Tredyffrin Easttown Historical Society
History Quarterly Digital Archives

Source: April 1992 Volume 30 Number 2, Pages 82–84

Notes and Comments

• Blue Route Opens
• Conestoga Again Wins County Academic Competition
• Additions to the Collections at the Jenkins Arboretum
• Conestoga Band Continues its Role as Ambassadors

Page 82

Blue Route Opens

On December 19, 1991, after what the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation described as "a thirty-five year journey", the so-called "Blue Route", or Mid-County Expressway between the Pennsylvania Turnpike and I-95, opened.

In a brochure published by PennDOT it was noted, "The highway's origins can be traced as far back as 1929 when planners first recognized the need for a north-south expressway through the middle of Delaware County. But the journey really began in 1956 when the concept of a 'mid-county' expressway was included in the U.S. Interstate and Defense Highway System that was just beginning to take shape."

In November that year a suggested route for the expressway was announced, starting at Essington and running north through Swarthmore and Radnor before linking with the Schuylkill Expressway near Conshohocken. The proposed route brought immediate opposition from a number of Delaware and Montgomery county civic groups. Along with officials from public schools and colleges, industry, country clubs, and others who would stand to lose portions of their properties, they banded together to put pressure on the authorities to have this proposed route discarded. The group made its report early in the following January.

In addition to criticizing the proposed route and the "Chinese Wall effect" it alleged the expressway would create on the lower Main Line on fourteen different counts, the group also recommended an alternate route farther to the west.

Page 83

from Upper Main Line News March 5, 1957 Suggested route for the Mid-County Expressway, through Easttown and Tredyffrin and intersecting Route 30 between Daylesford and Paoli

This alternate route started at Eddystone, near Chester, running to the west of Media, past the Springton Reservoir through the Crum Creek valley north through Easttown and Tredyffrin, to intersect with the Lancaster Pike between Daylesford and Paoli and then eventually continuing to the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

In support of this alternative it was pointed out that local traffic on it would be "negligible" as there were "no well developed shopping centers along the route between Media and Paoli"; that it was "close enough to the City of Philadelphia to be of value to traffic to or from the south and west of Philadelphia to northern or western cities, and yet far enough removed so that only four radial highways [the Lancaster Pike, the West Chester Pike, the Baltimore Pike, and Route 13] are intersected, resulting in only four interchanges [as compared with nine on the proposed route of the State], or an average of one interchange per four miles, which is a desirable condition for a high speed expressway"; that "not a single community is bisected in ... [the alternate] proposal", and that, in fact, it was "doubtful that any homes need to be touched, except at the interchange of the northern terminus" at the Lancaster Pike; that the alternative right-of-way was wide enough to allow for future expansion; and that its cost, even if extended to the Turnpike, would be only about three-quarters of that of the original proposal.

Despite these arguments for the suggested western route, the major thrust of the highway department's further study over a number of years was on refinements to meet the various objections to the originally proposed route.

Page 84

As one highway official observed, "Whenever major construction is contemplated we run into these violent pressures, with everyone trying to force it through his neighbor's property instead of his own. General procedure is to announce a route and then stand back to see how strong these pressures can build."

But imagine the changes that would have taken place if "these pressures" had built strongly enough to "force" the Mid-County Expressway into our two townships, to intersect with Route 30 between Daylesford and Paoli!

Conestoga Again Wins County Academic Competition

For the third year in a row Conestoga High School was the winner of the county-wide academic competition sponsored by the Chester County Intermediate Unit and Mellon Bank, defeating Henderson High School of West Chester and the Coatesville Area High School in the final round.

Representing Conestoga in the finals were Ben Ballard, Michelle Hong, Ben Feldman, Justin Uberti, and Mike Melesky, with Paul Ballas, Dean Fisher, Tina Chiu, Joyelle McSweeney, John Minervini, Bobby Mohanty, Angelo Kweon, and Brian Galletta also members of the team. They were coached by Mrs. Mary Golin, a member of the faculty.

Conestoga's victory was its fifth in the eight years of the competition.

Additions to the Collections at the Jenkins Arboretum

In a letter to the Friends of Jenkins Arboretum, Harold E. Sweetman, the director of the arboretum, noted, "over 1,000 accessions ... were added to the collections last year alone. Many of the plants are in the Rhododendrum genus, which includes azaleas, thus expanding on the Arboretum's unique specialization. New and interesting wildflowers and ferns were also planted, bringing the total to over 350 species."

The arboretum is located at 631 Berwyn-Baptist Road in Devon, just off Devon State Road.

Conestoga Band Continues its Role as Ambassadors

The Conestoga High School band continues to be "ambassadors of good will", Bill Schwenk, its current director, reminded us after reading the article in the previous issue about the band's 1980 Rose Bowl Parade appearance.

"Since the Rose Bowl Parade," he reported, "we have appeared again at the Cotton Carnival in Memphis, at the Miss America Pageant in Atlantic City annually since 1985, at the Azalea Festival in Norfolk, and four times at Disney World or Epcot in Orlando. We've also performed in Toronto and in Nashville, in the Von Steuben Day Parade in Philadelphia, and at the Quebec Festival Parade in Canada. At the Blossom Festival Parade at Niagara Falls in 1990 the band not only participated, but also won first place in the band, band-front, and solo competitions."