The epzik8 Webpage
U.S. Route 222 south - Reading to Lancaster
North of Reading, Pennsylvania, entering Ontelaunee Township, Berks County, U.S. Route 222 southbound approaches its split with U.S. Route 222 Business, which heads south into the borough of Laureldale and then into Reading. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
Traffic remaining on mainline US 222 exits here. Mainline US 222 proceeds to bypass Reading to the west and south. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
A US 222 shield is present as the Reading bypass begins. US 222 is limited-access from here to its split from U.S. Route 30 north of Lancaster, 38 miles to the south. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
This portion of US 222 is dedicated as a Prisoners of War/Missing in Action (POW/MIA) highway. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
Exits serving Reading are then listed on this overhead sign. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
The highway approaches its interchange with Pennsylvania Route 61, which leads to Tuckerton and Pottsville in neighboring Schuylkill County to the north. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
Before the ramp to PA 61 north leaves US 222, the highway passes under a railroad track that parallels PA 61 to Hamburg, 12 miles to the north, where it intersects Interstate 78. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
Another railroad track crosses over US 222 before the exit. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
US 222 now approaches the ramp for PA 61 south toward the Tuckerton area and downtown Reading. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
After the PA 61 interchange, the city of Lancaster is 39 miles to the southwest. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
A ground-level green sign lists the next three exits. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
The highway crosses Leisczs Bridge Road, then nears an interchange with Pennsylvania Route 183 - Bernville Road, leading to Strausstown at Interstate 78 to the northwest. Beginning in downtown Reading, PA 183 runs just under 32 miles to the borough of Cressona in Schuylkill County. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
Off the next exit are Van Reed Road and the borough of Sinking Spring. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
Lancaster is now 37 miles away, and up ahead in the median sits a variable message sign listing the travel times to US 222's interchange with PA 568, and the north end of Interstate 176 at US 422 to the east. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
US 222 goes sharply downhill, crosses the Schuylkill River, curves wide left, then reaches the offramp to Van Reed Road before approaching a diamond interchange with Broadcasting Road, located half a mile from this overpass carrying Spring Ridge Drive over the highway. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
A quarter of a mile later, signage begins appearing for US 222's exchange with U.S. Route 422, the latter route heading east from Reading to Pottstown. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
There sits US 222 reassurance and a blue sign listing food options at the next exit in the meantime. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
Also at the next exit is the Berks Campus of Penn State (and, at right, the Broadcasting Square shopping center). Photo taken 08-14-2023.
The offramp to Broadcasting Road sits to the right. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
The 222/422 meeting is now a quarter of a mile away. Not included at the interchange is access from US 222 south to Pennsylvania Route 12 north, the latter route having its western terminus at the interchange. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
Southbound US 222 now bears right and joins westbound US 422. In this photo, Peter's driver accidentally got onto US 422 east, but Peter took that as an opportunity to shoot a photo going east on Penn Street across the Schuylkill into downtown Reading, then a video of a train crossing over US 422 during return to US 222. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
US 222 and US 422 are now running together toward Lancaster and Lebanon. A right-in/right out with Paper Mill Road is in one-eighth of a mile, Pennsylvania still having a penchant for posting such distances. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
Lebanon and Lancaster are a respective 27 and 33 miles away. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
The Paper Mill Road offramp is just ahead. It serves as southbound access to the nearby Berkshire Mall via a few feet of Woodland Road. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
Intersected at the next interchange, half a mile away, is State Hill Road, which goes south into the borough of Wyomissing adjacent to Reading. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
US 422 parts ways with US 222 in three-quarters of a mile, State Hill Road is a quarter-mile away, and the Berkshire Mall is at right. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
The State Hill Road exit nears. It is a partial cloverleaf or "parclo" interchange where there are two ramps on the southwest side of the interchange and two on the northeast, with both offramps from 222/422 being cloverleaf in style. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
As such, the highway crosses over State Hill Road before the ramp to it leaves the highway. While westbound interests, to e.g. the Blue Marsh Lake area, must go through a traffic light, Wyomissing-bound traffic (where it becomes Wyomissing Boulevard) does not. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
An overhead sign following State Hill Road displays a simplified diagram of the 222/422 split, one-eighth of a mile away. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
Signage for US 422 west on US 222 south at the interchange was covered up when these photos were taken. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
US 222 is beginning to leave greater Reading, and is one mile from an interchange with Pennsylvania Route 724 (Shillington Road/Revere Boulevard) toward Sinking Spring and Shillington. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
Meanwhile, as southbound US 222 receives its onramp from eastbound US 422, the highway crosses over Reading Boulevard, which just to the east becomes one-way westbound Dauphin Avenue. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
In between exits, there is a US 222 reassurance shield. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
From this point, the cities of Ephrata and Lancaster are a respective 15 and 28 miles away. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
The highway now reaches the PA 724 interchange. This is a different kind of parclo where the only cloverleaf ramp is from US 222 south to PA 724, thus the only missing quadrant of the interchange is the northwest. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
PA 724 crosses over US 222 before the exit ramp leaves the highway. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
Traffic from PA 724 merges onto US 222 south. US 222 is now completely paved with and surrounded by concrete. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
