​​​U.S. 422 Section M1B

County: Montgomery
State Route: U.S. Route 422
Facility Name: Pottstown Bypass
Municipality: Lower Pottsgrove Township
Project Type: Reconstruction
Total Length: 2.07 miles
Reconstruction Length: 1.64 miles
Average Daily Traffic (ADT): 51,799 vehicles per day

The U.S. 422 Section M1B project involves the total reconstruction of 1.64 miles of U.S. 422 from the Sanatoga Interchange to the Norfolk Southern railroad tracks just west of Porter Road in Lower Pottsgrove Township, Montgomery County. 

Under this project, U.S. 422 will be reconstructed on both existing and revised alignments to improve horizontal curve radii, shoulder widths, and vertical clearance to enhance travel and safety. 

A culvert at Sprogels Run, located just east of Porter Road, along with an existing single-span bridge carrying U.S. 422 over Porter Road, will be removed and replaced with a new two-span bridge. The bridge carrying U.S. 422 over Sanatoga Road and Sanatoga Creek will also be reconstructed and widened.

Additional improvements under this project include:

• Reconstructing and lengthening the acceleration ramp from the Sanatoga Interchange (Township Line Road) to westbound U.S. 422;
• Installing Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) equipment and components along the U.S. 422 corridor and on arterial roadways;
• Constructing sound barriers along portions of westbound U.S. 422;
• Upgrading existing and installing new signing;
• Replacing the closed system drainage system and cross culverts throughout the project limits; and
  
• Improving stormwater management facilities, including two extended detention basins.

Work on this $83.6 million project will begin on Monday, November 20, with preliminary construction activities. Surveying crews will be laying out the features of the work area, including locations for the placement of road construction signs and the limits of the work zone, in advance of the placement of construction barriers and other early-stage construction that is scheduled to get underway in late November.

U.S. 422 Drivers can expect slow-moving shoulder closures between Evergreen Road and Armand Hammer Boulevard. Once major construction begins, motorists will encounter nighttime lane closures through the Section M1B project limits. 

J.D. Eckman, Inc. of Atglen, PA, is the general contractor on this project, which is financed with 100 percent federal funds. Physical work on this project is expected to be completed in late 2028. 

Excavation and bridge Construction this Spring on U.S. 422 in Lower Pottsgrove Township

Since work began in late 2023, PennDOT’s contractor has been clearing and excavating the shoulder area on an $83.6 million Section M1B contract to reconstruct and improve approximately 2.1 miles of U.S. 422 and replace two bridges between the Sanatoga Interchange and Porter Road in Lower Pottsgrove Township, Montgomery County.

As shoulder areas are excavated, crews are installing pipes and inlets for the project’s new stormwater drainage system and building two drainage detention basins within the right of way.

Construction got underway in early spring to replace the U.S. 422 bridge over Sanatoga Road and Sanatoga Creek, to be followed this spring by the start of work on the new bridge over Porter Road and Sprogels Run. (The existing culvert over Sprogels Run will be removed and the new bridge will span both Porter Road and Sprogles Run.) The outer sections of the structure will be built first. When finished, traffic will be shifted onto the new bridge sections while the middle portions are built during the next stage of the project.

Excavation has also started for the reconstruction of the existing on-ramp to U.S.422 west from southbound Evergreen Road at the Sanatoga Interchange.  

Installation of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) components — electronic message signs, and traffic cameras —  included in the project also is underway on roadways that feed traffic onto U.S.422 and adjacent arterials at various locations. ITS work this spring finds crews working on Route 23 in Chester County in the Spring City, Phoenixville, and Valley Forge areas. 

Motorists will encounter regular off-peak daytime and overnight lane closures during the current stage of the project.

In addition to reconstructing the travel lanes and shoulders in both directions to enhance travel and safety, improvements under this contract include:

• Reconstructing the acceleration ramp at the Sanatoga Interchange to westbound U.S. 422;
• Constructing sound barriers along sections of westbound U.S. 422;
• Improving the stormwater drainage system and stormwater management facilities with two new detention basins;
• Upgrading highway signs; and 
• Installing Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) equipment and components along the U.S. 422 corridor and arterial roadways along the corridor.

Work on the project is scheduled to finish in late 2028.

The construction contract, financed with 80 percent federal and 20 percent state funds, is the seventh project in PennDOT’s initiative to rebuild and improve the U.S. 422 bypass near Pottstown. Since 2012, PennDOT has completed five projects, valued at $263.4 million, to improve the U.S.422 corridor in Montgomery and Chester counties. 

A sixth project (Section MCP) — addressing maintenance issues between the Trooper Road and Sanatoga Road exits — is also underway. 

J.D. Eckman is the general contractor on Section M1B.