Lower State Road Bridge Reopens

Officials gathered to cut the ribbon on the new bridge, then opened it to traffic.

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Lower State Road Bridge to Open Friday

Work on the bridge accelerated after Doylestown Township supervisors scolded the contractor for taking so long.

Good news, drivers. The Lower State Road bridge will reopen to traffic Friday afternoon. Doylestown Township manager Stephanie Mason said Thursday that officials plan a brief ribbon cutting around 2 p.m. Friday. After that, the bridge will open to traffic. Mason said she expected the bridge to reopen around 3 p.m. or so. The news comes about three weeks after township supervisors pressed a PennDOT representative for updates on the work, which didn't seem to be progressing fast enough to meet an end-of-year deadline. But PennDOT's Mike DiBello said on Dec. 4 that the agency's contractor for the project, J.D. Eckman, Inc., hadn't missed the deadline yet. He assured supervisors that the pace of work would dramatically increase over the …

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Mark Glidden

9:24 am on Friday, December 28, 2012

It'll be great to have it back. I'm glad the supervisors put the pressure on. It wasn't getting the manpower needed to finish   more ›

Lower State Road Bridge Finally Getting Attention

The pace of work on the bridge, which has been closed for nearly a year, will increase dramatically, a PennDOT representative said Tuesday.

Doylestown Township isn't going to get a Christmas present for which it had hoped. The Lower State Road bridge most likely will not be open by Christmas, PennDOT's Mike DiBello told township supervisors Tuesday night. But there's a chance it might be finished soon after. "I think you’re probably not to going to see a Christmas present, but you’ll see a New Year’s present," DiBello told the supervisors. Concrete still must be poured, which will take several days, DiBello said. Then it needs at least a week to cure and harden, he said. Also called Castle Valley bridge, after the historic name of that part of the township, the bridge that carries Lower State Road over the Neshaminy Creek has been closed for nearly a year. The contractor hired…

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Jeff Lugar

2:00 pm on Thursday, December 6, 2012

I was miffed by that at first, too, but I'll bet they want us to stay in the habit of stopping there. Someone will stop, the person behind won't notice the stop sign was reinstated, and there'll be a nasty rear-end crash.   more ›

Hundreds Gather for Opening of 202 Parkway

After decades of planning and construction, the Route 202 Parkway opened Monday afternoon with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

A collective sigh of relief seemed to emanate from the public officials gathered at the 202 Parkway's ribbon-cutting ceremony on the George Niblock Bridge in Warrington. After decades of planning, shelving of the plans, debates over new plans, funding issues and, finally, construction, the feeling of accomplishment running through the crowd has been a long time coming. Representatives from local, county and state offices gave remarks that held common themes of gratitude at the cooperation among the different parties involved in the planning and execution, and optimism that the new road will bring much-needed relief to traffic congestion between the two sections of Bucks and Montgomery counties. "This road is a model of what can happen when…

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Thursday Meeting Will Discuss Poole's Corner Project

The public is invited to find out what PennDOT plans to do to the intersection of routes 202 and 313, otherwise known as Poole's Corner.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation will hold a public meeting on Thursday, Nov. 29 to update the community on the Route 202 (Poole’s Corner) intersection improvement project in Doylestown Borough, Doylestown and Buckingham townships, Bucks County. The public meeting will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Doylestown Township Building, 425 Wells Road, Doylestown. Staff from PennDOT and its design team will be present to provide an overview of the project and address questions and concerns. The proposed project calls for: The project is currently in final design and is expected to start construction in fall 2013 and finish in late 2014.

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Road Work to Affect Doylestown-Area Roads

Check out this roundup of road work before you head out.

Motorists may encounter intermittent lane closures this week as contractors wrap-up work on several roads in Bucks and Montgomery in preparation for opening the new Route 202 Parkway, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation said. Drivers may face lane closures on Upper State Road between Route 309 (Bethlehem Pike) in Montgomery Township and Route 202 (Butler Avenue) in Doylestown Township, and on the Route 611 Bypass between Turk Road and Limekiln Pike in Doylestown Township from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Monday through Friday (Nov. 26-30). Short-term lane closures will be in place in along Route 202 (DeKalb Pike/Butler Avenue) between Hancock Road in Upper Gwynedd Township, Montgomery County and Route 611 in Doylestown from 9 a.m. to 3 p.…

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Route 202 Parkway Set to Open Dec. 3

The $200 million Parkway will have a 40mph limit and feature 12-foot-wide shared-use bike and pedestrian pathways

After many years of construction, and numerous traffic restrictions for new guardrails, traffic signalization, sound walls and the like, the $200 million U.S. Route 202 Parkway will open to traffic Monday, Dec. 3. The 8.4-mile Parkway, according to PennDOT, is a direct route from Montgomeryville to Doylestown, beginning at Route 63 near Stump Road and ending at Route 611. “We look forward to opening Pennsylvania’s newest roadway as the Route 202 Parkway will provide additional transportation capacity and enhance travel along this congested corridor in Montgomery and Bucks counties,” PennDOT District Executive Lester C. Toaso said in a statement. The Parkway boasts four 11-foot-wide travel lanes (two in each direction), between Route 63/…

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PennDOT Announces Driver and Photo Centers Closed for Veterans Day

PennDOT photo and drivers license centers will be closed Nov. 10 through 12 in observance of Veterans Day.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) announced that all driver license and photo centers, including its full-service center in Harrisburg, will be closed Saturday, Nov. 10 through Monday, Nov. 12 in observance of Veterans Day.   Customers may still obtain a variety of driver and vehicle products and services online through PennDOT’s Driver and Vehicle Services website, www.dmv.state.pa.us.    Driver and vehicle online services are available 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week and include driver’s license and photo ID renewals; vehicle registration renewals; driver-history services; changes of address; driver license and vehicle registration restoration letters; ability to pay driver license restoration fee or vehicle …

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Hurricane Sandy

State Roads Remain Closed in Bucks County

Most of the 40 state roads that still were closed on Thursday in the wake of Hurricane Sandy are in Central and Upper Bucks.

Transportation around Bucks County remained difficult Thursday, as 40 state roads still were closed in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. As of 9 a.m., 43 state roads remained closed in Bucks County, most of them in Central or Upper Bucks. That list, however, is constantly changing, said PennDOT spokesman Gene Blaum. By 1 p.m., four of those listed roads had been reopened, but one more had to be closed, taking the total closed to 40, Blaum said. The vast majority of roads had to be closed because of utility lines or poles down or trees that became entangled in utility lines, he said. And that lengthens the time it takes to get the road reopened. "Any utility involvement, and we can’t touch the trees. We have to wait for the utility to address …

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