How to get around Delco roads this week

SEPTA is looking to better communicate its routes and frequency of use to passengers with a new “15-155” service arriving every 15 minutes or less, 15 hours per day, five days per week on select routes.

New concept transit maps were released online earlier this year and SEPTA is now expanding the program with new, colorful schedules for frequent transit routes, a new advertising campaign, new symbols and brands explaining transit frequency, and new frequency-based transit maps printed and installed throughout the system.

The new schedules for

19 frequent bus routes, six trolley lines, the MarketFrankford Line and the Broad Street Line incorporate new colors and branding to easily communicate frequency. New “headway grids” quickly show customers how often to expect a bus during different parts of the day – whether 15 minutes,

10 minutes, or more frequently – and new frequency symbols are being introduced to advertise frequent service.

The maps show SEPTA’s bus and rail transit routes together as a single network for the first time, with colors that correspond to their frequency of service so customers can use them to quickly and easily plan trips.

“As SEPTA gets ready to rethink its bus network, the maps and new communications tools will help customers better understand how to take advantage of our existing network, while also using it to explore how we can improve it in the future” said Jeffrey D. Knueppel, SEPTA’s General Manager, in a release.

SEPTA is getting ready to release a revised version of the frequency-based transit map in the coming weeks and install them in stations and transportation centers.

• Ardmore Avenue will close between Haverford Road and Golf House Road in Haverford from July 15 through June 2020 as part of a project to replace two bridges that carry Ardmore Avenue over Cobbs Creek and SEPTA’s Norristown High-Speed Line.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation says both bridges are rated in poor condition and improvements are needed to enhance safety and operations due to age, state of deterioration and the lack of adequate shoulders and approaches to the structures.

The bridge over Cobbs Creek was built in 1935, and the structure over SEPTA tracks dates back to 1927.

During the full closure, Ardmore Avenue motorists will be detoured over Darby Road, College Avenue and Haverford Road. Local access will be maintained up to the construction zone.

Drivers are advised to allow extra time when traveling near the work area because backups and delays will occur. Ardmore Avenue carries an annual average daily traffic volume of 11,700.

In addition to building two new bridges, the project will include the complete reconstruction of Ardmore Avenue between Golf House Road and Haverford Road to accommodate two four-foot-wide shoulders and two 12-foot-wide travel lanes.

PennDOT will also install a temporary pedestrian bridge at the Ardmore Avenue Station for SEPTA’s Norristown High Speed Line prior to the implementation of the project detour. This bridge will provide pedestrian access for both station platforms during construction.

The Norristown High Speed Line station will remain in service throughout the length of the project and motorists will be able to access the Ardmore Avenue Station parking lot via Golf View Road.

J.D. Eckman, Inc., of Atglen, Chester County, is the general contractor on the $9,837,500 bridge replacement project, which is financed with 80 percent federal and 20 percent state funds. The entire project is expected to be completed in the summer of 2020.

• Several state highways in the county will see lane closures in the coming weeks as PECO Energy performs utility installations, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation announced. All closures will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays.

The work schedule is:

• July 12 through July 26 in both directions on Township Line Road between Hollywood Avenue and Old Land Road in Upper Darby;

• July 16 through August

2 on West Chester Pike between Barren Road and North Line Road in Newtown;

• July 16 through August

2 on westbound MacDade Boulevard between Lincoln Avenue and Felton Avenue in Collingdale; and

• July 16 through August

2 on Clifton Avenue between MacDade Boulevard and Pusey Avenue in Collingdale.

Motorists will encounter periodic lane closures at several intersections on MacDade Boulevard in Ridley this week as PennDOT continues a project to install ADA-compliant curb ramps. The work will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. between July 15 and July 19 at the following locations: Monta Vista Avenue; School Lane; Fairview Road; Fernwood Road; Forrest Avenue; Edgewood Avenue; Virginia Avenue; Milmont Avenue; Morris Avenue; and Haverford Road/Morton Avenue;

Work will also be performed at the intersection of Chester Road and Fairview Road in Swarthmore.

• Motorists will also encounter lane restrictions on several state highways across the Philadelphia region for resurfacing operations this week and next.

The work schedule and locations are:

• July 15 through July 20, a single lane restriction on Sproul Road between U.S.

1 and West Chester Pike in Marple and Springfield townships between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. for concrete island removal;

• July 21 through July 26, a single lane restriction on East Darby Road between Darby Road and Eagle Road in Haverford between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., and 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. for milling and paving operations; and

• July 21 through July 26, a single lane restriction on Darby Road between West Chester Pike and Sproul Road in Haverford and Darby, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. for milling and paving operations.

• Tree trimming operations will also restrict two state highways in the county this week from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Weather permitting, the work schedule is:

• July 15 through July

19, Barren Road between Painter Road and Ridley Creek Road in Middletown; and

• July 20, Ridge Road between Smithbridge Road and Ring Road in Chadds Ford.

• Delco motorists should additionally be aware of the following road work throughout the week:

Ridley

• The ramp from northbound Interstate 95 to northbound Interstate 476, closures 7 a.m. to noon today for the removal of a high mast light pole. Motorists will be directed to take the Ridley Park exit, turn left on Stewart Avenue and left onto the ramp southbound

I-95 to access northbound

I-476.

Radnor, Marple, Ridley, and Nether Providence

• Periodic lane closures weekdays in both directions on Interstate 476 between the I-95 Interchange and the Delaware County line, 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. July

15 through July 26 for guide rail repairs.

Upper Providence and Marple

• Palmer’s Mill Road, continued bridge work between Lakeview Drive and Newtown Street Road from

9 a.m. to 3 p.m. through the summer as crews continue work to expand a bridge over the Springton Reservoir.

• For information on projects occurring or being bid this year, those made possible by or accelerated by Act 89, or those on the department’s Four and Twelve Year Plans, visit www.projects.penndot.gov

Motorists can check conditions on more than 40,000 roadway miles by visiting

www.511PA.com. 511PA, which is free and available

24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information and access to more than 860 traffic cameras.

511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and Android devices, by calling 5-11, or by following regional Twitter alerts accessible on the 511PA website.

For PennDOT information, visit www.penndot.gov. Follow local PennDOT information on Twitter at www.

twitter.com/511PAPhilly, and follow the department on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pennsylvaniadepartmentoftransportation and Instagram at www.instagram.com/pennsylvaniadot