Route information | ||||
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Maintained by PennDOT | ||||
Length | 80.514 mi[1] (129.575 km) | |||
Major junctions | ||||
West end | SR 3009 in Middle Paxton Township | |||
US 22 / US 322 in Middle Paxton Township PA 72 in Union Township I-81 in Pine Grove Township PA 645 in Pine Grove Township PA 895 in Pine Grove PA 125 in Pine Grove PA 183 in Wayne Township PA 61 in Schuylkill Haven PA 895 in New Ringgold PA 309 in West Penn Township | ||||
East end | US 209 in Lehighton | |||
Location | ||||
Country | United States | |||
State | Pennsylvania | |||
Counties | Dauphin, Lebanon, Schuylkill, Carbon | |||
Highway system | ||||
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Pennsylvania Route 443 (PA 443) is an 80-mile-long (130 km) east–west state highway in the US state of Pennsylvania. The western terminus is at an intersection with State Route 3009 (SR 3009) at North Front Street on the east bank of the Susquehanna River in the community of Fort Hunter in Middle Paxton Township, just west of an interchange with the U.S. Route 22 (US 22)/US 322 freeway. The eastern terminus is at US 209 in Lehighton. The route runs through rural areas in the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians in Dauphin, Lebanon, Schuylkill, and Carbon counties, serving Fort Indiantown Gap, Pine Grove, Schuylkill Haven, Orwigsburg, New Ringgold, and South Tamaqua. PA 443 intersects several major roads, including US 22/US 322 near its western terminus, PA 72 in Union Township, Interstate 81 (I-81) near Pine Grove, PA 61 between Schuylkill Haven and Orwigsburg, and PA 309 in South Tamaqua.
PA 443 was designated in 1928 between PA 43 (Jonestown Road) in Harper Tavern and US 120 (now PA 61) in Schuylkill Haven. PA 925 was designated in 1928 to run between New Ringgold and PA 29 (now PA 309) in South Tamaqua. By 1930, the western terminus of PA 443 was moved to PA 43 west of Jonestown, heading south from Lickdale. In the 1930s, PA 443 was realigned at Green Point to run west to US 11/US 15/US 22/US 322 (North Front Street) on the east bank of the Susquehanna River, with the former alignment between Jonestown and Green Point becoming an extended PA 72, while PA 925 was extended west from New Ringgold to US 122 (now PA 61) west of Orwigsburg. In the 1940s, PA 443 was extended east from Schuylkill Haven to US 209/US 309 in Lehighton, replacing the entirety of PA 925 between Orwigsburg and South Tamaqua. North Front Street at the western terminus became unnumbered in 1977 when US 22/US 322 was shifted to a freeway a short distance to the east.