NORRISTOWN, PA – The
Montgomery County Roads and Bridges Department has released details on its 2021 Road Program. The following roads are scheduled to be improved through base repairs, storm water inlet repairs, milling, paving and pavement markings in the coming months. ADA ramp improvements are also included in the program.
- Complete – Ridge Pike (Belvoir Road to Conicelli Auto Credit)
- Complete – Sumneytown Pike (Troxel Road to Route 363)
- May 2021 – ADA Ramps (Sections of Easton Road & Sections of Germantown Pike)
- May 2021 – Germantown Pike (Swede Road to Old Arch Road)
- June 2021 – Easton Road (Route 611 to Old Welsh Road)
- September 2021 – Swamp Pike (Route 663 to Forest Glen Drive)
“A ten to fifteen year life span on repaving work is expected,” said Thomas J. O’Brien, Administrator of Montgomery County Roads and Bridges Department. “Allen Meyers was the successful bidder and is under contract to complete the asphalt road construction and paving services. Montgomery County Roads and Bridges in concert with McCormick Taylor will be providing full time construction oversight and quality control.”
Numerous personnel, safety procedures, and equipment comprise the “Paving Train” that allows for smooth paving process as follows:
- Following the milling of the road, asphalt is transported to the project location by dump trucks that start the paving train in motion by releasing asphalt into a paving hopper;
- Asphalt material flows from the paving hopper to augers and eventually to the screen at the rear of the paver. A continuous, non-stop paving process ensures a quality product;
- Paving crew members working at the rear of the paver screen monitor the mixture for temperature and thickness. Many crew members are needed to perform the work safely;
- Two or three rollers make up the rear of the train on a project. The rollers do primary compaction, balance density to the mixture and the last roller smooths the asphalt surface to protect the underlying road structure and improve the quality of the ride;
- Behind the rolling operation, quality control technicians perform density testing or obtain core samples from the roadway. Asphalt pavements are typically ready for traffic once the mixture has cooled below 150 degrees- usually in a few short hours.
The entire paving operation is completed over a period of three-to-five weeks from the time work begins. The anticipated time to complete work on each street segment varies and is dependent on the length and width of the roadway and the degree of safety required. Once the road is repaved a specialty line painting subcontractor uses epoxy paint to stripe and place pavement marking.
About Montgomery County Roads and Bridges
The Montgomery County Roads and Bridges Department maintains 133 bridges and over 75 miles of roadway throughout the county. Its goal is to provide a functional, passable, and well-maintained network of roads, along with a wide variety of bridges, suited to the needs of the traveling public.