As heavy equipment operators continue to excavate areas along the eastbound side of U.S. 322 (Conchester Highway) from U.S. 1 (Baltimore Pike) to Clayton Park Drive in Delaware County, road building crews have begin pavement construction for the two new eastbound lanes.
Paving operations will begin generally at the western end of the project and progress eastward as additional sections along the eastbound side of U.S. 322 (Conchester Highway) are excavated or filled to the proper grade. Once the grade is established, a stone base is placed, then asphalt pavement is placed to create the new travel lanes.
Moving east into the hilly terrain approaching Clayton Park, excavators working ahead of the paving crews continue cutting into the high embankments and moving the excavated soil to fill low areas along the 2.6-mile, Section 101 work area.
As embankments are excavated, crews are placing biodegradable mats or netting to promote the growth of vegetation or building several retaining walls to stabilize the new embankments.
Numerous drainage basins also remain under construction on both sides of the highway, along with piping to carry storm water away from the highway.
Construction also is underway to improve several intersections along the eastbound side, including Evergreen Drive, Fellowship Lane, Station Road, Cambridge Drive and Spring Valley Road. Intersection work will expand this summer to include the remaining Section 101 intersections at Merion Drive, Mattson Road/Featherbed Lane and Clayton Park Drive. Intersection improvements along the westbound, or north, side of the highway will take place during work on that side of the highway in 2019.
Two lanes of traffic are being maintained on the existing U.S. 322 (Conchester Highway) during peak hour travel. Periodic flagger-controlled lane restrictions remain in place Mondays through Fridays from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM, and from 7:00 PM and 6:00 AM, for various operations as construction advances along the corridor.
The work is part of a $62.6 million Section 101 contract to reconstruct, widen and upgrade traffic signals on 2.5 miles of U.S. 322 (Conchester Highway) from U.S 1 (Baltimore Pike) to just east of Featherbed Lane/Mattson Road near Clayton Park in Concord Township, Delaware County. Current western section construction is the first of two mainline PennDOT construction projects to improve travel and safety on a 6.7-mile section of U.S. 322 (Conchester Highway).
Construction of replacement wetlands (Section MIT) also continues in Thornbury Township near Cheney University, and site development continues for a new PennDOT Maintenance Operations Staging Area adjacent to westbound U.S. 322 (Conchester Highway) near Fellowship Drive.
The eastern half of the project, Section 102, remains under design. Section 102 will improve the highway and its intersections and interchanges from east of Clayton Park Drive to just east of Route 452 (Market Street) in Bethel and Upper Chichester townships. Construction on Section 102 is projected to begin in late 2020.
An additional contract to replace the U.S. 322 (Conchester Highway) bridge over the CSX railroad and Bethel Road as well as improvements to the adjacent Bethel Road Interchange (Section CSX) is under design and not yet scheduled for construction.
