Excavation along U.S. 322 (Conchester Highway) from U.S. 1 (Baltimore Pike) to Clayton Park Drive in Concord Township continues on the eastbound side as crews continue the process of establishing a footprint for widening the existing two-lane highway to four lanes and improving numerous intersections along the nearly three-mile project area.
With most of the eastbound side cleared of trees and vegetation, excavation crews are “cutting” high areas (right) and hauling the excavated earth to “fill” low areas (left) in a process that will result in a uniform sub-grade for construction of the new lanes.
Four retaining walls in Section 101 will be built to support embankments in areas where the grade is lowered, or cut. These retaining walls, such as the one recently completed between Spring Valley Road and Fellowship Drive (below), are being built 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.
Additional “T” walls will be built along the eastbound side at Station Road and at the Clayton Park Golf Course. The last “T” wall will be built on the westbound side near Webb Creek.
Numerous drainage basins also have been constructed on both sides of the highway, with piping installed to carry storm water from the opposite side to each basin.
At Smithbridge Road, crews are building the eastbound section of the new U.S. 322 (Conchester Highway) overpass. Deck beams for the eastbound section of the new bridge will be set late this year following completion of both abutments. Deck 
construction will follow.
PennDOT will maintain two lanes of traffic 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. This phase of the project also includes the relocation of Station Road to align with Fellowship Drive on the eastbound side. An arch culvert bridge (right) has been to carry relocated Station Road over Webb Creek.
Construction of the eastern, Section 102 segment, which remains under design, 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 2019.
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.
