May 17, 2019

PennDOT has announced the following road projects, which are weather-dependent and could affect residents in the greater Chadds Ford area during the week of May 18-May 24. Motorists are urged to allow extra time if they are traveling through one of the construction zones. Work schedules are subject to change.

• A temporary traffic signal is scheduled for a weekday installation at the Route 202  and Pleasant Grove Road intersection, in Westtown Township, on Monday, May 20, through Tuesday, June 4, to alleviate traffic congestion in the area due to a local road project.

• Power line replacement will cause lane closures on Pocopson Road at Parkerville Road in Pennsbury Township through June 1.

• Motorists will encounter periodic lane closures on Route 1, between Greenwood and Lenape roads in Kennett Township — near Longwood Gardens — for overhead bridge repairs through the end of May.

• Utility work will cause weekday lane closures on Gay Street— between High and Matlack streets in West Chester — through May 24.

• Bridge closure continues to close Route 82, near Old Kennett Road, in Kennett Township indefinitely.

• Barrier installation will cause lane closures on Brandywine Creek Road between Green Valley Road and Powell Road in Newlin Township through June 20.

• Oakland Road in Chadds Ford Township is scheduled to be paved with construction beginning Monday, May 20, according to Chadds Ford Township.

• Reconstruction on the Conchester Highway continues to have Merion Drive — between Marlborough Lane and Cambridge Drive — closed and detoured through May 31.

• Road reconstruction will close Spring Valley Road— between Conchester Highway and Concord Road — in Concord Township through April 30, 2020. Detours will be posted.

• Lane restrictions on the Conchester Highway, between Routes 1 and Clayton Park Drive will continue through Oct. 20, 2020 for reconstruction and widening.

As of Oct. 1, 2020, anyone wanting to take a domestic commercial flight in the United States will need some sort of Real ID document. People will also need such a document to enter some federal facilities — not post offices — and nuclear power plants.

But not everyone needs a Real ID card. A valid U.S. passport or passport card will suffice.

“Your passport is the Queen of the Nile,” said PennDOT’s Transportation Community Relations Coordinator Melanie Baldwin.

Baldwin was the main speaker at a seminar arranged by state Rep. Stephen Barrar. About two dozen people attended the session at Garnet Valley Middle School Thursday night.

Real ID became law as part of the Patriot Act following the 9/11 attacks of 2001. That part of the act calls on states to change the way they collect information when issuing drivers’ licenses. Some states — Pennsylvania included — resisted, saying those licenses were their domain, not that of the federal government. However, Barrar told the audience that the feds became “heavy-handed” and threatened to withhold federal funds from states that didn’t comply and would prevent people from flying without an approved form of identification.

Baldwin stressed several times that people with up-to-date passports don’t need anything else, as long as they take their passport or passport card with them when they fly. A military ID for active duty personnel will also be sufficient, she said, but not a veteran’s identification card.

People can get Real ID compliant driver’s licenses for an extra fee, The cost for renewing the license is $30 and there will be an additional charge of $30.50 for the Real ID compliant license. The compliant Pennsylvania license will have a yellow star on it. Other states will use a different color.

Paperwork for the Real ID can be done at drivers’ license centers but only two, the full-service centers in Norristown and in King of Prussia can provide same day service. The other centers will mail the Real ID license or ID to the home in about two weeks after the application is made.

What people will need to get a Real ID card or driver’s license varies, but all requirements are to prove identification. Even a person with a passport who wants a Real ID license or card must bring the passport and Social Security card with them when they apply. People should also have a birth certificate with a raised stamp from their birth state’s bureau of vital statistics and people who have gone through a name change, such as a woman who marries or divorces, should show a paper trail of that name being changed.

According to Baldwin, Pennsylvania is an “opt-in” state, meaning the state does not require people to have Real ID documents. Other states, such as Delaware, make it mandatory. Yet, it’s the federal government that is forcing the issue. She also repeated, Real ID for domestic air travel still won’t be mandatory until Oct. 1, 2020.

Baldwin said www.penndot.gov/realid has the most up to date information. Other sites with information are www.pa.gov/real-id and www.dhs.gov.

Barrar’s office will also assist and answer questions. His staff has copies of the document checklist, a copy of which may be found here.