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Project Overview
Presently, US 322’s
lane configuration is divided into essentially two typical cross
sections; a western and eastern section. The western section
consists primarily of two lanes with uncontrolled free access to
both lanes from intersecting local roads and driveways. The
eastern section, beginning east of the Cherry Tree Road
intersection in Upper Chichester Township, consists of a four-lane divided highway and provides free access to one direction
of the highway from properties adjacent to the roadway.
The project area is considered part of the greater Philadelphia
metropolitan area and contains a mix of commercial, industrial,
residential and rural land uses. Most of the major development
within the corridor is located within Upper Chichester Township
or at the western project limits near the US 1/US 322
intersection. Conversely, the middle and western sections contain a fair amount of open space, farmland and
undeveloped areas which continue to be developed as the area
grows.
The Pennsylvania Department of
Transportation (PennDOT) presently owns, on average,
approximately 120 feet of right-of-way width
along the existing highway alignment. As the existing highway
is situated to the north side of the PennDOT right of-way,
approximately 60 feet of right-of-way width is currently
available to the south side of US 322, Section 100. A new
alignment for US
322, Section 100, to
address the problems identified in the Needs Analysis, was not
considered prudent for this project because of the availability
of the existing right-of-way and the magnitude of impacts to the
community that will result from building on a new alignment. Thus widening existing
US 322 was
considered the most practical means of addressing the project’s
needs.
On July 16, 2002, the Federal Highway Administration issued a
Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) indicating that the
project has no significant environmental impacts thus permitting
the project to continue with the preliminary design phase.
Using input from
PennDOT, governmental officials, the public and the design team,
preliminary design plans for the project were prepared and
reviewed by the Federal Highway Administration in May 2003. After addressing concerns
identified in the Design Field View and gaining the Federal
Highway Administration’s approval of the preliminary plans, the
US 322, Section 100 project has progressed into final
design. To facilitate the development of
final design plans, a Project Advisory Committee was established
and began meeting in the first quarter of 2004. The purpose of
this committee, which is made up of governmental and elected
officials from the townships and the county, is to ensure that
the final design and proposed highway improvements address the
concerns of the public and are consistent with the transportation needs of the
region.
The project is planned
to be constructed in two phases. The first phase (Section 101)
extends from US
1 to the Matson
Road/Featherbed Lane intersection near Clayton Park and
construction is expected to begin in 2015. The second phase
(Section 102) will extend from the end of Section 101 to a point
just west of the CSX railroad near the PA 452 interchange. The second phase of construction
is expected to begin in 2016. To address some of the
environmental impacts associated with the project but not
directly included in the roadway construction, mitigation work
(Section MIT)
associated with the project is anticipated to begin in 2014 to
prepare the corridor for construction of the subsequent highway
improvements. |
