U.S. Route 202 in Pennsylvania

Infobox road
state=PA
type=US
route=202


length_mi=
length_ref=
length_round=
established=
direction_a=South
starting_terminus=
junction=
direction_b=North
ending_terminus=
counties=
previous_type=PA
previous_route=201
next_type=PA
next_route=204
commons=category

U.S. Route 202 runs through the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, passing through the northern and western suburbs of Philadelphia. It follows in a general southwest to northeast direction through the state, passing through West Chester, King of Prussia, Norristown, Montgomeryville, Doylestown, and New Hope.

Route description

Delaware County

.

Chester County

US 202 and US 322 cross into Chester County, heading north on Wilmington Pike along the border of Birmingham and Thornbury Townships. They intersect Pennsylvania Route 926 and head into Westtown Township. At the border of Westtown and West Goshen Townships, US 202 and US 322 head onto the limited-access West Chester Bypass, which bypasses West Chester to the east, while U.S. Route 322 Business heads north into West Chester on High Street.

The West Chester Bypass intersects Matlack Street at a traffic light, and then has interchanges with Westtown Road, Pennsylvania Route 3 (West Chester Pike), and Paoli Pike. US 322 then heads to the west on a two-lane expressway around the northern part of West Chester, and US 202 continues to the north on a four-lane expressway. It interchanges with the southern terminus of Pennsylvania Route 100, which heads to the northwest on a short expressway toward Exton. It then interchanges with Boot Road and heads into East Goshen Township briefly before entering West Whiteland Township.

, which parallels the freeway for a little distance before crossing it.

Montgomery County

, the largest shopping mall on the East Coast of the United States and one of the largest shopping malls in the country.

It heads to the northeast and crosses over the Pennsylvania Turnpike, passing through various suburban developments. In Bridgeport, US 202 splits into two roads, with northbound US 202 heading into Bridgeport on two-lane, two-way Dekalb Street and southbound US 202 heading onto a four-lane freeway. Northbound US 202 crosses Pennsylvania Route 23 at an intersection in the center of Bridgeport and southbound US 202 features ramps that provide access to PA 23. These ramps were intended to connect to the Schuylkill Parkway, a never-built bypass of PA 23 in Upper Merion Township. Both routes cross the Schuylkill River into Norristown, with northbound US 202 heading north on one way Dekalb Street and US 202 southbound heading down two-way Markley Street. US 202 follows this one-way pair through the length of Norristown, with the route meeting back into one road at the northern border of Norristown, where southbound US 202 follows Johnson Highway between Dekalb Street and Markley Street.

.

US 202 then turns north onto PA 309, following it to the Five Points intersection in Montgomeryville, where it crosses Pennsylvania Route 463 and where US 202 splits from PA 309 by heading to the northeast on Doylestown Road.

Bucks County

and becomes State Street at the intersection with New Britain Road.

US 202 then turns south onto the Pennsylvania Route 611 Doylestown Bypass, forming a wrong-way concurrency. It then heads east onto a freeway running along the southern edge of Doylestown, interchanging with Main Street. The freeway the ends, and US 202 becomes a surface road called Doylestown-Buckingham Pike, intersecting Pennsylvania Route 313. It heads east into Buckingham Township, and continues to the village of Buckingham, where it crosses Pennsylvania Route 413 and then meets Pennsylvania Route 263.

It then forms a concurrency with PA 263, heading north on York Road, a part of Old York Road which connected Philadelphia to New York City. The two routes split in Lahaska, with US 202 heading east on Lower York Road. It heads into Solebury Township and heads east toward New Hope. Before reaching New Hope, it meets Pennsylvania Route 179, which heads into New Hope on the former alignment of US 202. US 202 bends to the north of New Hope and interchanges with Pennsylvania Route 32 before crossing the Delaware River into New Jersey on the New Hope-Lambertville Toll Bridge.

