The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) will begin
work this month on a $5.5 million project to reduce onerous congestion
on westbound Route 422 during weekday evening rush hours by adding
a third westbound lane between the Route 23 (Valley Forge Road) and
Route 363 (Trooper Road) interchanges in Upper Merion and West Norriton
townships, Montgomery County. Construction is scheduled to finish
in November. Preliminary work will start Monday (February 18) to install
construction signs and fencing along the highway, but this work will
not affect traffic. Overnight lane closures are scheduled to start
Tuesday night, February 26 when crews begin to remove traffic lines
and paint new lines on Route 422 to shift travel lanes in preparation
for installing temporary median barriers on the bridge over the Schuylkill
River. This work will restrict eastbound and/or westbound Route 422
to one lane between Route 23 and Route 363 from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.
This initial operation is expected to last approximately two weeks.
During the nine-month project, two lanes will remain open in each
direction on Route 422 except when some operations are performed weeknights
and possibly some weekends. Weeknight lane closures are allowed from
10 p.m. to 5 a.m.
PennDOT District Executive Lester C. Toaso said the addition of a
third westbound lane will improve traffic flow in the late afternoon
and early evening weekday hours by reducing conflicts between Route
422 traffic and the steady stream of vehicles entering the highway
from Route 23. “Motorists entering westbound Route 422 from
Route 23 will be able to use the extra lane to travel directly to
the Route 363 exit, thereby not impacting mainline traffic flow, or
they can travel over a half-mile west on the new lane before merging
into traffic,” he said. Toaso said building this direct-connection
lane between the two interchanges was critical because half of the
approximately 2,000 vehicles an hour that enter westbound Route 422
from Route 23 on weekday evenings exit the highway at Route 363. Route
422’s third westbound lane will begin at the Route 23 Interchange
and end at the off- ramp to Route 363. In conjunction with adding
the additional lane, modifications will be made at the two interchanges.
The westbound Route 422 off-ramp to Route 23 West will be closed permanently
and all traffic will use the existing off-ramp to Route 23 East, which
will be widened and a traffic signal installed at the end of the ramp
for motorists turning left onto Route 23 West. The Route 422 West
off-ramp to Route 363 also will be widened to two exit lanes. In addition,
the contractor will make structural repairs to the Route 422 Bridge
over the Schuylkill River and to two other Route 422 bridges in the
area as part of the project. The third lane is being added to the
existing structures through modifications of the median and westbound
bridge wall (parapet), and by reducing shoulder and lane widths. Glasgow,
Inc. of Glenside, Pa. is the general contractor on the contract that
is financed with 80 percent federal and 20 percent state funds. Toaso
credited local municipal, state and federal officials, as well as
Valley Forge National Historical Park, for their support of this initial
project to improve travel on Route 422 and for their efforts in addressing
the transportation issues along the eastern portion of the highway.
This upcoming project is the first phase of the River Crossing Complex
Program, which consists of several projects to improve travel on Route
422 between the Route 202 and Route 363 interchanges.
