ROAD WATCH, SEPT. 27(I-76 Message Boards start operating Sept. 30)
Motorists on the Schuylkill Expressway (I-76) will soon know how many minutes it will take to travel between major interchanges on the expressway starting Wednesday as PennDOT begins posting travel times on 13 dynamic message signs in Philadelphia and Montgomery County.
The message signs will display I-76 travel times with eight signs located on I-76; two on the Blue Route (I-476) near the I-76 Interchange; two on Route 1/Roosevelt Extension; and one at the base of the Platt Bridge near 26th Street.
They will operate seven days a week 6 a.m.-10 p.m.
Travel time information will be the default message throughout the day, but it will be replaced by a higher priority message in the event of an incident or emergency, road construction, hazardous weather condition or an AMBER alert.
The signs will display a three-line message to inform motorists of the travel time and distance to a certain interchange. The top line of the message will display the phrase “Avg. Travel Time.” Secondary lines will display the destination, for example, To I-676 EXIT, To U.S. 1 EXIT, To I-95 EXIT, To I-476 EXIT; the distance to the destination in miles and the travel time in minutes.
Minor variations may be used in situations where travel times are posted for a specific area along the main road or along an intersecting roadway or where travel times are displayed to multiple locations.
Fourteen electronic travel time readers along I-76 and four along southbound Route 1/Roosevelt Extension will calculate the travel times between key interchanges. The readers measure the time it takes for a vehicle to travel from one reader to another.
More than 100,000 motorists drive I-76 each day, PennDOT said.
Such information can help motorists to decide whether to stay on I-76 or use an alternate route, said District Executive Lester Toaso. It can also help reduce driver anxiety during times of congestion because motorists won’t have to guess how long it will take to travel from one point of the expressway to another, he said.
PennDOT recently installed travel time readers on I-76 along with closed-circuit television cameras, message signs and incident detectors as part of a $23 million Intelligent Transportation System improvement project.
In November 2008, PennDOT launched a pilot program for posting travel times on message signs in the state, starting on U.S. Routes 202, 100 and 30 in Chester County.
Ben Franklin Bridge
Between 10 a.m. and noon today, about 1,300 people will walk across the Benjamin Franklin Bridge’s south pedestrian walkway to raise money for the Fifth Annual Walk for Hope to Cure Breast Cancer. They will end their walk at Penn’s Landing. The walk benefits the City of Hope Cancer Center.
Vehicular traffic will not be affected during this event. The north walkway will remain closed for construction.
Girard Avenue Ramp to I-95 North
The Girard Avenue ramp to I-95 North and northbound Aramingo Avenue in Philadelphia will close Monday for the start of an $8.8 million project to improve travel through the I-95/Girard Avenue Interchange, PennDOT said.
Over the next 10 months, a detour will direct eastbound Girard Avenue drivers onto Richmond Street, from where they will reach the ramp to I-95 North or access northbound Aramingo Avenue. Workers will build a temporary off-ramp from I-95 South to southbound Aramingo Avenue and realign northbound Aramingo Avenue between Delaware Avenue and York Street.
Route 202 Bridge
Construction will begin 10 p.m. Monday on a 14-month project to replace the 55-year-old bridge carrying U.S. Route 202 over SEPTA-owned railroad tracks just south of the Westtown Road Interchange in West Goshen, Chester County. The $3.7 million project is scheduled to finish in November 2010.
The bridge’s steel beams and concrete deck have deteriorated to the extent that they must be replaced.
Drivers should allow additional time to travel this stretch 10 p.m.-5 a.m. weeknights as one lane will be closed in one or both directions.
Route 491 Closing
Route 491 (Naaman’s Creek Road) between Meetinghouse and Larkin roads in Upper Chichester will be closed starting Monday 8 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays through Nov. 24 for sanitary sewer repairs by the Southern Delaware County Authority.
During construction, Route 491 through traffic will be detoured over Meetinghouse Road, Chichester Avenue, Bethel Road and Larkin Road. Local access will be maintained up to the construction zone. Motorists are advised to allow extra time when traveling through the area.
Traffic Delays
Edgmont – Valley Road, closed/detoured for repairs/resurfacing between Middletown Road (Route 352) and Brick House Farm Road, starting Wednesday, and Oct. 21.
Baltimore Pike (Route 1) – Middletown, Aqua Pa. utility installation between Black Horse Lane and Valley Road 8 p.m.-6 a.m. Wednesday through Nov. 30.
Holmes Road/Amosland Road – Ridley Township, Prospect Park and Norwood, Aqua utility installation between MacDade Boulevard and Chester Pike 9 a.m.-3 p.m. weekdays through Oct. 2, detour posted.
Baltimore Avenue – Lansdowne, East Lansdowne, Upper Darby, Aqua Pennsylvania utility installation, closed/detoured between Church Lane and Lansdowne Avenue, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., detour posted weekdays through Nov. 30.
Chester — Flower Street, ramp construction with a new traffic pattern at Fourth and Second streets, 24-hour restriction through 2011. Work began Jan. 12.
Also, Norris Street, ramp construction with lane restrictions at Front Street and Delaware Avenue, 24-hour restriction through 2011. Work began Jan. 12.
“Road Watch” appears Sundays. Only messages and mail with phone numbers will be considered. E-mail: jroman@delcotimes.com.