Route 23 Traffic Pattern Change Scheduled at U.S. 422 Interchange in Upper Merion Township

Route 23 Traffic Pattern Change Scheduled at U.S. 422 Interchange in Upper
Merion Township

11/1/2016-KING OF PRUSSIA

A traffic pattern change will be instituted on Route 23 (Valley Forge Road)
at
the U.S. 422 Interchange in Upper Merion Township, Montgomery County, on
Thursday, November 3, for the start of construction to replace the bridge
carrying Route 23 (Valley Forge Road) over U.S. 422, the Pennsylvania
Department of Transportation (PennDOT) said today.

The replacement of the Route 23 (Valley Forge Road) structure is part of
PennDOT's $97.4 million project to build new, wider structures to improve
travel on U.S. 422 at its crossings over the Schuylkill River, Norfolk
Southern
Railroad, South Trooper Road and the Schuylkill River Trail. The project
also
includes improving U.S. 422 between the Route 23 (Valley Forge Road) and
Route
363 (Trooper Road) interchanges; upgrading Route 23 (Valley Forge Road) at
its
interchange with U.S. 422; and improving ramps at the Route 363 (Trooper
Road),
Route 23 (Valley Forge Road) and First Avenue interchanges.

Crews will work Thursday, November 3, from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM, to set
concrete
barriers in place and paint new traffic lines to move two lanes of
westbound
Route 23 (Valley Forge Road) traffic to the far right side of the road
between
the U.S. 422 west ramps and Gulph Road. Eastbound Route 23 (Valley Forge
Road)
will be reduced to one lane and the lane will shift to the center of the
road
where it passes through the U.S. 422 Interchange. This operation is
dependent
on the weather.

This traffic pattern on Route 23 (Valley Forge Road) will be in place
through
summer 2017.

PennDOT's contractor will remove and replace the Route 23 (Valley Forge
Road)
bridge one half at a time to maintain traffic on the bridge during
construction. The new bridge is expected to be completed in late 2017.

The Route 23 (Valley Forge Road) bridge is a two-span, pre-stressed
concrete
beam structure that was built in 1965 and rehabilitated in 2006. It is 125
feet
long and 85.5 feet wide. The bridge carries an average of 20,700 vehicles a

day.

During this bridge replacement operation, the Route 23 (Valley Forge Road)
on-ramp to U.S. 422 east is scheduled to close starting in spring 2017. The

U.S. 422 east exit ramp to Route 23 (Valley Forge Road) will close later in

2017 after the on-ramp reopens to traffic.

Motorists are advised to allow additional time for travel on U.S. 422
during
these operations because slowdowns may occur. The contractor's work
schedule is
dependent on the weather.

PennDOT began construction on this transportation improvement project in
February 2016 and the project is scheduled to finish in May 2020. Without
the
passage of Act 89, Pennsylvania's transportation plan, construction on this

project would not have begun before 2018.

J.D. Eckman, Inc. of Atglen, Chester County, is the general contractor on
the
$97,380,711 contract, which is financed with 80 percent federal and 20
percent
state funds.

For additional information on U.S. 422 improvement projects, visit
www.422improvements.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.

511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and
Android
devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following regional Twitter alerts
accessible
on the 511PA website.

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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