US Route 422 West Shore Bypass Reconstruction Study Final Report District 5-0, Berks County
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Prepared for: US Route 422 West Shore Bypass Reconstruction Study Final Report District 5-0, Berks County Prepared by: In association with: McMahon Associates, Inc. CHRS, Inc. June 2014 Table of Contents 1 Introduction to the Study 18 Section 3 – Lancaster Avenue to I-176 20 Section 4 – I-176 to Perkiomen Avenue 1 Study Goals 21 Proposed Conditions 2 Needs 21 Mainline Traffic Analysis 2 Overall Infrastructure Condition 21 Typical Section 3 Safety 22 Mainline and Overhead Structures 3 Operations 23 Retaining Walls and Rock Cuts 3 Improve Local Access 25 Section 1 – Warren Street Bypass to Penn Street Interchange 3 Regional Mobility 29 Section 2 – Penn Street Interchange to Lancaster Avenue Interchange 3 Environmental Overview 32 Section 3 – Lancaster Avenue to I-176 4 Natural Resources 34 Section 4 – I-176 to Perkiomen Avenue 5 Cultural Resources 35 Order of Magnitude Cost Estimates by Section 5 Site Geology Overview 36 Interchanges 6 Community Resources 36 Warren Street 7 Parks, Recreation and 4(f) Resources 36 Wyomissing Boulevard 7 Floodplain Encroachment 37 Penn Street 8 Stakeholder and Public Involvement 39 Lancaster Avenue 8 Study Advisory Committee 42 I-176 8 Special Interest Group Meetings 43 Neversink Road 8 Stakeholder Presentations 44 Overpasses 8 Public Meeting 45 Drainage BMP Locations 8 Mainline Existing Conditions 9 Existing Roadways 48 Right-of-Way Impacts 9 Existing Structures 49 Utility Impacts 12 Typical Structure Conditions 50 Geological and Geotechnical Considerations 13 Offline Adjacent Structures 14 Section 1 – Warren Street Bypass to Penn Street Interchange 55 Maintenance and Protection of Traffic 16 Section 2 – Penn Street Interchange to Lancaster Avenue Interchange 56 Detour Route Analysis Summary US Route 422 West Shore Bypass Reconstruction Study Final Report Appendices A Traffic – Confidential Safety Study B Traffic – Study Traffic Report C Structures – Existing Structure Summary D Structures – Proposed Structure Summary E Schuylkill River Act 167 Plan F Right of Way Impacts and Cost Table G Utility Impacts and Cost Table H Detour Figures J Order of Magnitude Cost Estimate K Stakeholder and Public Involvement US Route 422 West Shore Bypass Reconstruction Study Final Report short distance to enter on one interchange and exit at Introduction the other. The purpose of the US 422 West Shore Bypass The I-176 Interchange issues are related to the ramp Reconstruction Study was to identify transportation geometrics. The entrance ramps to US 422 do not projects that will improve the safety, operations, provide sufficient acceleration length to safely merge regional mobility and local access of the existing onto US 422. The substandard acceleration lane results corridor. Additionally the projects will reconstruct the in a safety concern at the US 422/ramp merge as well as aging corridor infrastructure and provide motorists with on the ramps. an updated facility. Study Goals The existing corridor was constructed 50 years ago and has many design deficiencies (lack of proper width The goals of the Study were to identify existing shoulders, inadequate sight distance, insufficient ramp deficiencies and needs, generate proposed alternatives acceleration lanes) that are common with expressways to address those needs and identify the costs and constructed in the 1960s. The existing pavement is impacts associated with those alternatives. The Study deteriorated. There are five major structures (500’+) included the following: either on or over the corridor that are at the end of their service life. 1. Identified existing infrastructure deficiencies and classified when these should be replaced The main corridor traffic and safety issues are located at 2. Documented locations with existing safety issues three of the interchanges within the corridor: I-176, 3. Conducted a traffic analysis of the corridor and Lancaster Avenue and Penn Street. Two of the access points to determine existing deficiencies and interchanges (Penn Street and Lancaster Avenue) are document deficiencies in a proposed design year located within 3/4 mile of each other in the western 4. Documented missing movements that limit local portion of the corridor, with US 422 as the most access to the corridor, thereby putting additional travelled connection between areas serviced by their strain on the local road network interchanges. Safe driving on US 422 is exacerbated by the close proximity of the two interchanges. The 5. Documented locations where regional mobility is geometries of the two interchange further compromise impacted by limitations of the corridor 6. Provided alternatives that present solutions to Figure 1 – US 422 West Shore Bypass Corridor safety with left lane exit and entrance ramps for the deficiencies documented above. Lancaster Avenue Interchange while the Penn Street Interchange has all ramps access from the right lane. This requires commuters to merge over two lanes in a 1 US Route 422 West Shore