WEEKLY TRANSPORTATION UPDATE
                             07-03-08

Travel Advisories:
1. PENNDOT: PENNDOT DRIVER LICENSE, PHOTO CENTERS CLOSED JULY 4 IN OBSERVANCE OF INDEPENDENCE DAY
2. PENNDOT: PENNDOT TO BEGIN CONSTRUCTION TO BUILD TWO NEW RAMPS TO CONNECT I-95 TO CHESTER WATERFRONT
3. PENNDOT: LANE CLOSURES ON I-76 NEXT WEEK FOR MILLING AND PAVING IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY
4. PENNDOT: I-476 NIGHTTIME LANE CLOSURES SCHEDULED NEXT WEEK IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY
5. PENNDOT: OVERNIGHT CLOSURE OF NORTHBOUND ROUTE 309 EXPRESSWAY SCHEDULED FOR SETTING BEAMS NEAR PA TURNPIKE INTERCHANGE AT FORT WASHINGTON
6. SEPTA: Late night July 4th Regional Rail service and extended ticket hours

Local Interests:
7. Times Herald: Transit funds hit red light
8. Philadelphia Freedoms: Team Tennis coming to the King of Prussia Mall
9. The Reporter: Lansdale seeking third train station
10. Delaware County Times: Gas prices driving Williams to Alaska
11. Daily News: One-tank Getaways

General Interests:
12. CNN: 10 Things You Can Like About $4 Gas
13. AP News: Oil prices near $146 a barrel for 1st time ever

Travel Advisories:
1.  PENNDOT: PENNDOT DRIVER LICENSE, PHOTO CENTERS CLOSED JULY 4 IN OBSERVANCE OF INDEPENDENCE DAY
Driver Licensing, Motor Vehicle Services Available Online
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation today announced that all driver license and photo centers, including its full service center in Harrisburg, will be closed Friday, July 4, in observance of Independence Day.
Customers may still obtain a variety of driver and vehicle products and services online through PennDOT’s Driver and Vehicle Services Web site, www.dmv.state.pa.us.
Driver and vehicle online services are available 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week and include driver license renewal, photo ID and vehicle registrations, driver-history services, change of address and exam scheduling. There are no additional fees for using online services.

2. PENNDOT: PENNDOT TO BEGIN CONSTRUCTION TO BUILD TWO NEW RAMPS TO CONNECT I-95 TO CHESTER WATERFRONT
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) today announced that construction will begin on Monday (July 7) on a $71.1 million project to construct two new ramps off the Commodore Barry Bridge to provide direct access between Interstate 95 and Route 291 (Second Street) in the City of Chester, Delaware County. Construction is scheduled to finish in 2011.
Beginning July 7, crews will close southbound Flower Street between 2nd Street and Front Street. During this two-month closure, southbound Flower Street motorists will detour over 2nd Street, Law Street and Front Street. Once the southbound detour is lifted, crews will close northbound Flower Street.
Motorists also will face traffic pattern shifts on Flower Street between 6th Street and the Amtrak overpass; Flower Street between 4th Street and the Amtrak overpass; 4th Street between Reany Street and Edwards Street; and 2nd Street between Reany Street and Edwards Street.
Crews will first begin constructing the new ramp that will connect Route 291 (Second Street) to westbound Route 322 and I-95 and widen the westbound Commodore Barry Bridge to accommodate an acceleration lane.
Under this project, crews will build a new ramp off the approach to the Commodore Barry Bridge to enable I-95 motorists to exit onto Route 291 (2nd Street). The other ramp to be built off the Commodore Barry Bridge approach will allow Route 291 (2nd Street) drivers to reach I-95.
“The construction of the two ramps will improve mobility into and out of the City of Chester and the Chester Waterfront,” PennDOT District Executive Lester C. Toaso said. “A direct connection between I-95 and Route 291 will eliminate the need for local and commercial traffic to use neighborhood streets as the primary way to travel between the two roadways. The new ramps compliment the city’s economic redevelopment plan and revitalization projects along the waterfront.”
Driscoll Construction Company Inc. of North Wales, Pa., is the general contractor on the $71,171,504 project that is funded with 80 percent federal and 20 percent state monies.

