Route 422 contractors work around nesting falcons

Peregrine falcons were nesting in peace along the eastbound lane of Route 422 Monday as PennDOT crews worked around them to complete a $96.5 million upgrade on the highway in the Valley Forge area.

The work was set to be completed by this week, but was suspended for two months to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, the illness cause by the coronavirus.

The falcons, meanwhile, continued to nest near the highway without the normal rumbling of 92,000 commuters and truckers driving daily on the highway linking Douglassville, Berks County, to King of Prussia, Montgomery County.

Construction of the 1-mile stretch over the Schuylkill River extending from Route 663 to Route 23 in Montgomery County resumed last week under an order not to disturb the falcons.

The new target date of completion is at the end of September.

The falcons were discovered last year by contractors with JD Eckman, based in Atglen, Chester County.

“The birds are being protected so they will not be disturbed during their mating season,” said Arthur McMorris, a BrynMawr based biologist who is the peregrine falcon coordinator for the Pennsylvania Game Commission.

McMorris said he recently stopped by the construction site to check on the falcons.

“As far as I am concerned, they (the crews) are following the regulations,” McMorris said. “The project is not going to be delayed, and the birds are not going to be disturbed.”

PennDOT’s contractors are required to work 300 to 1,000 feet away from the nesting falcons.

On Monday, contractors poured concrete on a section of the Betzwood Bridge in West Norriton.

The falcons are on the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s list of threatened species protected under the federal Game and Wildlife Code.

As a result, the Pennsylvania Game Commission Environmental Review Board determined that construction activities near the nest should be postponed until the falcon nesting season concludes on July 31.

Some of the major work, including deck repairs and causeway removal from the Schuylkill River, are prohibited until Aug. 1.

During construction, eastbound motorists are being shifted to a newly built eastbound side of the Schuylkill River Bridge.

When complete, the span will have three lanes in each direction. A sound barrier wall along the border of Valley Forge National Park is being installed.

The project is part of ongoing improvements on the 25-mile expressway spanning through Berks, Chester and Montgomery counties. Construction began in 2016.

HOLLY HERMAN — MEDIANEWS GROUP Crews with JD Eckman, Atglen, Chester County, are working under the Betzwood Bridge, West Norriton, Monday, as part of a $96.5million upgrade on Route 422. They are required to avoid an area where peregrine falcons are nesting.

HOLLY HERMAN — MEDIANEWS GROUP PennDOT contractors resume work on $96.5 million upgrade on a 1-mile stretch of Route 422, carefully avoiding an area where peregrine falcons are nesting. Work was on hold for two months due to the coronavirus outbreak.