History

Before the creation of the U.S. highway system, the route had been part of Pennsylvania Route 29 between the Delaware border and West Chester and Pennsylvania Route 52 between West Chester and the New Jersey border. [ [http://www.m-plex.com/roads/numberus.html The US Highway System and Numbering – The Pennsylvania State Route Numbering System – Central PA/MD Roads] URL accessed 16 February 2008] U.S. Route 122 was created in 1926, connecting US 22 at Whitehouse, New Jersey with Wilmington, Delaware. It became part of US 202 in 1934.

U.S. Route 202 had followed a different alignment in Chester County before the limited access alignment was built. The former alignment had US 202 exiting from what was then the West Chester By-Pass onto Paoli Pike, then later overlapping US 30 in Paoli and then turning north on what later became PA 252.

The Piedmont Expressway

In the early 1960s, a four-lane expressway was proposed that would follow the US 202 corridor. The "Piedmont Expressway" was to be 59 miles long, and would cost approximately $146 million. It was to serve as an outer beltway around the Philadelphia area, similar to the Capital Beltway that encircles Washington, D.C.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation divided the US 202 Expressway into the following eight sections:
*Section 100: Concord Township, Delaware County, to West Goshen Township, Chester County (approximately eight miles)
*Section 200: West Goshen Township, Chester County to West Whiteland Township, Chester County (approximately six miles)

*Section 300: East Whiteland Township, Chester County to Tredyffrin Township, Chester County (approximately seven miles)
*Section 400: Tredyffrin Township, Chester County to Upper Merion Township, Montgomery County (approximately five miles)
*Section 500: Upper Merion Township, Montgomery County to Norristown, Montgomery County (approximately five miles)
*Section 600: East Norriton Township, Montgomery County to Montgomery Township, Montgomery County (approximately nine miles)
*Section 700: Montgomery Township, Montgomery County to Doylestown Township, Bucks County (approximately nine miles)
*Section 800: Doylestown Township, Bucks County to New Hope, Bucks County (approximately ten miles)

Future

Widening

PennDOT has plans to widen two sections of U.S. Route 202, from U.S. Route 30 in East Whiteland Township to North Valley Road in Tredyffrin Township in Chester County, costing $175 million, and from Johnson Highway on the Norristown/East Norriton Township border to Pennsylvania Route 309 in Montgomeryville in Montgomery County, costing $130 million. Construction on both segments was expected to start in 2009. However, PennDOT has indefinitely suspended construction on both segments due to to need to use money to repair structurally deficient bridges. Construction will not start until 2011 at the earliest. [cite news |last=Petersen |first=Nancy |title=Gridlock ahead for road projects |publisher=The Philadelphia Inquirer |date=May 6, 2008 |url=http://www.philly.com/inquirer/home_region/20080506_Road_widening_projects_in_Chester_and_Montgomery_Counties_delayed.html |accessdate=2008-05-06]

202 Parkway

The 202 Parkway is a proposed 8.5-mile at-grade road that will run from Montgomeryville to Doylestown north of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The road has been at the front of discussion and controversies around the Bucks and Montgomeryville areas for almost forty years. It was originally planned as a four-lane expressway, but in 2005 the plan was changed to a two to four lane parkway after funding for the road was cut.Savana, Freda R. "Make way for the 202 Parkway." The Intelligencer, March 2, 2008] The parkway is planned to be four lanes from Pennsylvania Route 63 to Pennsylvania Route 463 and two lanes from PA 463 to Pennsylvania Route 611. It will have 5-foot-wide shoulders, 12-foot-wide walking paths on each side, sound barriers, and a 40 mph speed limit. The parkway is planned to cost $200 million with construction beginning in fall 2008 [Kristofic, Christina. "PennDOT to hold meetings on noise from parkway." The Intelligencer, November 1, 2007] and completion by late 2010 with a planned opening date in early 2011 [Moyer, Sandra. "Parkway construction could begin by year's end." The Intelligencer, March 26, 2008] . PennDOT is in the process of acquiring properties along the future right of way.Savana, Freda R. "Make way for the 202 Parkway." The Intelligencer, March 2, 2008]

Major intersections

References