PennDOT To Undertake Major I-76 Traffic Improvment Plan

PennDOT announced Tuesday plans to better travel conditions along Interstate 76 between Philadelphia and King of Prussia.

According to a PennDOT release, the plan is a "long-range, comprehensive, multi-modal transportation management plan designed to enhance travel along the Interstate 76 (Schuylkill Expressway) Corridor between King of Prussia and Philadelphia."

“The importance of this corridor to the Philadelphia region cannot be overstated and it’s imperative that we take advantage of new technologies and partner with SEPTA and other key stakeholders to offer citizens more attractive options for travel between Philadelphia and the northwest suburbs,” PennDOT Secretary Leslie S. Richards said in the release.

She said the transportation management plan includes several components, including the deployment of Active Traffic Management (ATM) technologies on I-76; expansion of public transit service along the Manayunk/Norristown regional rail line; the modernization of traffic signal systems along several roadways running parallel to the expressway; and potential trail improvements.

Highlights of the plan include:

• real-time transit information on electronic boards along I-76;
• modernized traffic signal systems on several roads running parallel to I-76 between King of Prussia, Norristown and Philadelphia to control signal operations in real-time during incidents on the expressway;
• installing electronic signs on I-76 to display official speed limits that can change based on real-time expressway, traffic and weather conditions to improve traffic flow and warn drivers to changing travel conditions;
• installing queue detectors to provide real-time displays of electronic warning messages to alert motorists of significant slowdowns ahead to reduce sudden stopping and the potential for rear-end crashes.

Construction for the queue detectors and real-time speed limits, which will cost about $2.2 million, is expected to begin in late 2017 and will be in use by late 2018, the release said.

This fall, PennDOT will begin preliminary engineering to transform the outside shoulders of I-76 into part-time travel lanes between the Pennsylvania Turnpike Interchange at Valley Forge and Interstate 476, and on I-76 west between U.S. 1/Roosevelt Boulevard and Belmont Avenue interchanges, according to the release.

“Part-time shoulder use is currently in place in 16 states across the country and we plan to implement it on I-76 to help reduce congestion,” Richards said in the release. She went on to say PennDOT teams will coordinate with Pennsylvania State Police, emergency service responders, and state transportation agencies that currently use shoulders as travel lanes to ensure driver safety during the part-rime shoulder use.

PennDOT may use ramp meters, junction control, dynamic lane assignments, and multi-modal enhancements to compliment the part-time shoulder use, the release said.

Construction for the part-time shoulder use is expected to being in five year and will cost roughly $125 million, according to the release.

According to the release, SEPTA plans to enhance service on the Manayunk/Norristown Regional Rail line.

"With the purchase of new electric locomotives and bi-level rail cars expanding the SEPTA rail fleet and infrastructure improvements, SEPTA will improve service frequency on this rail line," the release said. "The enhanced rail service is expected to improve customer service and generate greater ridership."

SEPTA will also potentially deploy a Smart Parking pilot program at a new garage and station targeted to be built in Conshohocken near the existing regional rail station. The message boards along I-76 will inform motorists of transit station parking availability and real-time train departure times to better inform citizens of transit travel options. The Conshohocken garage and station will also offer bicycle storage due to it's proximity to the Schuylkill River Trail.

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