Doylestown-Area Drivers Face More Delays

The driving scene around the Doylestown area this week will continue to be plagued with closed roads, daytime lane restrictions and the delivery of huge bridge beams, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation said Monday.

In Doylestown Township, one detour is scheduled to lift Monday, with the reopening of Almshouse Road. It has been closed between Upper State Road and Lower State Road since March 28 for work on the ongoing construction of the Route 202 Parkway.

Another detour is scheduled to be put in place on Tuesday on Lower State Road, so workers can start replacing a "structurally deficient" bridge over the Neshaminy Creek. This project is unrelated to the Parkway project.

PennDOT spokesman Gene Blaum said Monday that traffic on Lower State would be restricted to one lane in one direction. Northbound traffic is being detoured around the bridge, Blaum said, while southbound traffic still will be allowed on the road.

Drivers in Doylestown Borough also may encounter "periodic travel disruptions" on Monday and Tuesday evening.

Large concrete beams for the Parkway bridge over the Neshaminy Creek will once again be trucked through the heart of Doylestown and out to the construction site. The beams are scheduled to be moved through town between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Blaum said four beams will be moved tonight and the final two will come through tomorrow.

The beams themselves are 158 feet long; added to the length of the vehicle, the total load is 197 feet long, Blaum said. Moving a "super load" like that from Cressona, Schuylkill County, where the beams were manufactured, across area roads and bridges required careful planning, he said.

"Whenever you have a super load like that, it goes through a careful examination of the routing process, taking into account what state roads can bear the weight of the load, and what bridges they might not be able to clear and all sorts variables," Blaum said. "A lot of coordination is done with the municipalities, too. After the planning is done, we end up with a specific route that the trucks have to follow."

Other driving delays this week will be found in Warrington and New Britain, as well as in Montgomery County.

Drivers in Warrington and New Britain townships may encounter periodic lane closures Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. for road widening on:

• County Line Road, between Route 202 (Butler Avenue) and Woodland Drive
• Route 152 (Limekiln Pike) between Stump Road and Route 202 (Butler Avenue)
• Upper State Road between County Line and Pickertown roads.

Wells Road in Doylestown Township remains detoured for Parkway construction between Lower State and Turk roads, and Detweiler Road is closed permanently between Stump and Upper State roads in Warrington Township.

Ongoing utility relocation and road widening at the southern connection to the Parkway in Upper Gwynedd, Lower Gwynedd and Montgomery townships, Montgomery County, may impact travel on Route 202 (DeKalb Pike) and on Route 63 (Welsh Road).
 
Periodic lane closures may be in place Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on:

• Route 202 (DeKalb Pike) between Sumneytown Pike and Route 309 (Bethlehem Pike)
• Route 63 (Welsh Road) from Stump Road to Bell Run Boulevard, located east of North Wales Road.

PennDOT advised drivers to add extra time for travel through the construction areas, noting that all work is contingent on the weather.

For more information, please visit www.us202-700.com.