Traffic Shift on Northbound 476 This Week

According to a release issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), drivers traveling north on Interstate 476 in Montgomery County will face nighttime lane closures next week starting Monday, June 13 and running through Friday, June 17, as crews establish a new traffic pattern. The new pattern is the start the final stage of the $71.7 million project to rebuild 3.2 miles of I-476 between the Interstate 76 (Exit 16) and Germantown Pike (Exit 20) interchanges in West Conshohocken and Plymouth Township.

Weather permitting, one of the two northbound lanes on the northbound side of I-476 will be closed Tuesday through Friday nights, June 14-17, from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. to allow crews to relocate construction barriers, repaint traffic lines and move northbound traffic to the rebuilt the outside half of the highway from north of the Schuylkill River Bridge to the Germantown Pike exit (Exit 20). Northbound I-476 traffic is scheduled to move into the new pattern early Friday morning, June 17.

Once the traffic shift is completed, crews will begin to rebuild the vacated inside two lanes and median of I-476 North, which marks the start of the fourth and final major stage of construction that began in late 2009 to reconstruct this stretch of the interstate.

I-476’s northbound “express lane” on the southbound side of the highway will not be impacted by the traffic pattern change. 

Drivers may encounter delays on the ramp from northbound I-476 to westbound I-76 as crews move traffic onto the rebuilt side of the ramp. Ramp work will take place from 10 p.m. Monday, June 13, to 5 a.m. Tuesday, June 14.

According to PennDOT, the contractor will complete the I-476 traffic pattern change during the week of June 20 when crews move northbound traffic onto the rebuilt pavement from south of I-76 (Exit 16) to the Schuylkill River Bridge.

Flagger-controlled daytime lane closures also are scheduled next week on Matsonford Road and DeHaven Street at the I-476 ramp overpasses in West Conshohocken.

PennDOT is rebuilding and improving this part of I-476 by:

• Replacing I-476’s deteriorated concrete pavement
• Rehabilitating six dual mainline bridges and one overhead structure;
• Rebuilding and widening the highway’s shoulders;
• Improving storm water drainage;
• Remediating an area prone to sinkholes; and
• Installing 17 new sign structures.

This stretch of I-476 carries between 101,000 to 150,000 vehicles a day.

Allan A. Myers, LP of Worcester, is the general contractor on the $71,728,383 project that is financed with 100 percent federal funds. For more information, visit www.476blueroute.com.

Motorists they can go to 511pa.com or call 511 from any phone to check traffic conditions on I-476 and other major highways before heading out.