3. PENNDOT: LANE CLOSURES ON I-76 NEXT WEEK FOR MILLING AND PAVING IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) today announced that lane closures are scheduled on Interstate 76 in Montgomery County next week (July 7-12) for milling and paving.
The work schedule is:
• Monday (July 7) – The right lane will be closed on westbound I-76 between in the area of the Route 23 and Interstate 476 interchanges from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. for milling and paving.
• Monday through Friday (July 7-11) – The right lane will be closed on eastbound and westbound I-76 between Croton Road and Gulph Mills from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. for milling and paving
• Saturday (July 12) – The right lane will be closed on eastbound and westbound I-76 between Croton Road and Gulph Mills from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. for milling and paving.
Motorists traveling on I-76 during construction should allow additional travel time or use an alternate route because slowdowns will occur during evening and overnight hours.
This work is part of PennDOT’s $8,102,735 project to resurface 12 miles of I-76. Crews will mill and pave the expressway’s four travel lanes between Route 1 (City Line Avenue) and I-476 and from Croton Road to the Route 202 Interchange; pave 21 ramps; install pavement markers, delineators, rumble strips, and raised pavement markers; and repair the roadway base.
Glasgow, Inc., of Glenside, Pa., is the general contractor on the project that is funded with 100 percent state money.

4. PENNDOT: I-476 NIGHTTIME LANE CLOSURES SCHEDULED NEXT WEEK IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY
Late night and early morning lane closures are scheduled next week on Interstate 476 between the Interstate 76 and Ridge Pike interchanges in West Conshohocken Borough and Plymouth Township, Montgomery County, for line painting and crossover construction, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) said today.
The contractor’s schedule is:
• Monday through Thursday (July 7-10) from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., lane closures will occur on southbound I-476 for line painting and crossover construction.
• Tuesday through Thursday (July 8-10) from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., lane closures will occur on northbound I-476 for crossover construction.
Motorists are advised to allow additional time to travel through the construction area. The work schedule is dependent on the weather.
The work to build crossover lanes on I-476 is part of PennDOT’s $47,438,576 project to rehabilitate the I-476 Bridge over the Schuylkill River in West Conshohocken Borough and Plymouth Township. Construction on the bridge will start in early 2009 and finish in late 2010.
J.D. Eckman, Inc. of Atglen, Pa is the general contractor on the project that is financed with 80 percent federal and 20 percent state funds.

5. PENNDOT: OVERNIGHT CLOSURE OF NORTHBOUND ROUTE 309 EXPRESSWAY SCHEDULED FOR SETTING BEAMS NEAR PA TURNPIKE INTERCHANGE AT FORT WASHINGTON
The northbound lanes of the Route 309 Expressway will be closed and detoured between the Route 73/Church Road and Pennsylvania Turnpike interchanges in Springfield and Upper Dublin townships, Montgomery County, from 9 p.m. Tuesday, July 8 to 5 a.m. Wednesday, July 9, to set four steel beams for the new bridge being built over SEPTA tracks, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation said today.
During the overnight closure, northbound Route 309 traffic will be detoured west on Route 73/Church Road, north on Bethlehem Pike and east on Pennsylvania Avenue to the ramps leading to northbound Route 309 or the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
Southbound Route 309 will not be affected during the operation.
Detour signs and variable message boards will be used to guide motorists during the overnight closure.
PennDOT said a crane will be set up in the vacated northbound lanes to lift and set beams for the center section of the expressway bridge over SEPTA’s rail line. The bridge is located at the southern end of the interchange with the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
This operation, which is weather dependent, is part of PennDOT’s $350 million reconstruction of the Route 309 Expressway in Montgomery County. The $88.3 million contract to rebuild Route 309’s Interchange with the Pennsylvania Turnpike at Fort Washington is scheduled to be completed this November.
For more information on the project, visit http://www.309online.com/.

6. SEPTA: Late night July 4th Regional Rail service and extended ticket hours
With our promotional weekend round-trip Regional Rail ticket, traveling into Center City on Independence Day is the affordable way to celebrate America's Birthday. Visit SEPTA for more information.

Local Interests:
7. Times Herald: Transit funds hit red light
Many necessary transportation projects lack capital to be completed or started.
Tired of watching $$$$ flow out from under the hood of your car as you sit and wait in traffic each morning at the intersection of Whitehall Road and Sterigere Street in West Norriton?
Montgomery County Commissioners Chairman James R. Matthews is.
“You lose your mind there some days trying to get through that intersection because there are no turning lanes,” said Matthews. “Just one guy turning can block out 50 cars and buses that are lined up.”
“You are not just talking about quality of life,” said Matthews. “You are talking merchants who can’t get to their businesses, four-dollar gas just idling away, carbon monoxide, just so many elements.” Read Full Article

8. Philadelphia Freedoms: Team Tennis coming to the King of Prussia Mall
The World TeamTennis Pro League presented by Advanta enters its 33rd season of play in 2008. Billie Jean King and Larry King created the unique gender-equity team concept in the early 70s. The format used for a WTT Pro League match features teams comprised of two men, two women and a coach. Each match consists of five sets, with one set each of men’s and women’s singles, men’s and women’s doubles and mixed doubles. Venus Williams, John McEnroe and the Bryan brothers will be competing in this year’s event. Visit Philadelphia Freedoms Team Tennis for ticket prices and schedule of events.

