U.S. 202 Section 320 Improvement Project, East Whiteland and Tredyffrin Townships, Chester County, PA

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) is preparing U.S. 202 – a two-lane highway through Chester County, PA – to better handle current and projected traffic. Improvements to Section 320, the third of four U.S. 202 construction contracts, entailed four miles of roadway reconstruction and widening to three lanes with a shoulder; construction of a one-mile C/D lane; and reconstruction of two bridges. Noise walls, retaining walls, stormwater basins, drainage systems, and intelligent transportation systems (ITS) were also installed.

Inspection of Six Contractors

Urban provided construction inspection services for this $105 million project, which occurred over five construction stages, including nightwork. Two lanes of traffic were maintained in both directions during rush hours. Our team included about ten inspectors overseeing structure, roadway, and ITS work, which included installation of junction boxes, controller cabinet pads, PVC conduit, and DA and TR cabinets and pedestals, along with the excavation of Type I trench. Wetland and mitigation site work was also required to meet National Pollution Discharge Elimination System permit requirements.

We provided oversight and inspection for as many as six separate contractors/subcontractors with staff of up to 50 on-site at a given time. In addition, our Construction Manager assisted the contractor with scheduling. 

Highlights 

• First large-scale project in PennDOT District 6-0 to follow inspection and testing procedures from new 100-year pipe specification
• Four miles of full-depth 12-inch concrete 3-lane highway
• 1,000 LF of grouted tieback retaining wall with cast-in-place-concrete facing
• Four miles of precast concrete noisewall built on 1,200+ drilled caissons