Matthew Botos

A scant 3 months after it stopped being part of my daily commute, 422 is undergoing construction to add a third westbound lane leaving King of Prussia and crossing the Schuylkill River:

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation PennDOT will begin work this month on a $5.5 million project to reduce onerous congestion on westbound Route 422 during weekday evening rush hours by adding a third westbound lane between the Route 23 Valley Forge Road and Route 363 Trooper Road interchanges. Construction is scheduled to finish in November.

PennDOT District Executive Lester C. Toaso said “Motorists entering westbound Route 422 from Route 23 will be able to use the extra lane to travel directly to the Route 363 exit, thereby not impacting mainline traffic flow, or they can travel over a half-mile west on the new lane before merging into traffic.” Toaso said building this direct-connection lane between the two interchanges was critical because half of the approximately 2,000 vehicles an hour that enter westbound Route 422 from Route 23 on weekday evenings exit the highway at Route 363.

In conjunction with adding the additional lane, modifications will be made at the two interchanges. The westbound Route 422 off-ramp to Route 23 West will be closed permanently and all traffic will use the existing off-ramp to Route 23 East, which will be widened and a traffic signal installed at the end of the ramp for motorists turning left onto Route 23 West. The Route 422 West off-ramp to Route 363 also will be widened to two exit lanes. This upcoming project is the first phase of the River Crossing Complex Program, which consists of several projects to improve travel on Route 422 between the Route 202 and Route 363 interchanges.

The River Crossing Complex Program is quite extensive, as is the linked PDF of the plans. Given the time it’ll take to complete, I don’t think I’ll regret changing my commute for a while!