Pavement project within Valley Forge Park starts Oct. 25

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation announced that construction will begin on Monday, Oct. 25, on a project to rehabilitate the block pavement on Gulph Road within Valley Forge National Historical Park in Upper Merion Township, Montgomery County, and Tredyffrin Township, Chester County.

Due to the nature of construction, beginning Oct. 25, Gulph Road will be closed and detoured between Outer Line Drive and Thomas Road within the park boundaries. During the closure, Gulph Road motorists will be directed to use Route 23 (Valley Forge Park Road), North Gulph Road, and Richards Road. The road closure will remain in place until May 2022.

Motorists are advised to allow extra time when traveling through the work area because backups and delays may occur. All scheduled activities are weatherdependent.

Under this project, PennDOT’s contractor will restore approximately 180 linear feet of deteriorated granite block on Gulph Road in front of the National Memorial Arch, while maintaining the roadway’s historical significance and providing an improved riding surface for the public.

The improvement project includes removing and reusing the existing granite block and curb, to the greatest extent possible. Any damaged block and curb will be replaced with a new “in-kind” curb and granite block of the same dimension. The contractor will also utilize any National Park Service (NPS) stored original materials, such as curb, granite block, or bollards.

The granite block pavement was originally installed circa 1921, following the construction of the National Memorial Arch in 1914, with some pavement renovations taking place in 1997. In addition, this project will not alter any characteristics of Valley Forge National Historic Park that qualify it for the National

Register of Historic Places listing. All pavement restoration will be constructed in accordance with The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties.

Marino Corp., of Skippack Township, is the general contractor on the $689,496 project, which is financed with 100 percent state funds and scheduled to finish in summer 2022.