For Aug. 29----ROAD WATCH
(Trolleys Roll Again Monday)
Monday, the SEPTA Routes 101 Media and 102 Sharon Hill trolleys resume service after major infrastructure work. Shuttle buses no longer will be running on local roads.
SEPTA invested $34 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds to complete six infrastructure improvement projects the past year to improve service reliability, safety and rider comfort on the Route 101 Media and Route 102 Sharon Hill trolley lines.
SEPTA in-house crews will still be working on upgrades to station buildings and platform areas, including the installation of new station signage and maps, through the end of the year.
Motorists are urged not to park too close to the trolley tracks, which could result in delays to service and possible towing.
Also, starting Monday, SEPTA will open new bus lanes and berths for bus Routes 113, 114 and 115 at the Darby Transportation Center. The year-long, $1.6 million project was federally funded.
Bus riders on the Route 113 and 115 should note that the stops on Main Street and MacDade Boulevard and on Main Street at the trolley loop will be discontinued, SEPTA said. These buses will stop at their new designated berths inside the Darby Transportation Center.
For additional service information, contact SEPTA Customer Service at 215-580-7800 or log on to www.septa.org.
Blue Route
Nighttime construction early this week will reduce I-476 South to one lane Monday night and to two lanes Tuesday night between the Mid-County Interchange (Exit 20) and the I-76 Interchange (Exit 16), PennDOT said.
Labor Day Travel
The number of Labor Day holiday travelers is expected to increase by nearly 10 percent, according to AAA.
The number of Americans traveling during the three holidays of summer is increasing this year. Normally, the Labor Day holiday weekend is the smallest of the three travel holidays.
About 34.4 million travelers will be taking a trip at least 50 miles away from home, AAA said. Last year, 31.3 million Americans traveled during the Labor Day weekend.
“While media reports on the state of the U.S. economy are mixed, many Americans are still interested in taking one more trip as the summer travel season comes to a close,” said Jim Lardear, a spokesman for AAA Mid-Atlantic.
“It is encouraging to see more Americans planning to travel to visit family, friends and exciting vacation destinations,” he said.
The holiday period starts Thursday and ends Labor Day, a Monday.
The earlier the holiday falls in September, the more travel tends to occur.
Trips by auto are expected to increase with 91 percent of travelers or 31.4 million people, hitting the roads via car. This is an increase of 10.3 percent from last Labor Day when 28.5 million travelers went by motor vehicle.
Barring any major tropical storm activity in the Gulf Coast region, AAA expects the national average of self-serve regular gas to be between $2.65 and $2.75 per gallon during this holiday weekend.
Leisure air travel is expected to account for just 5 percent of overall travel with 1.62 million holiday flyers, an increase of 4.6 percent from a year ago when 1.54 million flew.
The average distance traveled by Americans this Labor Day weekend is expected to be 635 miles, slightly less than a year ago (645 miles).
Median spending is expected to be $697 this Labor Day, nearly $50 more than last year when median spending was about $650.
Haverford
Aqua Pennsylvania will close the right lane on southbound Route 1 (Township Line Road) at Juniper Road in Haverford 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-Wednesday for water main installation.
I-95 Bridge Repairs
One lane will be closed on I-95 South between Broad Street and the Philadelphia International Airport 9 p.m.-5 a.m. Monday-Thursday for bridge repairs.
The right lane will be closed on I-95 North/South between the Walt Whitman Bridge and Washington Avenue in Philadelphia 9 p.m.-5 a.m. Monday-Thursday for sound wall installation.
Traffic Delays
Chester Pike (U.S. Route 13) – Ridley Township, bridge construction with lane closure between Morton Avenue and Acres Drive, 24-hour restrictions through October 2011.
Radnor – Goshen Road, road work costing $1.3 million, closed/detoured 24 hours daily between Darby-Paoli and Hunt roads for roadway reconstruction and realignment to remove a sharp curve through October. Work began March 1. Goshen Road will be detoured over Darby-Paoli Road, Bryn Mawr Avenue, Route 3, Route 252 and Goshen Road.
Concord – Baltimore Pike, bridge replacement with lane restrictions on bridge over Chester Creek 9 a.m.-3 p.m. weekdays through June 2011. Work began in September 2009.
Baltimore Pike (U.S. Route 1) – Middletown and Chester Heights, bridge replacement with lane restrictions between Darlington and Station roads, 24-hour restrictions through June 2011. Work began Oct. 12.
Road Watch/Road Rant appears Sundays. Only messages and mail with phone numbers will be considered. E-mail: jroman@delcotimes.com.