Call Number:

S19

Repository:

Delaware County Historical Society

Extent:

1.5 linear feet

Language:

English

Date:

1970-1980 (bulk) and 1961-1992 (inclusive)

Creator:

Citizen's Council of Delaware County (Pa.)

Abstract:

The southern portion of Interstate 476, colloquially known as the "Blue Route" (also called the Mid-County Expressway), passes through the suburban Philadelphia counties of Delaware and Montgomery to connect the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike with I-95. Planning for I-476 began in the 1950s, but environmental concerns and opposition from local community groups including the Citizen's Council of Delaware County stalled construction for decades. The highway was completed in 1992 at a total cost of about $600 million. The Collection on construction of I-476, 1961-1992 (bulk 1970-1980), includes materials relating to I-476 opposition, in the form of original and copy correspondence, newspaper clippings, notes, rough meeting minutes, drafts, printed materials such as environmental impact reports, and materials relating to court hearings. Most materials seem to have been collected or created by the Citizen's Council of Delaware County or by the Radnor-Marple Blue Route Committee; the Regional Transportation Alliance and the Radnor, Ithan and St. David's Civic Association are also represented.

With increased car traffic after World War II, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission envisioned a "Chester Extension" of the Pennsylvania Turnpike that would connect to the Philadelphia International Airport through Delaware County while bypassing Philadelphia. When the Federal Highway Act was signed into law in 1956, planning of the "Mid-County Expressway," which would become I-476, began in earnest. The Pennsylvania Department of Highways mapped three potential routes, nicknamed "Red (Yellow)," "Green," and "Blue" routes. The Blue Route, parallel to PA-320 along the Darby Creek and Crum Creek valleys, was favored because it provided the most traffic relief and least community disruption.

The Blue Route was first scheduled for a 1964 completion date and $40 million budget, but progress would be stalled by more than two decades of public hearings. After protests from communities threatened by the Blue Route's proposed path, a re-design process began and the budget was adjusted upward to $78 million. Two sections of I-476 were completed by 1974, but they remained unopened.

In the early 1970s, regulations came into force that required the I-476 project to be reassessed with new environmental impact studies, causing more delays. The first section of the Blue Route was opened in 1979, but the U.S. District Court halted construction of I-476 based on complaints from the Delaware County communities of Marple, Radnor, Ashwood Manor, and Swarthmore, along with the Citizens County of Delaware County. Plans were again revised, and construction resumed in 1985 with a Federal judge's approval, contingent upon extensive environmental safeguards. It was not until 1992 that the highway was finally completed, at a total cost of about $600 million.

Bibliography:

Anderson, Steve. "Mid-County Expressway ("Blue Route") Historic Overview." http://www.phillyroads.com/roads/blue-route/. Accessed July 1, 2013.

Most of the materials in this collection seem to have been collected or created by the Citizen's Council of Delaware County or by the Radnor-Marple Blue Route Committee; the Regional Transportation Alliance and the Radnor, Ithan and St. David's Civic Association are also represented. The collection includes materials relating to I-476 opposition, in the form of original and copy correspondence, newspaper clippings, notes, rough meeting minutes, drafts, printed materials such as environmental impact reports, and materials relating to court hearings. There are also two photographs from the grand opening of the Blue Route and a piece of the "ribbon" cut to open it.