Pennsylvania Route 196

Pennsylvania Route 196
Route information
Maintained by PennDOT
Length	25.736 mi[1] (41.418 km)
Major junctions
South end	PA 611 / PA 940 in Mount Pocono
Major intersections	PA 423 near Tobyhanna PA 507 in Angels PA 191 in Hamlin PA 590 in Hamlin
North end	PA 296 in Varden
Location
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
Counties	Monroe, Wayne
Highway system
Pennsylvania State Route System Interstate US State Scenic Legislative
← PA 194 → PA 197

Pennsylvania Route 196 (PA 196) is a state highway in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania, United States, with a length of 25.7 miles (41.4 km). It runs from PA 611 and PA 940 in Mount Pocono in Monroe County north to PA 296 in Varden in Wayne County. The route is a two-lane undivided road that runs through rural areas. PA 196 intersects PA 423 near Tobyhanna State Park before entering Wayne County, where it crosses PA 507 in Angels and passes through Sterling. The route forms a concurrency with PA 191 and has a junction with PA 590 in Hamlin. Upon splitting from PA 191, PA 196 continues north to its end at PA 296.

PA 196 follows a part of the alignment of the Belmont and Easton Turnpike, a turnpike between Belmont and Easton that was chartered in 1812 and completed in 1820. PA 196 was designated in the 1930s between U.S. Route 611 (US 611, now PA 611) and PA 615 (now PA 940) in Mount Pocono and PA 296 in Varden. The route was progressively improved and paved over the years, becoming fully paved in the 1970s. In 1956, PA 196 was extended southeast from Mount Pocono to an interchange with US 611, now Interstate 80 (I-80), in East Stroudsburg. The southern terminus reverted to its current location in the 1960s, with the former alignment now PA 940 between Mount Pocono and Paradise Valley, PA 191 between Paradise Valley and Analomink, PA 447 between Analomink and East Stroudsburg, and US 209 leading to the interchange with I-80.