Be careful driving this weekend on Route 202 – the 202 construction project through Tredyffrin is shifting the two northbound lanes to the southbound side.
I attended a Route 202 Project Update meeting given by TMACC (Transportation Management Association of Chester County) held at Penn State/Great Valley. Basically, an update for local corporate and hotel (and Bed & Breakfast) representatives in the area, the meeting was to inform on Stage 3 (final stage) of this section of the 202 project.
Starting Friday night (8 PM) and continuing through the weekend, the two lanes of northbound Rt. 202 will shift to the southbound side. The southbound traffic will remain in its current Stage 2 pattern. It is anticipated that the shifting of lanes will be completed prior to Monday morning rush hour.
With the traffic removed from the northbound lanes, the contractor will replace the existing pavement; excavate median area for construction of a new lane; excavate right shoulder for construction of collector-distributor lane; install drainage; erect sound barrier walls and rebuild the ramps at the PA 29/Swedesford Road interchange.
David Palmer, the Rt. 202 project manager, explained that the sound walls will not be constructed from concrete but rather will be ‘absorptive’ panels – the impression given was that this type of sound walls would greatly reduce the noise for the local homeowners. I asked the height of the walls as prior to this construction, the Swedesford Road section through my section of the township had walls that were only about 3 feet high. If I understood correctly, we should be getting 15-20 ft. high construction walls through this entire section of the 202 project.
In discussing the Stage 3 impacts, it was explained that PennDOT plans to maintain four lanes of traffic at most times during construction and especially during the peak morning and later afternoon drive times with occasional off-peak, overnight and weekend lane restrictions each way. Also we should expect occasional ramp detours and North Valley road will remain narrowed at the Rt. 202 overpass.
The project is on schedule and this final Stage 3 phase will be completed by December 2012. In Spring 2013, the next section of the 202 project will start (where this one ends) and will continue to the Rt. 30 Bypass. Expected completion date on the final section is December 2015.
In other updates from the meeting — It was also reported that things may be back on track for O’Neill’s Uptown Worthington project. Looks like O’Neill and Citizens Bank have reached some kind of an agreement and that Wegmans may finally have some new neighbors. Discussion that the next phase of the Worthington project is to include residential units and possibly movie theater.
Another update: Atwater property (Rt. 29 and Yellow Springs Road) home to the Allstate Insurance Company, is getting a new tenant; a pharmaceutical company from Chadds Ford is relocating to the property by the end of 2012 with 400 employees. Atwater filed a zoning application for a mixed-use development to include townhouses, single-family homes and some retail – the thought was they wanted to model it after the Uptown Worthington project.