Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Multimodal transportation projects benefit Chester County
NEW GARDEN » Gov. Tom Wolf announced that 45 highway, bridge, bike and pedestrian, and ports and waterways projects, including $2 million for improvements to the Baltimore Pike/Newark Road intersection in New Garden Township, will benefit communities in 22 counties through the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Multimodal Transportation Fund.
“Our multimodal investments support impor-
tant projects that help residents and local economies,” said Wolf. “We are making possible improvements that will bring significant benefits to these communities.”
The $41.5 million investment follows PennDOT’s evaluation of 222 applications requesting more than $241 million. The department made selections based on safety benefits, regional economic conditions, the technical and financial feasibility, job creation, energy efficiency, and operational sustainability.
Funding incudes $2 million for improvements to the Baltimore Pike/Newark Road intersection in New Garden Township, including signal modernization with pedestrian signals and emergency preemption, road realignment and widening, new turn lanes, increased turning radii, ADA-compliant sidewalks and crosswalks, and access management.
Newark Road is posted at 25 mph, and it draws an average of 7,700 vehicles per day, nine percent of which are trucks, according to the latest traffic survey there. And Old Baltimore Pike, with a posted speed limit of 35 mph, draws 11,500 vehicles per day, 13 percent of which are tractor-trailers. The intersection simply can’t accommodate the big rigs, due to a sharp S-curve and steep decline leading down to Old Baltimore Pike. In fact, the Southern Chester County Planning Commission recently named the intersection the most impeded intersection in Chester County.
“The Newark Road and Old Baltimore Pike intersection is clearly the worst intersection in Chester County,” said Sen. Andy Dinniman, D-19, who sits on the Senate Transportation Committee and has been working with state and local officials to solve the problem.
In Chester County, the list of the other approved projects includes:
• Borough of Phoenixville – nearly $1.3 million for reconstruction and extension of Ashburn Road 0.34 miles from where Ashburn Road ends to Township Line Road.
• Fair Share Properties, LP – $750,000 to construct a new connector road and pedestrian/bicycle path which will enhance the safety and accessibility of two major intersections along U.S. 202, support walkability, and provide children access to safer routes to school. The proposed connector road and path will be directly west and run parallel to U.S. 202, connecting West Pleasant Grove Road and Stetson School Drive.
•Oxford Borough – $143,836 for roadway and pedestrian infrastructure improvements to address poor road conditions, including reconstruction and restoration of Second Avenue (between Locust and Mt. Vernon Streets) and Octoraro Alley (from Second Street to the entrance of the new transit center) in anticipation of a new transit center in the downtown.
Said Dinniman: “These projects will provide an additional route to relieve traffic congestion in Phoenixville, repair roads that are vital to development Oxford’s anticipated transit center, and enhance safety and improve the flow of traffic at a key thoroughfare in New Garden. Additional funding will go to building a connector road that will improve safety at two busy intersections along Route 202 near Stetson Middle School.”
The Multimodal Transportation Fund was created by Act 89, enacted in November 2013, Pennsylvania’s far-reaching transportation funding plan. For the first time, transit, aviation, rail freight and pedestrian and bicycle modes obtained dedicated sources of funds, putting the modes on a firmer footing for future initiatives.
PennDOT will open the next round of Multimodal Transportation Fund applications on Feb. 26 with applications due on March 30.