Breezewood, Pennsylvania
| Breezewood, Pennsylvania | |
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| Unincorporated town | |
The stretch of U.S. Route 30 in Breezewood, Pennsylvania is one of the few gaps in the Interstate Highway System. A portion of I-70 uses this surface street to connect the non-tolled interstate highway with the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
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 Breezewood
Breezewood
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| Coordinates: 39°59′49″N 78°14′26″W / 39.99694°N 78.24056°WCoordinates: 39°59′49″N 78°14′26″W / 39.99694°N 78.24056°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Pennsylvania |
| County | Bedford |
| Township | East Providence |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP codes | 15533 |
| Area code(s) | 814 Exchange: 735 |
Breezewood is an unincorporated town in East Providence Township, Bedford County in south-central Pennsylvania.
Along a traditional pathway for Native Americans, European settlers, and British troops during colonial times, in the early 20th century, the small valley that became known as Breezewood was a popular stopping place for automobile travelers on the Lincoln Highway, beginning in 1913. Greyhound Lines opened a Post House facility in the town in 1935; it closed in 2004.
In 1940, Breezewood was designated exit 6 on the just-opened Pennsylvania Turnpike. In the 1960s, Breezewood became the junction of the Turnpike and the new Interstate 70. Later renumbered exit 12, it is now exit 161 on the Turnpike following a change to mileage-based exit numbering.
Breezewood has been labeled a "tourist trap" which prevents travelers from easily transitioning between Interstate 70 and the Turnpike, instead routing traffic along a two-mile loop lined with gasoline stations, hotels, and restaurants. This section of Interstate 70 is one of the few parts of the Interstate Highway System which is not a controlled-access highway.
The community which became known as Breezewood has a long history of serving cross-country travelers.
Before the Europeans arrived, an old trail of the Native Americans crossed through there. Later, in colonial times before the American Revolutionary War (1776–1781) and the Conestoga wagons of the westbound settlers, a wagon road passed through. A British military trail was built in 1758 by General John Forbes from Chambersburg to Pittsburgh during the French and Indian War. It was later known as the Pittsburgh Road and the Conestoga Road. Through the tiny valley was built the Chambersburg-Bedford Turnpike, a private toll road which came later.
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