PennDOT Completes Expansion of 6.5 Miles of U.S. 202 in Chester County to Improve Travel and Reduce Congestion

PennDOT Completes Expansion of 6.5 Miles of U.S. 202 in Chester County to
Improve Travel and Reduce Congestion

8/12/2016-EAST WHITELAND TOWNSHIP, PA

PennDOT Secretary of Transportation Leslie S. Richards this afternoon
joined
federal, state and local officials in a ceremonial ribbon cutting to
highlight
the widening and opening of 6.5 miles of U.S. 202 to six lanes between the
Route 252 (Swedesford Road) and U.S. 30 interchanges in Tredyffrin and East

Whiteland townships, Chester County.

"We are thrilled to deliver this new six-lane expressway to the more than
70,000 motorists who drive along this part of U.S. 202 each day," Richards
said. "Drivers have quickly experienced the benefits of this newly expanded

highway since its full opening last week.

"The transportation value of this improvement project to Chester County and
the
Philadelphia region cannot be overstated," Richards added. "This investment
of
nearly $300 million transformed an old, outdated highway into a modern
expressway capable of moving commuter and commercial traffic smoothly and
safely along this heavily traveled corridor."

PennDOT executed five construction contracts – three financed with 100
percent
federal funds and two funded 80 percent federal and 20 percent state - to
rebuild and widen U.S. 202 from four lanes to six lanes from just south of
the
Route 252 (Swedesford Road) Interchange to the U.S. 30 Interchange, and to
replace six overhead bridges and install Intelligent Transportation System
components along the corridor.

PennDOT's first mainline construction contract, worth $106 million, began
in
April 2011 to widen four miles of U.S. 202 between Route 252 (Swedesford
Road)
and Route 401. This northern section of the corridor opened to six lanes in

late September 2014. Richard E. Pierson Construction Company, Inc. of
Woodstown, N.J. was the general contractor.

The second mainline widening contract started construction in April 2013.
PennDOT opened the remaining 2.5 miles of U.S. 202 to six lanes between
Route
401 and U.S. 30 on August 3, 2016. Allan A. Myers, LP of Worcester,
Montgomery
County, was the general contractor on the $67 million contract.

Road crews will continue to work and close lanes at night periodically on
U.S.
202 between Route 29 and U.S. 30 for the next several weeks to complete
miscellaneous construction activities and clean-up operations in the work
zone.

In addition to widening more than six miles of U.S. 202 under these two
mainline contracts, PennDOT built a two-mile long collector-distributor
road
along northbound U.S. 202 to improve travel through the Route 29
Interchange;
rebuilt and improved the U.S. 202/Route 401 Interchange; rehabilitated five

mainline bridges; installed glare screen barrier to separate northbound and

southbound travel lanes; erected 20 sign structures; installed 7.5 miles of

sound walls; built 14 storm water management basins; installed 10 storm
water
mitigation areas; and constructed a 32-space park-and-ride facility at the
U.S.
30/U.S. 322 Interchange in Caln Township.

Prior to starting mainline widening construction in spring 2011, PennDOT
invested $40.6 million to replace six overhead bridges with longer
structures
to provide the space needed to add an additional travel lane in each
direction,
and to improve two nearby intersections. PennDOT also invested $13.7
million to
install Intelligent Transportation System components (33 closed-circuit
television cameras; 22 dynamic message signs; and 61 incident detectors)
along
U.S. 202 in Chester and Delaware counties, and on Route 100 and U.S. 30 in
Chester County.

To assist citizens during U.S. 202 construction, PennDOT worked closely
with
federal, county and municipal officials to execute a Congestion Mitigation
Plan
to help alleviate traffic impacts and provide citizens with alternative
transportation options. The stakeholders included the Federal Highway
Administration; Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission; Chester
County
Planning Commission; SEPTA; Transportation Management Association of
Chester
County; Greater Valley Forge Transportation Management Association; East
Whiteland Township; Tredyffrin Township; West Whiteland Township; and
Willistown Township.

With the widening of U.S. 202 in the Great Valley area, motorists now have
more
than 11 miles of six-lane expressway on which to travel on between the U.S.
30
Interchange and King of Prussia.

From 1999 to 2003, PennDOT rebuilt and widened five miles of U.S. 202 to
six
lanes between Route 252 in Tredyffrin Township and Gulph Road in Upper
Merion
Township.

For more information on the widening of U.S. 202 between Route 252
(Swedesford
Road) and U.S. 30, visit www.us202-300.com.

Motorists can check conditions on more than 40,000 roadway miles by
visiting
www.511PA.com. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides
traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information and
access
to more than 770 traffic cameras.

For more PennDOT information, visit www.penndot.gov. Follow Local PennDOT
Information on Twitter at www.twitter.com/511PAPhilly, and follow the
department on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/pennsylvaniadepartmentoftransportation and Instagram at
www.instagram.com/pennsylvaniadot.

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