section between I-95 and PA 3 was repaved in 2005 while the section between PA 3 and I-76 was repaved in 2007. The section between I-76 and I-276, which was completely reconstructed, was finished in the end of 2011. Northeast Extension In 1953, an extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike from the mainline near Plymouth Meeting north through Northeastern Pennsylvania to the New York state line near Binghamton, New York, was proposed. Groundbreaking for the Northeastern Extension occurred on March 25, 1954, in White Haven, with Governor John S. Fine and commission chair Thomas J. Evans present. The Northeast Extension was planned to run from the mainline Pennsylvania Turnpike in Plymouth Meeting north to a temporary terminus at Scranton. In April 1954, $233 million (equivalent to $ in ) in bonds were issued to build the Northeastern Extension along with the Delaware River–Turnpike Toll Bridge on the mainline Pennsylvania Turnpike. The Northeast Extension was built with a median in order to save money. Due to the mountainous terrain it passed through, a large amount of earthwork was necessary to build the road along with the construction of large bridges. Among the bridges built was the Clarks Summit Bridge (since renamed for John J. Fitzgerald, Turnpike engineer and superintendent) over US 6/US 11, which at the time was the tallest bridge on the Pennsylvania Turnpike system at . The Northeast Extension also included the two-lane Lehigh Tunnel under Blue Mountain. The tunnel was originally going to be named for commission chair Evans but was changed when he was convicted of conspiracy to defraud the commission of $19 million (equivalent to $ in ). The roadway opened between Plymouth Meeting and the Lehigh Valley interchange near Allentown on November 23, 1955. The highway was extended north to a temporary interchange at Emerald on December 28 of that year. The Northeast Extension was opened between Emerald and Wyoming Valley on April 1, 1957. The entire length of the Northeast Extension was finished on November 7, 1957, with the completion of the northernmost part between Wyoming Valley and Scranton. The part of the Northeast Extension between Scranton and the New York state line was not built as part of the Pennsylvania Turnpike system but rather the Interstate Highway System as I-81. At the northern terminus, the Northeast Extension narrowed to two lanes along the northbound offramp at Scranton to come to its northern terminus, with