Interstate 476 is a 132.1-mile auxiliary Interstate Highway in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania designated between Interstate 95 near Chester and Interstate 81 near Scranton, serving as the primary north–south Interstate corridor through eastern Pennsylvania. It consists of both the 20-mile Mid-County Expressway, locally referred to as the Blue Route , through the suburban Philadelphia-area counties of Delaware and Montgomery, and the 110.6-mile Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike connecting the Philadelphia metropolitan area with the Lehigh Valley, the Poconos, and the Wyoming Valley. The Blue Route passes through suburban areas, while the Northeast Extension predominantly runs through rural areas of mountains and farmland, with development closer to Philadelphia and in the Lehigh Valley and the Wyoming Valley. I-476 intersects many major roads including Interstate 76 in West Conshohocken, Interstate 276 in Plymouth Meeting, U.S. Route 22 near Allentown, and Interstate 80 near Hickory Run State Park. At its opening in the early 1970's, I-476 was a 4 mile long, 4-lane spur expressway connecting the Schuylkill Expressway with the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Plymouth Meeting. It significantly helped reduce congestion through King of Prussia and the Schuylkill Expressway as it provided a more direct link from the Main Line suburbs to the Northern suburbs and New Jersey. The highway was initially planned to connect down to I-95 in Delaware County, but due to environmental and local opposition, this portion did not open until 1990. Between 1992 and 1993, I-476 was extended 111 miles north of Plymouth Meeting to Clarks Summit as a part of the Pennsylvania Turnpike system. It was the most costly interstate project in the Northeast during the 90's, as it passed through multiple viaducts, mountains, and a 1-mile long tunnel at Kittatinny Mountain. The flagship project of this expressway was a state-of-the-art three-level interchange spurring off the initial I-476 in Conshohocken, providing direct access to both I-276 East and the new I-476 North. The turnpike also served the Lehigh Valley at U.S. Route 22, and spurred rapid suburban development in western portions of the Allentown area, now within 1 hour of the I-276 commercial corridor. With the completion of the Northeast Extension, I-476 became the longest auxiliary Interstate Highway, surpassing I-495 in Massachusetts. I-476 was widened to 6 lanes between I-76 and I-276 in 1990-1992 in anticipation of the Northeast Extension construction. It was later widened to 6 lanes up to Lansdale between 2015-2017.
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