Some historic US highway endpoints in Philadelphia, PA
Photo credits: Steven Nelson
| Highway | Approx. time period |
|---|---|
| US 120 | 1926-1927 |
| US 422 [E] | 1927-1985 |
| US 309 | 1930-1968 |
Several 3-digit US routes have ended in Philadelphia over the years. This page discusses only those endpoints that were common to more than one route.
The photo below is looking south on Bethlehem Pike at Germantown Avenue:
Nelson,
Sep. 2007
If US 120 was ever signed into Philadelphia (it probably wasn't), its east endpoint would've been here. That would've lasted only about a year anyway, because US 422 replaced US 120 in 1927, and ended at the same place. And starting in 1930, this was also the south end of US 309.
In 1935, both US 309 and US 422 were extended further south and east. US 422 used Ridge Avenue, and 309 ended up on Lincoln Drive. Both routes converged and ended where they junctioned with Bypass US 1/13. Those routes followed City Avenue from the south, then turned east on River Drive, so that intersection marked the endpoint of both US 309 and 422. The photo below is from roughly that location - it's looking west on Ridge:
Nelson, Sep. 2007
That could represent southbound Bypass US 1/13, which continued to the left via City Av. Straight ahead was the east beginning of US 422, and to the right on Lincoln was the south beginning of US 309. (I should point out the actual junction was just to the south [left] of here.)
During the 1940s and '50s, US 309 and 422 were each rerouted to endpoints elsewhere in Philadelphia; you can get more info and view photos by clicking on either route in the chart above.