U.S. Route 422 Business (Reading, Pennsylvania)

U.S. Route 422 Business
Route information
Auxiliary route of US 422
Maintained by PennDOT
Length	7.285 mi[1] (11.724 km)
Major junctions
West end	US 222 / US 422 in Wyomissing
Major intersections	US 422 in West Reading PA 183 in Reading US 222 Bus. in Reading PA 562 in St. Lawrence
East end	US 422 in Reiffton
Location
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
Counties	Berks
Highway system
United States Numbered Highway System List Special Divided Pennsylvania State Route System Interstate US State Scenic Legislative

U.S. Route 422 Business (US 422 Bus.) is a 7.29-mile-long (11.73 km) business route of US 422 located in the Reading, Pennsylvania area. The route is one of four auxiliary routes of US 422 in Pennsylvania. Its western terminus is at an interchange with US 222 and US 422 in Wyomissing. Its eastern terminus is at an interchange with US 422 in Reiffton. US 422 Bus. heads east from US 222/US 422 along Penn Avenue, passing through Wyomissing and West Reading. The route has an interchange with the US 422 freeway before it crosses the Schuylkill River into Reading. US 422 Bus. passes through downtown Reading on the one-way pair of Franklin Street eastbound and Washington Street westbound, intersecting the southern terminus of Pennsylvania Route 183 (PA 183) and crossing US 222 Bus. The business route heads into the eastern part of the city southeast on Perkiomen Avenue before following the one-way pair of Perkiomen Avenue eastbound and Mineral Spring Road westbound into Mount Penn. US 422 Bus. continues along Perkiomen Avenue to St. Lawrence, where it intersects the western terminus of PA 562 and turns southeast. The route passes through Reiffton before it merges into eastbound US 422.

With the creation of the U.S. Highway System in 1926, the road between Harrisburg and Reading was designated as part of US 22, which ran along what was designated the William Penn Highway in 1916 and PA 3 in 1924 as well as PA 13, while the road between Reading and Philadelphia was designated as US 120, which ran concurrent with PA 13. In 1928, the US 120/PA 13 designation between Reading and Philadelphia was changed to US 422/PA 17 in order to provide for one number for the Benjamin Franklin Highway. The concurrent state route designations were removed from US 22 and US 422 by 1930. US 22 headed into Reading on Penn Street and continued east to 9th Street, where it turned north and US 422 continued along Penn Street and Perkiomen Avenue east out of Reading. US 22 ran concurrent with PA 83 between 2nd and 9th streets while US 422 ran concurrent with PA 73 between Chestnut Street in Reading and 23rd Street in Mount Penn. In 1931, US 22 was moved to a more direct alignment between Harrisburg and Allentown, and US 422 was extended west along the former alignment between Harrisburg and Reading. In the 1930s, US 422/PA 73 was shifted to Mineral Spring Road between Reading and Mount Penn in the 1930s and a one-way pair along Perkiomen Avenue and Mineral Spring Road in the 1950s. US 422 was shifted to the Warren Street Bypass and West Shore Bypass, and US 422 Bus. was designated onto the former alignment through Reading. The concurrent PA 83 and PA 73 designations were removed by 1966. In the 1970s, US 422 Bus. was shifted to its current one-way pair through downtown Reading.