# Pennsylvania Turnpike a superhighway built in 1940 spanning the entire state of Pennsylvania, a distance of 327 miles. A turnpike is a road on which a toll must be paid, especially one that is an expressway. The term comes from a vertical pole (or pike) set up across the highway lanes to admit traffic. As each vehicle pays the toll the pole raises or turns so as to let the traffic pass through. Turnpikes originated in England in the seventeenth century where a small toll was imposed on travelers and goods for the purpose of keeping parts of the roads in good repair.