Pennsylvania Route 48
State highway in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, US
Pennsylvania Route 48 (PA 48) is an 18.9-mile-long (30.4 km) state highway located in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area. The route is predominantly a two-lane highway as it runs through McKeesport and other suburbs. The entire routing of PA 48 is part of the Orange Belt, both reaching their southern termini at PA 51, southeast of Elizabeth. Until 1998, the northern terminus of PA 48 was at the intersection of Old Haymaker and Center Roads, about 1/2 mile from its current terminus at U.S. Route 22 Business (US 22 Bus.) in Monroeville.
Route description
PA 48 begins at an intersection with PA 51 in Forward Township, heading northeast on two-lane undivided Scenery Drive. PA 48 is concurrent with the Orange Belt of the Allegheny County belt system at this point, with which it remains concurrent with for the entire length. The route immediately turns to the north-northwest and forms the border between Forward Township to the west and Elizabeth Township to the east, passing through a mix of fields and woods with some homes. The road fully enters Elizabeth Township and curves north-northeast. At an intersection with Weigles Hill Road east of Elizabeth Forward High School, PA 48 makes a turn to the east, passing residences and turning to the northwest. The road passes through more areas of housing and woods, curving northeast as it passes more residential areas.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Pennsylvania Route 48” as state highway in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, US. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as state highway in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, US. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Oct 24, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q1052841. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1998.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Pennsylvania Route 48”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Pennsylvania Route 48 primary sources, Pennsylvania Route 48 archive and Pennsylvania research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Pennsylvania Route 48”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Pennsylvania Route 48” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.