9. The Reporter: Lansdale seeking third train station
Borough council approved a plan on Wednesday night to install 160 parking spaces and a connecting road to a potential third SEPTA station in the borough at the former site of American Olean Tile Company.
Another train station would provide incentive to develop the property, currently owned by Stoltz Management Company, at 1000 North Cannon Ave., according to borough Manager F. Lee Mangan.
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority has made no commitment to construct a third station in the borough, according to Mangan. The manager said he wants the proposal, which will be registered and submitted to SEPTA in a week, to be included in the agency’s future capital picture.
Mangan, who said he first approached SEPTA with the idea in the mid 1990s, said the presence of a train station would attract residential developers and citizens to the borough. Read Full Article

10. Delaware County Times: Gas prices driving Williams to Alaska
As fuel prices continue to dominate the political landscape this election season, Republican 7th Congressional District candidate W. Craig Williams announced Wednesday he will be heading to Alaska July 13 to investigate opening up drilling for oil in the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge, or ANWR.
Williams, a Concord attorney, discussed his upcoming trip and "Bridge to the Future" domestic-energy plan at the Liberty gas station on Burmont Road, an apropos venue where one gallon of regular unleaded gasoline costs $4.15.
That plan includes exploring the availability of oil in the coastal shelf, oil shale in the Rocky Mountains, and building new refineries, as well as investing in nuclear power plants, using new clean-burning coal technologies, increasing conservation and funding renewable energy research.
"I do not believe the current political culture in Washington, D.C., is serving the people of our nation," said Williams, who faces U.S. Rep. Joseph Sestak, D-7, of Edgmont, in the November general election. Read Full Article

11. Daily News: One-tank Getaways
In this season of gas-price discontent, it's not enough to gripe - we've gotta take steps to keep the vroom in our vacations and spare our wallets from becoming moth motels. We can't control the cost of gas, but we can act to stretch what we have and offset the fuel drain and high prices through creative planning. This year, the math of a family vacation means trying to make up for added expenses by subtracting elsewhere so overall travel costs land within a Frisbee-throw of affordable. To make that equation easier to solve, the Daily News has plotted a handful of routes to savings. Come along - no GPS needed! Read Full Article

General Interests:
12. CNN: 10 Things You Can Like About $4 Gas
The world had long assumed that Americans were just unrepentant energy pigs. If gas prices went up, well, we kept our Explorers aimed at the horizon, and little changed. We truthfully didn't have lots of options. Unlike Europeans, we didn't have jobs we could bike to or convenient public transit. Gasoline prices never stayed high enough long enough to force those kinds of shifts in how we lived.
Now here we are. Gas prices are near $4 per gal., as no one needs to tell you, and they are likely to stay that way. Most of us still don't have the alternatives we need to adapt with grace, which means that many will adapt just by suffering. We will run out of gas on I-80, ease our minivans over to the shoulder and tell the kids everything is O.K. We'll fall behind on Visa bills to pay for gas so we can buy food made ever more expensive by energy costs. Read Full Article

13. AP News: Oil prices near $146 a barrel for 1st time ever
Oil prices neared $146 a barrel Thursday for the first time ever on reports of declining U.S. stockpiles and the threat of conflict with Iran. Comments by Saudi Arabia's oil minister suggesting his country had no immediate plans to boost production also lifted prices. Expectations that the European Central Bank will raise interest rates later Thursday could further weaken the U.S. dollar and drive oil prices even higher, as investors turn to commodities as a hedge against a falling greenback, traders said.
By midday in Europe, light, sweet crude for August delivery rose $2.28 to a record $145.85 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Wednesday, the contract set a new closing record for floor trade at $143.57 - a full $2.60 above the previous close. The latest spike means a barrel of crude has gone up by more than 50 percent since the end of last year, when oil was going for $96 a barrel. Read Full Article