Pennsylvania Route 248

Pennsylvania Route 248
Route information
Maintained by PennDOT
Length	31.285 mi[1] (50.348 km)
Existed	May 9, 1966[2]–present
Major junctions
West end	US 209 in Weissport East
Major intersections	PA 895 in Bowmanstown PA 873 in Lehigh Township PA 145 in Lehigh Township PA 946 in Lehigh Township PA 329 / PA 987 in Bath PA 512 in Bath PA 946 in Upper Nazareth Township PA 191 in Nazareth PA 33 in Lower Nazareth Township US 22 in Wilson
East end	PA 611 in Easton
Location
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
Counties	Carbon, Northampton
Highway system
Pennsylvania State Route System Interstate US State Scenic Legislative
← PA 247 → PA 249

Pennsylvania Route 248 (PA 248) is a 31.3 mi (50.4 km) long state highway in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The western terminus of the route is at U.S. Route 209 (US 209) in Weissport East, a CDP in Franklin Township. The eastern terminus is at PA 611 in Easton. The route begins at US 209 in Carbon County and heads southeast parallel to the Lehigh River as a four-lane divided highway to Bowmanstown, where it becomes a freeway and heads through Palmerton. Upon crossing Lehigh Gap in Blue Mountain, PA 248 enters Northampton County and becomes a two-lane undivided highway that heads southeast through rural areas, serving Bath and Nazareth. From here, the route runs southeast through suburban areas to Wilson, where it turns east and follows city streets through Easton.

The portion of road between Weissport and Lehigh Gap was originally designated as part of US 309 when the U.S. Highway System in 1926. In 1927, PA 45 was designated and ran between Weissport and Easton, running concurrent with US 309 before turning south from the Lehigh Gap along the Lehigh River to Northampton and then east to Bath. The route was moved to a more direct alignment between Lehigh Gap and Bath a year later. PA 45 originally had its eastern terminus in Easton at US 22 at the intersection of 13th and Northampton Streets in Easton.

The route was extended east along Northampton Street to the Northampton Street Bridge over the Delaware River following the rerouting of US 22 to a freeway in 1955. In the 1950s, PA 29 replaced the US 309 designation concurrent with PA 45 between Weissport and Lehigh Gap. In 1961, PA 29/PA 45 was upgraded to a divided highway, with the portion between Bowmanstown and Lehigh Gap built as a freeway. PA 248 was designated to its current alignment on May 9, 1966, replacing the PA 29 and PA 45 designations.