422improvements.com

PennDOT began construction this past fall to replace the structurally deficient U.S. Route 422 bridge over the Schuylkill River that is located between the Armand Hammer Boulevard and Route 724 interchanges in western Montgomery County.

The $73.3 million project also will reconstruct 1.6 miles of the Route 422 from the Schuylkill River Bridge east to the overpass at Porter Road. Included in the reconstruction is the replacement of two bridges over Norfolk Southern Railroad lines located within the work zone. The eastbound on-ramp from Route 724, also will be rebuilt and improved, and the Armand Hammer Boulevard Interchange will be reconstructed, starting with replacement of the boulevard’s bridge over the Bypass.

This project is the first of six under PennDOT’s long0-range plan to rebuild and improve seven miles of Route 422between the Montgomery/Berks County Line and the Sanatoga Interchange over the next 8 to 10 years.

The current project is expected to take six years to complete because the majority of construction will be done while maintaining two lanes of traffic in each direction.  Motorists will face lane closures during overnight hours.  In addition, an endangered turtle species inhabits the banks of the Schuylkill River. These accommodations require that the improvements be built using a complex, integrated construction-staging process.