Project Overview

NEW: Go here to read the report on An Archaeological Investigation of the Joseph Lewis Site that was completed for this project.

Rapid growth of suburban office parks, retail centers and residential developments in Philadelphia’s northwestern suburbs has contributed to ever increasing volume at the Pennsylvania Turnpike’s Valley Forge Interchange and on Route 202 and other roads serving the Route 29 Corridor. As a result, traffic delays are a fact of daily life for many area motorists.

To provide a measure of traffic relief for thousands of Pennsylvanian commuters, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission is building the Route 29 All Electronic Interchange at Mile Post 320 in eastern Chester County.

Utilizing the efficiencies of electronic tolling technology, this interchange will be un-staffed and its use limited to the Turnpike's E-ZPass customers. Users will slip smoothly onto the Turnpike from Route 29 or exit the Turnpike to a new signalized intersection with Route 29.

When completed in late 2012, the new interchange will shorten commuting times to and from the Great Valley Corporate Center, the Commons at Great Valley, the Atwater campus and other nearby commercial areas and residential communities.

Access from Route 29
Motorists will enter and exit the new interchange from an access ramp that connects with existing Route 29/Morehall Road at a new signalized, multi-lane intersection about a half mile south of Yellow Springs Road. About 2,000 feet of Route 29/Morehall Road south of the new intersection will be widened to provide dedicated turn lanes to the new access ramp.

This new multi-lane road, which will be situated to the east of Route 29/Morehall Road, will be built atop embankments and several bridge structures that pass over Atwater Drive, Yellow Springs Road (2 bridges) and the mainline Turnpike. A long retaining wall will support the ramp’s embankment where it passes the abandoned quarry on the east side of Route 29 just north of the new intersection.

+ click to enlarge project rendering

Access from the Turnpike
New westbound on- and off-ramps will share space on the north side of the Turnpike in a partial cloverleaf configuration utilizing a new, four-span bridge to cross over the Turnpike’s mainline.

A new eastbound off-ramp will exit the Turnpike west of Route 29 and cross over Yellow Springs Road before merging with the main access ramp. A new eastbound on-ramp will split from the main access ramp over Yellow Springs Road and enter the Turnpike at the eastern end of the new interchange.

Improvements at the new Route 29 Interchange also include expansion of approximately 4,000 feet of the mainline Turnpike east of the Route 29 overpass to accommodate future widening to six lanes between Downingtown and Valley Forge. The six mile section between Valley Forge and Route 29, the first stage of that project, is currently under design and scheduled to go to construction in 2013.

Storm Water Management
The project also includes construction of an extensive storm water management system that utilizes wetland plantings and water quality inlets that trap pollutants to control and treat runoff from the site of the new interchange.