PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — ‘Tis the season for roadway construction, and PennDOT has one word for drivers: patience.
More than 200 highway and bridge projects are set to start or resume across the greater Philadelphia region, so officials are urging the public to be extra vigilant and safe when driving through work zones.
“We have $2.4 billion worth of work going on in the Philadelphia region right now,” said Mike Rebert, PennDOT acting district executive. “We are here at I-95 and the Betsy Ross Bridge, where we have a $100 million project ongoing here that is part of a $2 billion program that we have slated for I-95 over the next decade.”
Notable projects in Philadelphia include:
• University Avenue bridge replacement/ Schuylkill River Trail project
• I-95 intelligent transportation systems enhancement project and continued I-95 reconstruction work
• Continued work on the U.S. 1 Wayne Junction Viaduct rehabilitation project
• Continued work on the Chestnut Street bridges rehabilitation project
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Jana Tidwell, manager of government and public affairs for AAA Mid-Atlantic, said drivers should expect the unexpected.
“Slow down, eliminate distractions, observe the posted advisories, prepare for unusual driving conditions,” she advised. “Many of us drive these roads like I-95 on a daily basis, but the work zones can change, the lines change, the barricades change.”
In 2020, there were more than 1,400 work zone-related crashes across the state, resulting in 15 fatalities. Nearly 90 PennDOT construction workers have been killed since 1970 because of on-duty car crashes.
“We realize how busy all of the highways are here in the Philadelphia region,” Rebert added. “We do our best to do a lot of the work at night, but there are certain things we can’t do during the day and we have to do either around the clock or during the day. So it’s day and night. Be aware of what is going on at all times.”
Drivers can check for the latest road conditions at 511PA.com.
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