Route 202 carries from 70,000 to 105,000 vehicles a day between Paoli and King of Prussia, PA. In order to ease congestion, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) has begun the second year of construction on the multi-year, $250-million project to widen and improve the highway in Tredyffrin Township, Chester County, and Upper Merion Township, Montgomery County.
The project involves widening 5 mi. (8 km) of Route 202 from four lanes to six between the bridge over North Valley Road and Gulph Road. The project also includes building new ramps, rebuilding bridges and related roadwork. Construction on the section of Route 202 will continue until late 2003.
A traffic pattern shift will take place until October. This pattern involves two northbound and two southbound travel lanes running on the northbound side of Route 202 and will extend 4 mi. (6.4 km).
In addition to rebuilding Route 202, PennDOT will build several new ramps at Route 202’s Interchange at Route 422, Chesterbrook Boulevard at Interstate 76, extend Devon Park Drive, redeck bridges over Swedesford Road, Valley Forge Road and West Valley Road, erect 4 mi. (6.4 km) of sound walls (costing $16 million), and perform additional road and ramp work along the corridor.
PennDOT also will install Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) components to better manage traffic. The plan includes 42 closed circuit television cameras on the expressways, 12 permanent and portable variable message signs, and microwave detectors on U.S. 202 to improve incident detection. ITS construction is expected to begin in 2001.
PennDOT’s contract contains a $30,000 a day incentive/disincentive clause for finishing this year’s work on Route 202 from just south of Route 422 to North Valley Road before Oct. 31, 2000.
In addition to the roadwork involved with the project, the historic King of Prussia Inn was recently moved under a $1.6-million operation. Crews relocated the inn from the median of Route 202 and Gulph Road to Bill Smith Boulevard in Upper Merion Township (see related article page 40).
Al Alberts project manager Urban Engineers of Philadelphia, PA, is overseeing the Route 202 project and stated that everything is moving along well due to good advance planning. Traffic is moving along as well as can be expected with major construction going on.
“The only problems we are encountering are sink holes on the construction site,” he said. “We are busy identifying and plugging the sink holes in certain areas.”
Glasgow Inc. of Glenside, PA, is the general contractor of the $57.5-million contract that began last March and covers Route 202 from just south of Route 422 to the bridge over North Valley Road. Tom Laughery of Glasgow mentioned that workers are currently driving piles and placing concrete. A lot of major equipment is being used on this project including Gomaco 25B and 3500 machines, a number of backhoes, loaders, concrete mixers and triaxles.
Allan A. Myers of Worcester, PA, is the general contractor for the second contract worth $32.1 million. This contract consists of ramp construction at the Route 202/422 interchange, extending Devon Park Drive, and building the new ramp to take eastbound 422 and northbound 202 to east I-76. Equipment used at this time include a Manitowoc 222 crane, a 150-ton (135 t) P&H crane, several excavators and bulldozers.
The third contract, worth an estimated $85 million and covering Route 202 between Route 422 and Gulph Road, is expected to start in late 2000. The fourth contract, worth an estimated $30 million and covering I-76 road and ramp construction, will begin in early 2001.
To mitigate traffic impacts during construction, PennDOT built and opened three park and ride lots last spring. They are located at the interchanges of Route 202 and State Road 29 in East Whiteland Township, Chester County; U.S. Route 30 and Route 202 in East Whiteland Township; and Lewis Road and Route 422 in Limerick Township, Montgomery County.
The Route 202 Improvement Project is financed with 80 percent federal and 20 percent state funds. Tredyffrin Township will contribute $6 million to the project.
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