Pennsylvania Route 272 (PA 272) is a highway in southeastern Pennsylvania, in the Lancaster area. The southern terminus of the route is at the Mason–Dixon line southeast of Nottingham, where the road continues into Maryland as Maryland Route 272 (MD 272). The northern terminus is at an interchange with U.S. Route 222 (US 222) and PA 568 near Adamstown, where PA 568 continues east. The route heads from the Maryland border northwest through the southwestern corner of Chester County, intersecting US 1 in Nottingham. PA 272 continues west into Lancaster County and intersects US 222 in Wakefield, where it turns north and passes through Buck before widening into a divided highway as it comes to another junction with US 222 in Willow Street. Here, the route becomes unsigned and follows US 222 north through Lancaster along a one-way pair of city streets. North of Lancaster, US 222 splits at an interchange with US 30 and PA 272 becomes signed again, heading northeast parallel to the freeway alignment of US 222 and passing through Akron, Ephrata (where it intersects US 322), and Adamstown. The route enters Berks County and comes to its northern terminus.
PA 272 was first designated in 1928 to run from US 222/PA 72 in Wakefield east to US 1/PA 12 in Nottingham. The route was fully paved by 1940. In the 1940s, PA 272 was extended south from Nottingham to the Maryland border, replacing a section of PA 42 between the Maryland border and Chrome. The route was extended north from Wakefield to US 222 in Willow Street in the 1960s. This extension replaced what became a southern extension of PA 72 from Lancaster in the 1930s. The route was extended from Willow Street to US 222 and PA 568 in Adamstown following the completion of the US 222 freeway between Lancaster and Adamstown in 1977. PA 272 followed US 222 through Lancaster and ran along the former alignment of US 222 between Lancaster and Adamstown. In 2006, the intersection at the northern terminus was converted to an interchange following the extension of the US 222 freeway from Adamstown to the Reading area.
Route description
PA 272 is mostly in Lancaster County, except for about a mile at the northern terminus where it enters Berks County and the southernmost part of the route, which is in Chester County. Through the city of Lancaster, it is unsigned but concurrent with US 222.
Maryland state line to Lancaster
The southern terminus of PA 272 is at the Maryland state line in East Nottingham Township in Chester County, where the road continues south into that state as MD 272. From the state line, the route heads north on two-lane undivided Chrome Road through a mix of farmland and woodland. In the community of Chrome, PA 272 turns west on Christine Road and continues northwest through agricultural areas with some trees and homes. The road crosses the North East Creek into West Nottingham Township and runs through more rural areas before reaching the community of Nottingham. Here, the route passes homes and comes to a bridge over an East Penn Railroad line before it intersects Baltimore Pike to the north of the Herr's Snacks plant. PA 272 runs past a mix of residences and businesses and comes to a partial cloverleaf interchange with the US 1 freeway. A park and ride lot is situated within this interchange. Past this interchange, the road heads through a mix of farmland and residential subdivisions, reaching the community of Glen Roy. The route continues west into wooded areas with some fields.