Bypass Reconstruction Study Final Report masked the underlying issues with the pavement for a Needs few years, but the ultimate need is complete Vertical Vertical reconstruction. Section Feature Intersected Facility Carried BMS# Clearance Clearance The US 422 West Shore Bypass Study is an evaluation of Existing Required the corridor that begins in the west at the Warren Street Within the corridor, there are six overpass bridges and Field View ID overpass (SR 12) and ends at the Perkiomen Avenue (SR SR 422, TULPEHOCKEN 15 mainline bridges that are owned by PennDOT. In W PA12 06 0012 0010 0000 14'-0" 16'-6" 2021) in the east (See Figure 1 on the previous page). CREEK, & MONTGOMERY ST. addition, there are two railroad viaduct overpasses that SR 422 & TULPEHOCKEN NORFOLK SOUTHERN RR The needs were identified by conducting traffic studies, V N/A NO INFO AVAILABLE 16'-6" are owned by Norfolk Southern and a concrete arch CREEK WEST CROSSING (1 Track) reviewing the existing road geometry, reviewing existing SR 422, RR, & SCHUYLKILL NORFOLK SOUTHERN RR overpass at Buttonwood Street that is owned by Berks T 1 N/A NO INFO AVAILABLE 16'-6" RIVER EAST CROSSING (2 Tracks) bridge inspection reports, reviewing crash data and County. conducting an extensive public involvement program S SR 422 BUTTONWOOD STREET 06 7301 0000 9171 13'-8" 16'-6" including meetings with local municipalities and county Of the 15 mainline bridges: R SR 422 PENN STREET 06 3422 0050 1146 15'-2" 16'-6" government, trucking interests, large employers and emergency service providers. • Three are Functionally Obsolete (FO) Q FRANKLIN STREET SR 422 (LR793) 06 0422 0372 0401 12'-1" 14'-6" • Five are Structurally Deficient These evaluations identified the following needs: 2 SR2005 • Twelve have a Sufficiency Rating of less than 80 M (LANCASTER AVE / BINGAMAN SR 422 WB 06 0422 0383 1730 14'-7" 16'-6" 1. Overall Infrastructure Condition • Two have a SR less than 50 ST) 2. Safety NORFOLK SOUTHERN RR 22'-5" (RR), 23'-0" (RR), • Many of the non-SD/FO bridges are the existing box I SR 422 06 0422 0430 0000 & SERVICE RD 22'-2" (Road) 14'-6" (Road) 3. Operations 3 or arch culverts. 4. Local Access G SR 422 I-176 06 0176 0110 1913 15'-4" 16'-6" 5. Regional Mobility. Of the six PennDOT-owned overpasses: E NORFOLK SOUTHERN RR SR 422 06 0422 0440 2528 22'-6" 23'-0" • Four are either Structurally Deficient or Functionally E. NEVERSINK ROAD (SR 1. Overall Infrastructure Condition B 4 SR 422 06 2039 0010 0210 14'-7" 16'-6" Obsolete 2039) PERKIOMEN AVE - The US 422 West Shore Bypass was constructed in the • A SR 422WB 06 2021 0011 0401 14'-7" 16'-6" Three have a Sufficiency Rating of less than 80 BUSINESS 422EB late 1950s and early 1960s. In the last few years, the • One is a SR less than 50. Table 1: Bridge Vertical Clearances Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) LEGEND: has improved the conditions of the roads to maintain In addition, these bridges contain vertical clearances Mainline Bridge the serviceability of the corridor until a full that do not meet current requirements (Table 1). reconstruction can be completed. The existing Currently there are four mainline bridges and five Overpass Bridge infrastructure is near the end of its service life. Before overpass bridges that have substandard vertical the bituminous overlay, placed in 2012, the original clearances of less than 16’-6”. Additionally, there are concrete pavement showed signs of deterioration. three overpasses not owned by PennDOT, including Numerous spalled joints and potholes were visible along Buttonwood Street (owned by Berks County) and the the corridor. The current bituminous overlay has two Norfolk Southern owned overpasses. 2 US Route 422 West Shore Bypass Reconstruction Study Final Report The 24 structures in the study area have the following that the corridor is nearing the end of its useful life and The Study identified LOS for the freeway sections, ramp A full traffic report is included in Appendix B. structure configuration in relation to the number of is in need of either major rehabilitation or replacement. junctions and weave sections, along with all signalized spans, superstructure type and material makeup: and unsignalized intersections at the interchanges. 4. Improve Local Access 2. Safety Overall the corridor operates at acceptable LOS along There are currently five interchanges within the US 422 • Six – Multi-span continuous, multi-stringer steel the mainline and the interchanges with the exception of Along the corridor, safety is an important issue, and corridor with a sixth as the western boundary of the (rolled or built-up) two locations, the Lancaster Avenue Interchange and evaluating the crashes and causes of those crashes project. Four of the five within the corridor have all • Three – Multi-span, continuous/simple, dual-girder the Penn Street Interchange. The ramp junction and along the corridor is a high priority. A Confidential available movements while the fifth (Neversink Road) steel (built-up) weaving analysis show unacceptable LOS within these Safety Study of the corridor was completed.