U.S. Route 422, as seen from Armand Hammer Boulevard looking west. The lighter-colored pavement in the distance is the bridge near Route 724, one of two due for replacement.
SANATOGA PA – If you’ve been driving on U.S. Route 422 near Sanatoga during the past week, flashing electronic signs posted there have been difficult to ignore. Their message: prepare for some consistent traffic disruption, beginning Monday (Sept. 24, 2012).
And lasting for six years.
Work gets started Monday night, according to the King of Prussia office of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, on a six-year-long project “to rebuild and improve” 1.6 miles of 422, from about a mile west of the Armand Hammer Boulevard Interchange to the Route 724 Interchange.
The $73.3 million project includes replacing worn pavement and two structurally deficient bridges. The cost is being financed with 80-percent federal and 20-percent state funds.
The reconstruction will start simply enough. Drivers on 422 West in Lower Pottsgrove Township will find its right lane closed nightly through Saturday (Sept. 29) from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. between the Sanatoga and 724 exits for “shoulder work,” PennDOT said.
However, that’s just a sliver of the efforts planned by the agency’s contractor, J.D. Eckman Inc. of Atglen PA in Chester County. In the bigger picture, through October 2018, its crews will:
- Replace bridges over the Schuylkill River, Norfolk Southern railroad spur and Norfolk Southern mainline tracks;
- Replace the Armand Hammer Boulevard Bridge over Route 422;
- Improve and realign the ramps at the Armand Hammer Boulevard Interchange; and
- Reconstruct the Route 724 ramp to eastbound Route 422.
Also to be replaced: the Armand Hammer Boulevard bridge over 422, seen here from the TriCounty Business Park looking north to the Antonelli Medical and Professional Institute.
They will also install:
- Three new overhead sign structures;
- Conduit for future Intelligent Transportation System equipment;
- Two new traffic signals;
- A wetland mitigation site;
- Storm water management improvements;
- New median barrier and glare screen;
- New guide rails and signs; and
- A multi-use trail on the bridge over the Schuylkill River.
Two travel lanes will remain open in each direction on Route 422 during peak travel times when the highway is under construction, PennDOT said.
There’s also more ahead, it warned. This project is the first of six to rebuild and improve seven miles of Route 422 between the Berks County line and the Sanatoga interchange over the next eight to 10 years.
In a related matter, PennDOT also warned motorists on 422 East and West that, again beginning Monday and continuing through Saturday, a different contractor – Independence Constructors – will conduct bridge cleaning between the Royersford and Stowe interchanges across Limerick and Lower Pottsgrove townships and the borough of Pottstown. That work will be done during daylight hours from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Related (to U.S. Route 422 reconstruction at Armand Hammer Boulevard):
- Six Years Of Route 422 Disruption Gets Started Tonight
- Red Tape Stalls Repairs At 422 And Armand Hammer
- State Condemning, Taking Land To Rebuild 422 Bridges
- Five Township Corners Due For Curb, Signal Changes
- Township Sells PennDOT Some Asphalt, Makes $20K
- Report: Six Bridges In Township ‘Structurally Deficient’
Is there any part in this plan to replace the Keim Street Bridge? Many residents could use that as a prime alternative to 724 all the way to hanover street to industrial highway etc.
Bill, the Keim Street bridge replacement is NOT part of this project. That’s something that’s being worked on at the county level, has been proposed and (I believe) tentatively approved, but is awaiting funding and (again, I believe) would not be undertaken for about 5 years. This was last covered in April (2012) by both The Mercury and The Pottstown Patch. Here’s the Mercury story for reference purposes:
http://www.pottsmerc.com/article/20120426/NEWS01/120429629/area-bridge-work-still-funded-in-montco-capital-budget-despite-surprises-%28map%29
Wow. Did WWII last six years???
How long did it take to build the Empire State Building, the Golden Gate???
What’s wrong with this country and our workforce? Six years???
Sheeesh!
Let’s call the whole thing off and choose a more able contractor … (rhetorical comment)