By Matt Schickling
Wire Staff Writer
Over the next few months, PennDOT workers will be repairing and repaving a 15-mile stretch of County Line Road between Route 611 and Route 532.
The construction, which began on Aug. 4, reaches into parts of Lower Southampton, Warminster and Warrington in Bucks County and Hatboro, Lower Moreland, Upper Moreland and Horsham in Montgomery County.
The project is expected to cost about $4.4 million and be completed by the end of October. James D. Morrissey Inc. of Philadelphia is the general contractor, and it will be financed entirely with state funds.
Roadwork will take place from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. on weeknights, but minor delays are still expected as the road will be reduced to one lane of traffic in each direction. “We’re working outside of rush hour, but we are advising that motorists give themselves extra time and try alternative routes,” PennDOT representative Charles Metzger said.
He suggested Street Road, which runs parallel to County Line Road, as a viable option for drivers.
“County Line Road along with many other highways in the region suffered extensive pavement damage during the past winter season and it is one of the many state roads that we are repairing this year,” PennDOT District 6 Executive Les Toaso said.
District 6 contains Bucks, Montgomery, Philadelphia, Chester and Delaware counties, areas where road damage and potholes were especially prominent following this past winter. PennDOT typically resumes repaving roads throughout the state in spring and into summer, annually accounting for the repair of about 10 percent of state roadways, according to PennDOT statistics.
This project, in particular, was needed to improve transportation through several well-populated communities.
“With the past winter season being so brutal on the roadways, it really created a lot of problems with the potholes,” Anthony Johnson, a representative of Montgomery County Transportation Management Services, said. “County Line Road was one of the areas majorly affected. I’m sure the motorists will be happy.”
The winter was not the sole reason for the improvements, though. It had to be coordinated around projects by various utilities organizations. For example, North Wales Water Authority had to dig up part of the road to install a water main.
“We had to make sure that was done before we put down a fresh coat of asphalt,” Metzger said. According to Metzger, County Line Road has not seen a rehabilitation project of this size since 2003. “We like to get at least eight to ten years out of a riding surface,” he said. “That’s our normal window to pave.”
After the roadwork is completed, PennDOT workers will have to replace hundreds of curb ramps to meet the current requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This construction will continue past October, but should not significantly affect traffic.
For more information and to check the statuses of state roadways, visit www.511PA.com or www.dot.state.pa.us.
