and pass through the little hamlet of Breezewood, along with its multiple stoplights and scores of gas stations, feeding places, truck stops, etc., before continuing on to the East and Southeast.
Generations of Pennsylvania legislators have prevented the construction of an exit directly onto Interstate 70, because the existence of that exit would cause Breezewood to shrivel up like an unwatered flower. So the millions of travelers who venture down to Baltimore, DC, and points south along the I-95 corridor are forced to endure this compulsory "rest stop," and have been so forced for generations now, despite complaints by millions and millions of travelers over the years. They do it because they CAN do it, and for no other reason.
Your tax dollars at work. Inconveniencing millions and millions of travelers, to benefit a couple dozen small businesses, most of which are "chain" businesses.
Most similar intersections have long ago built the connecting infrastructure to go from one limited-access highway to the other, but not Breezewood. Don't you just love it?
You see, you can drive from anywhere in Western Pennsylvania, or anywhere in the Midwest or from way out West to Miami, Florida, totally on interstate highways, without encountering a single stop sign or stop light (construction delays excluded, of course). But if you choose to take Interstate 80 and shift to 76 in Ohio as you start the move southward, you will soon be driving on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
And where the Pennsylvania Turnpike branches off from Interstate 70/270 - at Breezewood - you CANNOT GO DIRECTLY FROM ONE INTERSTATE TO THE OTHER! You MUST exit the PA Turnpike and pass through the little hamlet of Breezewood, along with its multiple stoplights and scores of gas stations, feeding places, truck stops, etc., before continuing on to the East and Southeast.
Generations of Pennsylvania legislators have prevented the construction of an exit directly onto Interstate 70, because the existence of that exit would cause Breezewood to shrivel up like an unwatered flower. So the millions of travelers who venture down to Baltimore, DC, and points south along the I-95 corridor are forced to endure this compulsory "rest stop," and have been so forced for generations now, despite complaints by millions and millions of travelers over the years. They do it because they CAN do it, and for no other reason.
Your tax dollars at work. Inconveniencing millions and millions of travelers, to benefit a couple dozen small businesses, most of which are "chain" businesses.
Most similar intersections have long ago built the connecting infrastructure to go from one limited-access highway to the other, but not Breezewood. Don't you just love it?
