March 2018 - Construction continues this winter on U.S. 322 (Conchester Highway) from U.S. 1 (Baltimore Pike) to Clayton Park Drive in Concord Township, Delaware County, to excavate and establish embankments preparing the eastbound side of the highway for roadway construction later in 2018.
Progressing generally west-to-east, equipment operators are excavating into the hills (right) that define the eastern half of the 2.6-mile, Section 101 work area to make room for two new eastbound lanes. Some of the excavated earth is being trucked west and used to fill low areas on both sides of the existing roadway.
The excavated slopes are graded and stabilized using vegetation and biodegradable mats or netting (left). Five retaining walls also are being constructed to stabilize slopes that are too steep for vegetation to be effective. Three retaining walls are already in place along the eastbound side between Spring Valley Road and Fellowship Drive (bottom right) and two at Clayton Park Golf Course.
PennDOT is building the retaining walls using pre-cast concrete “T” panels. The “T” panels are stacked atop a level foundation, locked together and back-filled with gravel, to a height required to stabilize the embankment behind it.
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 2019.
PennDOT held an Open House plans display in mid-December 2017 to provide residents with an update on the status of Section 102 improvements. Go here for a look at the materials on display at that meeting.
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.
Follow the progress of improvements to the U.S. 322 (Conchester Highway) at us322conchester.com.
