The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) is widening US 222 from Schaeffer Road in Maidencreek Township, to the Kutztown Bypass in Richmond Township. Construction is estimated to begin in 2025, and will last approximately two to 2.5 years. The purpose of the project is to improve traffic efficiency, increase safety and increase capacity to address existing and future traffic congestion.
After the project is complete, US 222 will have two through lanes in each direction, 10-foot outside shoulders and four-foot inside shoulders. The project also includes a concrete glare screen barrier in the center median, and left turns will be eliminated along the length of the corridor. The project includes roundabouts at Pleasant Hill Road and Richmond Road. Each roundabout will have two through lanes on each US 222 approach, and a single through lane on each side road approach. Finally, PennDOT is replacing the structure crossing Moselem Creek.
US 222 is a north-south route, running southwest to northeast in the project area. Over 27,000 vehicles travel through this section of the corridor each day. 20 percent of the vehicles are trucks. During construction, detours will be used to circumvent roundabout construction. US 222 will also reduce traffic down to two lanes, using half-width construction methods. Ultimately, this should improve safety and efficiency: this portion of US 222 has a fatality crash rate of 2.06 crashes per million miles for this section of the corridor, which is much higher than the statewide average fatality crash rate of 0.010.
PennDOT originally displayed the plans and invited public comment through June 15, 2022. The plans will be reviewed to ensure that they do not interfere with Cultural Resources, pursuant to the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation’s 36 CFR Part 800 regulations, implementing Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. When approved, the project will continue moving forward.
Contact us if you have more questions about the project, any questions about the eminent domain process and/or if you want a personalized map of how your property may be impacted.