Rt. 291 re-routed

[Twicebaked]

Seems that Rt. 291 has been permanently re-routed to the North side of I95 in Philly. It no longer passes in from of the airport. You have to turn left onto Bartram or if you go straight you go right into the airport. It is not detoured. Traffic lights are gone and permanent signage indicates it is a permanent move. There was a gas station at the end of airport near the Hilton and that too is gone and seems to be some kind of "dirt movement"

Could they be attempting to add a runway??? Or is it just more parking for Southwest?

Anyone have the scoop???

 

[bigbusboy]

From what I've heard, it's all prepwork for the extention to the north/south runway. That area will become too close for FAA comfort to the new extention. I also heard part of the employee parking lot will have to be moved as well. :blink:

 

[JayBrian]

The closure of RT 291 (Industrial Highway) is because of the extension to runway 17-35.

Here is an article about it from a few weeks ago.

http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/15643925.htm

 

[Twicebaked]

The closure of RT 291 (Industrial Highway) is because of the extension to runway 17-35.

Here is an article about it from a few weeks ago.

http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/15643925.htm

Thanks for the link

 

[Travelpro72]

Why is it that you sometimes see a southwest plane landing on that runway but I NEVER see any other airline except express use it?

 

[Twicebaked]

Why is it that you sometimes see a southwest plane landing on that runway but I NEVER see any other airline except express use it?

Probably because the plane came from Pit with very few pax on it and it is light enough!! lol Oh wait, it was probably full of US non-revs...so, that couldn't be.

Southwest has not even put a dent in the PHL-PIT route nor as it even put a dent in US operation in either place either.

So much for the Southwest effect! :down:

 

[BoeingBoy]

Why is it that you sometimes see a southwest plane landing on that runway but I NEVER see any other airline except express use it?

Mainly because it's such a pain to get from there to B/C concourses....

Jim

 

[Travelpro72]

Probably because the plane came from Pit with very few pax on it and it is light enough!! lol Oh wait, it was probably full of US non-revs...so, that couldn't be.

Southwest has not even put a dent in the PHL-PIT route nor as it even put a dent in US operation in either place either.

So much for the Southwest effect! :down:

Well lets see though. before WN came into the PHL PIT market the fares were throuth the roof to say the least and the flights were minimal. When I was commuting between the two a few years back it had less flights. Hell, on saturdays the last flight to PHL on a saturday was at around 5pm and it was a dash 8. When we did the cutbacks it was rj after rj and I don't meant he emb170. WN most definately stimulated traffic on that route. It allows many younger college aged people fly between the two. Who knew so many people wanted to go between the two cities. That just goes to show that when you lower your fares to a reasonable rate people WILL come.

 

[ClueByFour]

Southwest has not even put a dent in the PHL-PIT route nor as it even put a dent in US operation in either place either.

O&D on the route is way up, prices are way down, LUV has added frequencies.

The only thing that will drive LUV back on PIT-PHL is if the high speed train opening next month from PHL-MDT is extended to PIT. US won't do it.

 

[PHL]

The only thing that will drive LUV back on PIT-PHL is if the high speed train opening next month from PHL-MDT is extended to PIT. US won't do it.

HA! That's hardly "high speed". The new max speed on that route is 110mph. The rail industry definition of a high speed train is 200 km/hr, or 124mph.

Amtrak will be using the same 30 year old equipment that's been running on the Northeast Corridor. These trainsets are capable of 125mph, as they have run for many years between DC and NYC under the Metroliner service (now retired) and, more recently, the Regional service. So, PA is basically getting hand me down equipment on 100+ year old tracks that have been given some TLC to accomodate them.

PHL to Harrisburg will not likely ever see the Acela which is capable of 160mph, but rarely goes over 135mph on it's entire NEC run (except a very short stretch in Rhode Island)

The PA Govt. heavily subsidized Amtrak to fully electrify the PHL-HAR route and upgrade the signaling and catenary to allow faster speeds because there's a large contingent of people travelling along that line, which has also shown heavy growth over the years. It's relatively straight and open, too, so achieving the 110mph speeds will be completely doable. And, 90 minutes between HAR and PHL is very attractive if you've ever driven that route and gotten stuck on the dreaded "SURE-kill" expressway .

By comparison, the tracks running from HAR to PIT are windy and run through many mountain passes (including the famous Horseshoe Curve in Altoona). Amtrak will never do it. A private consortium will never do it. The freight lines will never accomodate anyone anyway. And, even with the best possible speeds given the condition of the line, a trip from PHL to PIT - approx. 300 miles - would still take well over 4 hours.

I think I read somewhere long ago that PIT-PHL and LONDON-PARIS were two of the world's most heavily travelled short-hop routes (however they defined those). This may have actually been prior to the success of the Channel Tunnel, though.

 

[JAXPax]

Mainly because it's such a pain to get from there to B/C concourses....

Jim

A few months back, I was on a US A319 that landed on 35.... and then we had to taxi to A-West. Ended up being late.

 

[Mtnman928]

A few months back, I was on a US A319 that landed on 35.... and then we had to taxi to A-West. Ended up being late.

I've landed on both 35 and 17 several times but have eaten up the time I saved just waiting to get out of Commuter corner at the end of 35. 17 is almost as bad trying to get back to the ramp crowded with other aircraft.

Mtnman