Design & Construction Details

Mainline Widening Construction Activities

Current Activities: Winter 2024-25

• Center area excavation/pavement removal
• Stormwater drainage installation
• Center area bridge construction

Construction Update: Winter 2024-25

Center Area Construction Underway this Winter

Winter 2024-25 – With northbound and southbound traffic on the Pennsylvania Turnpike’s Northeast Extension (Interstate 476) shifted from the existing lanes onto the new outside pavement, work is now underway to reconstruct the middle section across the entire work zone (see below) between Mileposts A38 and A44.

Removal of the existing concrete pavement is ongoing. Large mounds of excavated concrete are being crushed into smaller pieces of aggregate on site (see right) for use as the pavement base for the reconstructed lanes.

Crews will work this winter to install and connect pipes for the stormwater drainage system prior to rebuilding the roadway beginning later this year.

Work is also underway to build abutments for the middle sections of new Turnpike bridges over Kumry Road and the Ridge Valley, Unami, Schmoutz, and Molasses creeks.

Traffic was shifted onto the new outer lanes and expanded shoulder late in 2024. Demolition of the center sections of five bridges and removal of the existing pavement got underway after the shift (see below).

Excavation, grading, and ground stabilization for 16 sediment basins have finished. 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 of the $180 million project 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 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 A 31, just north of the Lansdale Exit, and A 38, 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.