Design & Construction Details

Mainline Widening Construction Activities

Current Activities: Spring 2025

• Center area paving
• Center area bridge construction
• Stormwater drainage installation

Construction Update: Spring 2025

Center Area Pavement Reconstruction Underway

Spring 2025 – Crews over the winter completed excavation of the original four lanes of pavement and median from north of the Lansdale Interchange to approaching the Quakertown Interchange in the final major construction stage of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission project to widen and reconstruct the Turnpike’s Northeast Extension (Interstate 476) between Mileposts A38 and A44.

The excavated concrete is being crushed into smaller aggregate on site (see below) and recycled for use as the pavement base to reconstruct the inside northbound and southbound lanes.

Northbound and southbound traffic was shifted onto the new outside pavement and shoulders last fall to complete Stage 2 work on the $180 million toll-funded infrastructure project.

Crews will continue to work this spring to complete installation of the Stage 3 stormwater drainage system. 

Work is also underway to build abutments and bridge decks for the middle sections of new Turnpike bridges over Kumry Road (see below) and the Ridge Valley, Unami, Schmoutz, and Molasses creeks. Precast beams have been set at the Schmoutz and Molasses Creek bridges, with a concrete deck pour scheduled at Molasses Creek by late April. New abutment walls at Ridge Valley Creek and Kumry Road are nearing completion, and pier construction is ongoing at Unami Creek.

The Kumry Road detour will remain in effect and be utilized on an as-needed basis between 9:00 AM and 3:00 PM and 6:00 PM and 6:00 AM for the foreseeable future.

Excavation, grading, and ground stabilization for 16 sediment basins have been completed. The basins will remain in a temporary condition to control sediment and will be converted to their final conditions later in the project when final ground stabilization is achieved and construction of the center portion of the roadway finishes in late 2025.

Turnpike (I-476) Northeast Extension construction during this stage is expected to take place Monday through Friday between 7:00 AM and 5:00 PM through July 2026. No long-term lane restrictions are expected during this stage, but occasional nighttime lane closures and traffic paces will be required.

Motorists are advised to slow down to the posted work-zone speed limits. The Turnpike is employing Automated Work Zone Speed Enforcement Cameras across the work area to enhance worker safety. Violators of the reduced Work Zone speed limits may be ticketed through the mail.

The current contract is a continuation of the reconstruction and widening that was completed in 2021 between mileposts A31, just north of the Lansdale Exit, and A38, near the Clump Road overpass in Franconia Township. The Extension was widened and improved between the Mid-County Interchange and the Lansdale Interchange under an earlier contract that was completed in 2017.

Completed Construction

The existing overhead bridges within the project corridor have been replaced to accommodate the current widening of the Pennsylvania Turnpike's Northeast Extension from four to six lanes. The overhead bridges carrying Upper Ridge Road, Trumbauersville Road and Steinsburg Road over the Pennsylvania Turnpike's Northeast Extension have been returned to service. Several photos documenting construction progress at each of these structures are provided below.