Pennsylvania Route 16

Pennsylvania Route 16
Route information
Maintained by PennDOT
Length	43.146 mi[1] (69.437 km)
Existed	1928[2]–present
Major junctions
West end	US 522 in McConnellsburg
Major intersections	PA 456 near Cove Gap PA 75 / PA 416 in Mercersburg PA 995 in Upton US 11 in Greencastle I-81 in Greencastle PA 316 in Waynesboro PA 997 in Waynesboro PA 116 in Carroll Valley
East end	MD 140 in Liberty Township
Location
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
Counties	Fulton, Franklin, Adams
Highway system
Pennsylvania State Route System Interstate US State Scenic Legislative
← PA 15 → PA 17

Pennsylvania Route 16 (PA 16) is a 43-mile-long (69 km) east–west state route located in southern Pennsylvania, United States. The western terminus of the route is at U.S. Route 522 (US 522) in McConnellsburg. The eastern terminus is at the Mason–Dixon line in Liberty Township, where the road continues into Maryland as Maryland Route 140 (MD 140). PA 16 is a two-lane road that runs through rural areas in Fulton, Franklin, and Adams counties. The route heads east from McConnellsburg and crosses Tuscarora Mountain into Franklin County, where it continues east into the agricultural Cumberland Valley. Here, the passes through Mercersburg, Greencastle, and Waynesboro. PA 16 heads east through the South Mountain range, where it heads into Adams County and passes through Carroll Valley before coming to the Maryland border. PA 16 intersects several roads including PA 456 in Cove Gap, PA 75 and PA 416 in Mercersburg, PA 995 in Upton, US 11 and Interstate 81 (I-81) in Greencastle, PA 316 and PA 997 in Waynesboro, and PA 116 in Carroll Valley. The road's main name is Buchanan Trail in honor of 15th President James Buchanan, who was born near the road in Cove Gap.

The section of the road between Mercersburg and the Maryland border was constructed as part of two 19th-century turnpikes which served as part of a travel route between Pittsburgh and Baltimore. The state took over the road in 1917 and it became a part of the Buchanan Highway, which ran between Mount Union and the Maryland border in Carroll Valley. The section of the present route in McConnellsburg became part of the Lincoln Highway in 1913, PA 1 in 1924, and US 30 in 1926, with PA 1 removed from US 30 two years later. PA 16 was designated in 1928 to run along the Buchanan Trail between US 30 (Lincoln Way) in McConnellsburg and MD 32 (now MD 140) at the Maryland border southeast of Carroll Valley, replacing the previous PA 51 designation that had been assigned to the road a year earlier. A related route PA 851 is evidence of the route's former designation. The route was realigned across South Mountain by 1941. The west end of PA 16 was extended along Lincoln Way to US 522 in 1967 after US 30 was rerouted to bypass McConnellsburg to the north.