Renovated 422 bridge reopens

Bill Keenan stopped his bike along Sullivan’s Bridge bike path Monday morning, staring up in amazement as motorists zoomed over a newly renovated Route 422 bridge over the Schuylkill River in the Valley Forge area.

The Betzwood Bridge opened at 5 a.m. Monday, about four months later than expected, due to the coronavirus and the nesting of peregrine falcons in the construction area.

“I never thought I would see this project get done,” 80-year-old Keenan of West Norriton Township, Montgomery County, said after the five-span bridge opened next to the biking and pedestrian path. “This is a major project. I’ve been watching this project since the very beginning.”

Construction began in 2016, and some remaining work near the bridge is expected to be completed in the fall.

The bridge typically carries 113,000 vehicles daily.

Construction crews with JD Eckman, based in Atglen, Chester County, the primary contractor for the project, were out Sunday evening painting and removing barriers in preparation for the opening.

The Betzwood Bridge is the major part of PennDOT’s $97.4 million project to upgrade a 1-mile stretch of Route 422 from Route 363 (Trooper Road) to Route 23 (Valley Forge Road).

The five-span bridge is 785 feet long and 146 feet wide, and now has three lanes in both directions.

The project is part of a 25-mile expressway extending from King of Prussia, Montgomery County, to Douglassville, Berks County.

Brad E. Rudolph, PennDOT spokesman, said the project was originally scheduled to be completed in May.

The setback began in March when PennDOT suspended all construction projects to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus.

Work resumed in May, but construction crews were required to work 300 to 1,000 feet away from the area under the bridge until July 31 where peregrine falcons were discovered nesting.

The nest failed to survive, which is not uncommon as 50% of the nests fail, according to F. Arthur McMorris, a Bryn Mawr-based biologist who is the peregrine falcon coordinator for the Pennsylvania Game Commission.

The falcons are on the commission’s list of endangered species. McMorris said the workers were following the restrictions.

The workers also are following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the state Department of Health guidelines requiring social distancing and cleaning protocols.

Rudolph said that although the traffic is flowing three lanes in each direction, some additional work is necessary.

That includes rebuilding a center lane, finishing eastbound entrance ramps and repaving some deteriorating concrete.

Kennan, meanwhile, said he looks forward to watching all of the highway and trail improvements along the Schuylkill River.

“I live nearby,” he said.

“I saw the first (Betzwood) bridge open in 1965. This bridge is strong. I am so glad they got the money to build it.”

The bridge is financed with 80% federal funds and 20% state funds.

HOLLY HERMAN — MEDIANEWS GROUP The new three-lane eastbound lane of the Route 422 Betzwood Bridge near Valley Forge National Park opens to motorists early Monday morning.

HOLLY HERMAN — MEDIANEWS GROUP Road crews remove a temporary light fixture near a road barrier Sunday night in preparation for the opening Monday of the new eastbound lane of the Route 422 Betzwood Bridge in the Valley Forge area.

HOLLY HERMAN — MEDIANEWS GROUP Bill Keenan, 80, of West Norriton Township, Montgomery County, stops Monday on the Sullivan’s Bridge bike path to view the newly renovated Route 422 bridge, known as the Betzwood Bridge, next to the bike path.

HOLLY HERMAN — MEDIANEWS GROUP Peregrine falcons were found nesting during work on the Route 422 Betzwood Bridge in the Valley Forge area. The bridge opened Monday.