US 202 Section ES1 is located in Delaware County (Concord, Chadds Ford, Thornbury and Bethel townships) and Chester County (West Goshen, Westtown, Thornbury and Birmingham townships). This part of US 202 is a four-lane, signalized highway with almost unlimited access. The intersection of US 202 and US 1 in Concord and Chadds Ford townships is heavily developed and congested.

In August 1991, PennDOT began the environmental analysis and preliminary engineering to study potential improvement alternatives for this section of US 202. Three build alternatives were carried through in the DEIS that would widen US 202 from four lanes to six lanes, with grade-separated intersections at US 1, PA 926 and Matlack Street. The fourth alternative is the No Build or do nothing alternative.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) disseminated the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for public review and comment in January 2004. PennDOT and the Army Corps of Engineers held a public hearing on March 11, 2004, to receive public comment on the DEIS. A Record of Decision is expected from the Federal Highway Administration in mid-2008. Urban Engineers, Inc. of Philadelphia is performing the $4 million study.

To view the January 2004 US 202 Section ES1 DEIS and 4(f) Evaluation, please click HERE (please allow the software to load before navigating the site).

The US 202, Section ES1 Improvements Project remains active and is currently undergoing PennDOT’s right–sizing review process. Since the public hearing in 2004 a “right sizing” analysis of this project is being done to reevaluate the most economically feasible way of meeting the project goals. As a result of the “right sizing” initiative, the project team has reevaluated the roadway typical section to lessen the impacts to adjacent resources. The project team has reduced the typical paved roadway section from 118 feet to 86 feet by reducing the median shoulder from 22 feet to 10 feet and by eliminating the outside shoulders and introducing curbed 14-foot wide lanes. Three through lanes are still being provided in each direction, and the narrower footprint coupled with jug handles and spur roads to replace left turn lanes will provide traffic relief while maintaining the area’s suburban character. The “brick and stick” cost savings will be approximately $40-$50 million.

Significant development has occurred along the US 202 Corridor. To update the project mapping, the project team has worked with the local municipalities to obtain development plans to help represent current development on US 202, Section ES1 mapping. This will enable the project team to accurately evaluate impacts to residential and commercial development along the corridor.

In conjunction with PennDOT’s study, the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) conducted a Land Use Study along this section of US 202. This study was prompted by a 1989 Chester County Planning Commission study that examined historical and environmental issues and land-use plans along US 202. The study recommended widening the highway from four lanes to six, building a grade-separated interchange at US 1, and addressing access control.

In October 2005, PennDOT began construction on a $511,000 project to install a closed loop traffic signal system at 19 intersections in Concord Township, Delaware County. The new closed loop signal system connects traffic signals via fiber optic cable. The intersections are on Route 1, Route 202, Route 322, and Smith Bridge Road. The signals tie into a computer that is controlled by the township. Construction is expected to finish by the end of June 2006.

In 2002, PennDOT repaired and resurfaced US 202 between US 1 and Dilworthtown Road in Chadds Ford and Concord townships, Delaware County.

In October 1999, PennDOT completed a $2.1 million project to repair two miles of US 202 between Smith Bridge Road and US 1 in Chadds Ford and Concord townships, Delaware County. In 1998, PennDOT resurfaced US 202 from West Chester to Dilworthtown Road in Chester County.

The Department of Transportation continues to meet with township officials, business associations, and the public regarding the project