PennDOT - District 6 News
U.S. 422 East Traffic to Shift onto New Eastbound Bridge over the Schuylkill River in Valley Forge Area
King of Prussia, PA – Eastbound U.S. 422 traffic will be moved onto the newly built eastbound bridge over the Schuylkill River between the Route 363 (Trooper Road) and Route 23 (Valley Forge Road) interchanges in West Norriton and Upper Merion townships, Montgomery County, by 5:00 AM Monday, August 24, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) announced today.
Weather permitting, eastbound U.S. 422 motorists can expect to face lane closures and rolling traffic stoppages approaching the Route 363 (Trooper Road) Interchange from 6:00 PM Sunday, August 23, to 5:00 AM Monday, August 24, while crews paint new traffic lines and relocate construction barriers to execute the traffic pattern change.
Westbound U.S. 422 motorists will face a rolling traffic stoppage Sunday evening, August 23, and a lane closure later that night when approaching the Route 363 (Trooper Road) Interchange.
Work on this project will be in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and state Department of Health guidance as well as a project-specific COVID-19 safety plan, which will include protocols for social distancing, use of face coverings, personal and job-site cleaning protocols, management of entries to the jobsite, special signing, and relevant training.
PennDOT is moving two lanes of eastbound U.S. 422 traffic over from the recently built westbound bridge where the two lanes have been located during construction of the new eastbound structure.
The shifting of eastbound U.S. 422 traffic onto the new eastbound bridge will improve access onto eastbound U.S. 422 from the Route 363 (Trooper Road) entrance ramp. However, this two-lane entrance ramp will remain restricted to one lane for a few weeks while the contractor completes operations adjacent to the ramp.
Following this traffic-pattern shift, the contractor must rebuild the center section of U.S. 422 at both ends of the bridge where crossover lanes existed; diamond grind areas of concrete on westbound U.S. 422 for smoothness; and complete several other miscellaneous items of work.
This operation is part of the project to build new, wider bridges to improve travel and carry U.S. 422 motorists over the Schuylkill River, Norfolk Southern Railroad, South Trooper Road and Schuylkill River Trail. The bridges carry an average of 113,000 vehicles a day. The former bridges were built in 1965.
The new, five-span structures are 785 feet long and have a total width of 146 feet (the bridge's former total width was 72 feet). The new bridges carry six lanes – three westbound and three eastbound. There are two through lanes in each direction plus a third lane on both sides for drivers to use to travel between the Route 363 (Trooper Road) and Route 23 (Valley Forge Road) interchanges. The new bridges were built wide enough for the possible addition of a third through lane in each direction sometime in the future.
The improvement project also includes rebuilding one mile of U.S. 422 between the two interchanges, and upgrading the interchanges by: realigning the U.S. 422 east off-ramp to Route 23 (Valley Forge Road) by building a new fly-over ramp; improving the Route 23 (Valley Forge Road) on-ramp to U.S. 422 west; replacing the Route 23 (Valley Forge Road) bridge over U.S. 422; rebuilding 1,500 feet of Route 23 (Valley Forge Road) approaching the U.S. 422 Interchange; improving the U.S. 422 west off-ramp to Route 363 (Trooper Road) and the Route 363 (Trooper Road) on-ramp to U.S. 422 east; and widening the U.S. 422 east off-ramp to First Avenue.
Construction began in February 2016 and all original contract items are expected to be completed by late October or early November 2020.
The project is associated with the Schuylkill River Crossing Complex of transportation improvement projects designed to enhance travel on U.S. 422 between the Route 363 (Trooper Road) and Route 23 (Valley Forge Road) interchanges. These improvements also include the two additional ramps built to complete the U.S. 422/Route 363 (Trooper Road) Interchange, a project that was finished in December 2015; the construction of a new pedestrian/bicycle trail bridge over the Schuylkill River in Valley Forge National Historical Park, which was completed in August 2016; and the relocation of North Gulph Road at Route 23 (Valley Forge Road) in Valley Forge National Historical Park, which is expected to move to construction in late 2021.
J.D. Eckman, Inc. of Atglen, Chester County, is the general contractor on the $97.4 million project that is financed with 80 percent federal and 20 percent state funds.
An additional item of work to repair deteriorated concrete pavement and resurface 900 feet of U.S. 422 just west of the Route 363 (Trooper Road) Interchange is also planned and expected to start this fall. The completion time for this operation will be dependent on the extent of the concrete in need of repair and weather conditions.
For additional information on U.S. 422 improvement projects, visit www.422improvements.com.
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MEDIA CONTACT: Brad Rudolph, 610-205-6800
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