Route 52 realignment to be finished in the fall

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PennDOT update on lane restrictions follows story.

The realignment of Route 52
between routes 926 and 1 will likely be completed this autumn, but there will
still be some lingering lane restrictions.

That was the word during the
June luncheon of the Chadds Ford Business Association held at the Pennsbury
Township Building. Speakers included Paul Redman of Longwood Gardens and Frank
Eells, an engineer with Gannett Fleming, the contractor working on the Route 52
project.

While motorists will benefit
from wider roadways, more and longer turn lanes, Longwood will also benefit
because the realignment of Route 52 will allow for the connection of two pieces
of Longwood’s property.

Longwood first approached the
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to correct the intersection of routes
1 and 52 a quarter century ago. It paid for the design work and will pay for
the landscaping once the project is finished, said Redman, the executive
director at Longwood.

Actual work on the project
began last summer. Currently, two sections of Route 52 are separated by almost
a mile at Route 1. The realignment creates a straight line for the roadway from
Route 926 to the current section of Route 52 south of Route 1.

It also eliminates major
congestion on Route 1 northbound where motorists turn left onto Route 52 North
at Longwood.

Route 1 will be widened and two
longer left hand turn lanes will be added farther north, near the current
intersection with Route 52 South. The current stretch of Route 52 between
routes 926 and 1 will be closed with the land returned to Longwood.

While the major work along
Route 1 and the new Route 52 will be finished in October or November, there
will some continued inconveniences for motorists using Route 926.

That route, to the east of
Route 52, will be closed for about seven weeks beginning in late summer or
early autumn for roadway and utility changes. When PECO and PennDOT are
finished working on that stretch, they will begin a five-week project on 926
west of 52.

Also addressing the CFBA
members was Charles “Scotty” Scottoline, a Pennsbury Township supervisor.

Scottoline said the Pennsbury
Village project—that involves a piece of township property joining two parcels
on either side of the township building—is on track since an agreement was
reached between the township and the developer. There are more approvals
needed, he said, but the project is going forward.

There will be 111 housing
units, when the project is finished, but the developer—Pennsbury Village
Associates—will also build a sewage treatment plant that will cover village
properties as well as others in the area along Route 1, he said.

Scottoline also mentioned
Penn’s Village, a proposed development in 10 acres across from the Gables
Restaurant. That development is a combination of office, retail and 38
residential units in the form of a condominium.

The township gave the developer
conditional approval for the project, with one of those conditions being an
easement to the township to access 30 acres behind the planned development.
That land would be used for subsurface disposal of effluent from the PVA
treatment plant.

Emily Myers, CFBA president and
publisher of ChaddsFordLive.com, said the association was holding a baseball
night with the Wilmington Blue Rocks to benefit Friends of the Brandywine
Battlefield. The event is Friday, Aug. 12 at 7:05 p.m. Tickets are $20 per person. All tickets
must be purchased by June 30. Tickets will be mailed to the address on credit
card by July 6.

PennDOT update

The Pennsylvania Department of
Transportation announced that lane restrictions are scheduled on northbound and
southbound Route 1 between Hammorton Cutoff Road and Route 52 in Kennett
Township, on Monday through Friday, June 13-17, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. for road
widening and the relocation of the intersection with Route 1.

In addition, lane restrictions are
scheduled on Route 52 (Lenape Road) between Hammorton Cutoff Road and Route 1
(Baltimore Pike) in Kennett Township, on Monday through Friday, June 13-17,
from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. for excavation.

About Rich Schwartzman

Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.

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