Power Library - Pennsylvania's Electronic Library Pennsylvania's Electronic Library PA's
Electronic
Library

This collection contains original drawings executed in the field relating to rights-of-way and grading of the Original Section of the Pennsylvania Turnpike and its subsequent extensions. more The majority are rendered in pencil or pen on sheets of engineering graph paper, and measure on average 32" x 38 1/4". Headings for either the Department of Transportation or the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission are printed on the tops of the various pages. Most drawings are grouped in sets, with each set pertaining to a specific location along the Turnpike's route. Data varies from sheet to sheet, and may include: final book number, county, district number, contract number, section number, route number, drawing number, and general descriptive information. Drawings are primarily cross sections with some construction plan and profile drawings. Typical subjects include: grading sections, channel changes, borrow pits, bridges, culverts, ramps, overpasses, road relocations, viaducts, interchanges, tunnels, tunnel approaches, toll plazas, service stations, and maintenance buildings. Microfilm rolls contain Bridge Unit drawings, construction drawings for various sections, tunnels, and affiliated turnpike structures. less

This collection contains notebooks executed in the field for the construction of the Turnpike, and is arranged by construction contract number, the volumes chronicle the planning more and construction of the Original Section, as well as many of the later extensions. Each field book is individually numbered, containing a wide variety of information such as diagrams, engineering measurements and data, notes, sketches, and weather conditions. The majority of the books come with an index card bearing the following information specific to each volume: county, division number, district number, dates, road section number, contract number, note taker, as well as a description of the book's contents. Many of the notebooks contain the Resident Engineer's Sketchbooks which tracked progress of work in the field on contracts primarily focusing on structures, bridges, and calculations. less