Bridgework To Last Years In East, West Whiteland Townships: PennDOT

Bridgework planned for East Whiteland and West Whiteland townships will last until about 2019 after it begins March 20, PennDOT recently announced.

The years-long work is part of the U.S. 202 Section 300 improvement project, which includes the rehabilitation of two U.S. 202 bridges over Amtrak rail lines in the townships.

Crews will repair the six-span twin structures by upgrading the support piers; replacing the bridge decks and walls; constructing a retaining wall to stabilize the embankment, rehabilitating existing concrete pavement north of the bridges; and installing new Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) equipment, according to PennDOT.

To keep to two traffic lanes in each direction on U.S. 202 open at all times, construction will be completed in five stages to utilize an Express Lane traffic shift, PennDOT said.

"A temporary traffic pattern will be implemented to carry one lane on the bridge under construction and a second lane on the adjacent bridge, where concrete barriers will separate the lane from the two travel lanes heading in the opposite direction," PennDOT said in a release.

Starting Monday, March 20, crews will start rebuilding the northbound and southbound U.S. 202 shoulders and build crossover lanes in the median at the northern and southern ends of the work zone.

PennDOT’s contractor has already begun shoulder work on U.S. 202 to establish a work zone from just south of Route 401 to just north of Boot Road. Other preliminary construction activities over the next two weeks include equipment mobilization and survey operations, PennDOT said.

After the March 2o work begins, crews will prepare to shift one lane over of northbound traffic to the southbound side of U.S. 202, where concrete barriers will separate if from the two lanes of southbound traffic.

"The second northbound lane will remain on the northbound bridge behind construction barrier as the opposite side is rehabilitated under Stage 1 of the bridge work," PennDOT said in a release. "Once half the northbound bridge is reconstructed, the northbound lane will be shifted onto the newly reconstructed half, and the opposite side of the bridge will be rehabilitated under Stage 2."

When the rehabilitation of the northbound bridge is completed in mid-2018, three lanes of traffic — two northbound lanes and a southbound express lane — will be shifted to the rebuilt northbound bridge, according to PennDOT.

The southbound bridge will then be reconstructed one half-at-a-time under Stages 3-4, PennDOT said.

A final construction stage will remove the crossovers and restore the median to complete the project in fall 2019.

The improvement project also includes restoring U.S. 202 pavement near the U.S. 30 Interchange; rehabilitating the bridge carrying Morstein Road over U.S. 202 in East Goshen Township, Chester County; and installing new highway signs and Dynamic Message System (DMS) structures on U.S. 202 and U.S. 30 in Tredyffrin, East Whiteland and West Whiteland townships, Chester County, and U.S. 202 in Upper Merion Township, Montgomery County.

Allan A Myers, Inc. of Worcester, Montgomery County, is the general contractor on the $26,370,555 project which is financed with 100 percent federal funds.

Visit the project's website for more information on the $26.4 million safety work.

Patch file photo