Construction begins to widen Rt. 322 in Delaware County

GLEN MILLS, Pa. (WPVI) -- A construction project aimed at widening and rebuilding a section of heavily-traveled Route 322 in Delaware County is underway.

Governor Tom Wolf and PennDOT secretary Leslie Richards were on hand for a ceremonial kick-off event in Glen Mills on Friday.

The project will focus on a 6.7 mile section of the highway that runs through Concord, Bethel and Upper Chichester townships from U.S. 1 to just east of Route 452.

Officials say the roadway, which serves as a link between western Delaware County, southern Chester County, Interstate 95, Philadelphia International Airport and New Jersey, can no longer accommodate the increasing traffic.

When finished, the stretch of roadway will become a four-lane highway with a 10-foot-wide grass median and eight-foot-wide paved shoulders.

Meanwhile, 15 intersections and two interchanges will be rebuilt or modified to more tightly control access to and from Route 322. Officials that will improve safety for drivers.

Officials hope to have the $63 million project completed by 2020.

State officials have released this timetable:

CONSTRUCTION SECTIONS: The improvement project will be completed under two separate mainline construction contracts: Section 101 and Section 102.

Section 101 construction started in March 2017. Section 102 is in its final design engineering stage, with construction projected to start in 2019.

In Section 101, PennDOT will reconstruct and widen U.S. 322 from U.S. 1 (Baltimore Pike) to just east of Clayton Park Drive in Concord Township.

Section 102 will continue the widening and rebuilding of U.S. 322 from just east of Clayton Park Drive to Cherry Tree Road/Bethel Avenue. PennDOT will reconstruct and improve the existing four-lane, barrier-separated highway through the Route 452 (Market Street) Interchange. Interchanges at Foulk Road and Route 452 (Market Street) will be reconfigured and six intersections will be improved under Section 102.

The U.S. 322 Interchange with Bethel Road, located east of the Section 102 project area limit, also will be reconstructed as part of a separate project, Section CSX, that also will replace the U.S. 322 bridge over Bethel Road and CSX Railroad in Upper Chichester Township.

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