The next exit leads to the borough of Mohnton, via Grings Hill Road, Old Lancaster Pike and West Madison Street. However, before that interchange, U.S. Route 222 Business reaches its southern terminus, and the southbound mainline of US 222 receives traffic coming off the business route after that traffic merges with the ramp to Grings Hill. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
The ramp to Grings Hill leaves southbound US 222 at right to begin the sequence explained above. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
US 222 curves wide right, in the process crossing over southbound US 222 Business. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
The Mohnton ramp is situated just beyond Old Lancaster Pike's crossing of the highway, while ahead at right, mainline US 222 south receives traffic from southbound US 222 Business. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
Finally, traffic coming from Grings Hill Road comes onto the highway. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
An exit serving Gouglersville is a mile ahead, before which the rightmost of the three current southbound lanes ends. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
The Gouglersville exit (Mohns Hill Road) is straight ahead. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
The Mohns Hill exit gore sign. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
The final exit in Berks County, two miles away, intersects Pennsylvania Route 568 east and Pennsylvania Route 272 south (both routes terminate at the interchange), and serves Knauers and Adamstown. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
Meanwhile, following the previous exit is more US 222 reassurance. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
Ephrata and Lancaster now lie 10 and 23 miles ahead. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
The PA 568/272 interchange is on the doorstep. PA 568 runs just over 11 miles east to PA 724 in Gibraltar, Robeson Township. Meanwhile, PA 272 is numbered as a continuation of Maryland Route 272, which runs through that state's Cecil County and transitions into the former route at the Pennsylvania line. PA 272 acts as a business route of sorts for the US 222 freeway north of Lancaster; the two routes then pass through Lancaster city together. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
US 222 enters Berks County's iteration of Brecknock Township approaching the exit, although it is also preparing to depart the county altogether. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
The highway proceeds to pass under Bowmansville Road, at which point it enters Lancaster County. Incidentally, the first township traversed by the route in Lancaster County is also named Brecknock. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
Now bypassing Adamstown to the east, US 222 is two miles from an interchange with the Pennsylvania Turnpike (Interstate 76). This also includes further access to PA 272 as well as the nearby borough of Denver (as opposed to the city in and capital of Colorado). Photo taken 08-14-2023.
At right, a Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission variable message sign displays pertinent news on turnpike happenings. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
Reamstown is accessible from the next exit, as is Adamstown again. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
US 222 crosses over Muddy Creek Road here, followed by the turnpike itself. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
The southbound sign for the turnpike exit sits beside the turnpike crossing. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
This interchange actually intersects Colonel Howard Boulevard, a service road linking PA 272 to the west with the Pennsylvania Turnpike's Reading interchange (alternately, exit 286 of I-76). Photo taken 08-14-2023.
The bridge over Colonel Howard is at mile marker 45.8, this reflecting US 222's distance from the Maryland line. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
After the exit, US 222 passes under Lausch Road. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
Passing through the south side of Reamstown, the highway then crosses over a tributary of Stony Run to the north, as well as Church Street. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
U.S. Route 30, which US 222 meets north of Lancaster, is 13 miles and as many minutes away from this VMS. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
U.S. Route 322, the main drag through Ephrata, meets US 222 at an interchange two miles away. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
At mile marker 42.4, before the exit, US 222 crosses over Glenwood Drive. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
In front of the Mohler Church Road overpass at mile marker 41.8, a blue sign on the right displays some services available at the exit, including Turkey Hill, Lancaster County's entry into the U.S. super-convenience store industry and an extension of the famed namesake ice cream and iced tea brand. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
The US 322 exit sits just ahead. Originally a traditional diamond interchange, it was converted into a diverging diamond, the first in Lancaster County and second in the entire Commonwealth, in 2021. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
Another US 222 shield sits just past US 322. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
The next exit intersects Pennsylvania Route 772, serves Brownstown and Rothsville, and is in two miles. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
Nearing the exit, US 222 passes over another Church Street, this one serving Brownstown. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
The PA 772 exit gore sign, situated at mile marker 36.4. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
For the time being, the speed limit is 65 miles per hour. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
Between exits, the highway crosses over Coalico Creek, a tributary of the nearby Conestoga River. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
The next exit again leads to PA 272, now named Oregon Pike. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
After that, US 222 passes under Hunsecker Road, then curves gradually to the right. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
Now entering the Lancaster hub, the highway passes under Landis Valley Road, which to the west becomes Valley Road, then a segment of Pennsylvania Route 722 in Neffsville. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
It is here that the speed limit decreases to 55 miles per hour. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
US 222 is nearing its interchange with U.S. Route 30 situated northeast of downtown Lancaster. Going west on US 30 and south on US 222 leads to westbound Pennsylvania Route 283, York and Harrisburg. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
There is visitor information four miles eastward on US 30. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
The control cities for US 30 east are Coatesville, in Chester County, and Philadelphia. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
Shields for US 222 south, US 30 west, and "TO" PA 283 west are located at the start of the right offramp. Photo taken 08-14-2023.
The ramp speed is 35 miles per hour. US 222 will run along the corridor of US 30 for three-quarters of a mile before exiting south onto Lititz Pike (soon thereafter Duke Street) into Lancaster's city center. Photo taken 08-14-2023.