Groundbreaking: Highway Expansion Project Will Add Lanes to Route 202

By June 2014, more than four miles of Route 202 in East Whiteland Township will have expanded from four lanes to six.

A host of politicians and transportation officials dug their spades into the dirt Thursday morning off Matthews Road near Route 29 to mark the beginning of a $105.4 million highway project. The work is being funded by 80 percent federal funds and 20 percent state money.

"This has been a long time coming," state Transportation Secretary Barry Schoch said.

State Sen. Andrew Dinniman remarked that the highway expansion is just one prong of a larger set of several infrastructure and commercial development projects in the Great Valley area.

"What we're talking about is our own stimulus program," he said. "And when it's done, we conservatively estimate 10 to 12,000 new high-wage jobs in this region."

The additional lanes will be added where a grassy median currently exists, stretching from Swedesford Road in Tredyffin to Route 401 in East Whiteland.

The stretch of roadway being expanded carries an average of 68,000 to 76,000 vehicles per day, according to PennDOT. During peak hours, traffic often slows to a crawl.

"Tredyffin Township has 30,000 residents," Tredyffrin Township vice chairman Paul Olson said. "Sometimes I think that all 30,000 of our residents are up there on 202, and I'm one of them."

State Rep. Duane Milne said that the new lanes would help to alleviate traffic on secondary roads.

"Two of the areas [constituents] tell me they're most concerned about, besides jobs, is too much traffic and environment impacts, and this project does a great job on both counts," Milne said.

"I commend the folks who put some good environmental thinking into this project. That's certainly one of the reasons it took a little longer than ideally one would like."

East Whiteland Township supervisor Virginia McMichael noted the positive economic effects of the infrastructure improvement, and joked that she didn't mind the time it took for the project to get under way.

"From my perspective, the timing is perfect," she said. "Thank you very much, it dovetails very well with my re-election campaign."

Also in attendance at the groundbreaking  ceremony were: PennDOT district executive Lester Toaso, Rep. Jim Gerlach, state Rep. Warren Kampf, County Commissioner Terence Farrell, and Michael Herron of the TMA of Chester County.

A second phase of work on Route 202 is set to begin in early 2013 on 2.5 miles between Route 401 and US30/Exton Bypass. That work will cost $82.7 million and is expected to wrap up in late 2015.

According to PennDOT:

In addition to widening Route 202 under this first mainline contract, crews will build a two-lane, two-mile long collector-distributor road along northbound Route 202 to facilitate ramp traffic at the Route 29 Interchange. They also will replace bridges over Valley Creek and North Valley Road; build three retaining walls; install 10 sound barrier walls; and put up 16 new sign structures. Travel time readers will be added to the existing intelligent transportation system and various storm water drainage enhancements will be made.