About This Collection
The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission was created in 1937 by the Pennsylvania State Legislature, Act No. 211, with the authority to construct, finance, operate, and maintain a toll highway. The Commission consists of five members, four of whom are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate for four-year terms. The fifth member of the Board is the Secretary of Transportation. The powers and duties of the Commission are executed through an executive director and various bureaus. The Pennsylvania Turnpike officially opened on October 1, 1940. A detailed history of the Turnpike Commission is available. This collection contains notebooks executed in the field for the construction of the Turnpike, and is arranged by construction contract number, the volumes chronicle the planning and construction of the Original Section, as well as many of the later extensions. Each field book is individually numbered, containing a wide variety of information such as diagrams, engineering measurements and data, notes, sketches, and weather conditions. The majority of the books come with an index card bearing the following information specific to each volume: county, division number, district number, dates, road section number, contract number, note taker, as well as a description of the book's contents. Many of the notebooks contain the Resident Engineer's Sketchbooks which tracked progress of work in the field on contracts primarily focusing on structures, bridges, and calculations.