Rt. 202 widening project nears end of road

Posted by ChaddsFordLive on July 28, 2016

With Mother Nature’s cooperation, the second, newly-widened segment of Route 202 will debut next week.

PennDOT said it plans to open 2.5 miles of Route 202 to six lanes between the Routes 401 and 30 interchanges in East Whiteland Township by Friday, Aug. 5, substantially completing construction on the $63.3 million second phase of the improvement project, which began in April 2013, a PennDOT press release said.

In September 2014, PennDOT opened four miles of Route 202 to six lanes from just south of the Route 252 Interchange to just north of the Route 401 Interchange. Construction on the first contact, worth $105.4 million, started in April 2011.

Crews will work Sunday, July 31, through Thursday, Aug. 4, from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. to complete line striping and other preparations for opening the rebuilt and widened expressway to six lanes. The opening caps several weeks of nighttime construction by the contractor to complete final operations, including installation of concrete median barriers, removal of construction barriers, and repainting traffic lines in the work zone.

Following the opening to six lanes, crews will close one lane in both directions between the Routes 29 and 30 interchanges from 8 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 5, to 10 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 6. The lane closures will allow the contractor to complete miscellaneous construction items in the work area. Crews will continue to work and close lanes on Route 202 at night periodically for the next several weeks to complete miscellaneous construction activities in the work zone, the release said, adding that all work is weather-dependent.

The project included rebuilding and widening northbound and southbound Route 202 to three lanes in each direction from just north of the Route 401 Interchange to approaching the Route 30 Interchange; reconstructing the Route 401 Interchange; rebuilding bridges over Route 401 and Planebrook Road; installing a culvert to carry the Chester Valley Trail under Route 202; upgrading the highway drainage system; and installing sound walls, Intelligent Transportation System components, and new highway signs, the release said.

Prior to starting construction in 2011, PennDOT replaced six overhead bridges under two contracts worth $45 million to create space needed to expand the highway. PennDOT also installed Intelligent Transportation System equipment along the corridor under a $14.7 million project.

For more information on the improvement and widening of Route 202, visit www.us202-300.com.