Board OKs McMahon Associates, Inc. for intersection re-design
03/21/2017 12:32PM ● By Richard Gaw
By Richard L. Gaw
Staff Writer
Ask several drivers and vehicle passengers who frequently traverse the roads of southern Chester County to name their least favorite intersection in the area, and chances are that many will answer the same way, and with little hesitation.
It's Baltimore Pike and Newark Road, in Toughkenamon.
Repairing the troublesome intersection has been on the improvement to-do books of PennDOT for many years and a frequent talking point at New Garden Township meetings, but mostly, it's discussed at the moment a motorist arrives at the intersection's hodgepodge of narrow lanes and confusing signage, and often in language best described as “salty.”
On March 20, the New Garden Board of Supervisors decided that enough is enough.
By a unanimous vote, and after a 30-minute presentation, the board awarded McMahon Associates, Inc. the job of re-designing the intersection to include better signage, dedicated ADA-compliant sidewalks, shared lanes and wider turn and vehicle through lanes.
Referring to an 12-page document sent to township manager Tony Scheivert on Feb. 16, Stephen C. Giampaolo, McMahon Associates, Inc. regional highway design services leader, ticked off a list of eight tasks the firm will undergo in order to complete the project, which will include environmental studies; a topographic survey; traffic signal design; environmental permitting; utility coordination; right-of-way coordination; a final design and approval stage; and preparation of bid documents and final design concepts, that will then be used to advertise the project for construction, which Giampaolo said is projected to be shovel-ready in 2019.
The project's area of re-design – and eventual re-construction – will go north and south on Newark Road about 500 feet, and about 800 feet in both directions on Baltimore Pike.
The total engineering costs in order to prepare the intersection for shovel-ready work will be $466,700. If additional engineering is needed, the cost would increase by about $200,000. The township would have to request proposals from other engineering firms to conduct inspection of McMahon Associates, Inc. design and engineering.
The firm has been working with the township on a proposal for a grant that, if awarded, is expected to account for most of the costs related to the intersection project.
The board also gave approval to a request by Pleasantville Farms, LLC, to seek modification to Natural Resource Protection standards, for the purpose of building two mushroom buildings on an 11.1-acre site between Starr Road, Penn Green Road and Santilli Road in Landenberg. The project will include the demolition of an existing mushroom building; modification of steep slopes on the property; the development of two access points to the property; and the addition of increased stormwater and graywater capability.
Many of the approved modifications resulted from consultation with – and recommendations from -- the township's Planning Commission.
In other township business, Kristie Wyatt was appointed to the township's Comprehensive Plan Update Committee; and Priscilla Jordan and John Corbett were appointed to the township's Park and Recreation Committee.
Southern Chester County Regional Police Department Chief Gerald Simpson said that the annual police officer awards ceremony will take place on April 13, beginning at 7:30 p.m., at the township building.
To contact Staff Writer Richard L. Gaw, e-mail [email protected].
Staff Writer
Ask several drivers and vehicle passengers who frequently traverse the roads of southern Chester County to name their least favorite intersection in the area, and chances are that many will answer the same way, and with little hesitation.
It's Baltimore Pike and Newark Road, in Toughkenamon.
Repairing the troublesome intersection has been on the improvement to-do books of PennDOT for many years and a frequent talking point at New Garden Township meetings, but mostly, it's discussed at the moment a motorist arrives at the intersection's hodgepodge of narrow lanes and confusing signage, and often in language best described as “salty.”
On March 20, the New Garden Board of Supervisors decided that enough is enough.
By a unanimous vote, and after a 30-minute presentation, the board awarded McMahon Associates, Inc. the job of re-designing the intersection to include better signage, dedicated ADA-compliant sidewalks, shared lanes and wider turn and vehicle through lanes.
Referring to an 12-page document sent to township manager Tony Scheivert on Feb. 16, Stephen C. Giampaolo, McMahon Associates, Inc. regional highway design services leader, ticked off a list of eight tasks the firm will undergo in order to complete the project, which will include environmental studies; a topographic survey; traffic signal design; environmental permitting; utility coordination; right-of-way coordination; a final design and approval stage; and preparation of bid documents and final design concepts, that will then be used to advertise the project for construction, which Giampaolo said is projected to be shovel-ready in 2019.
The project's area of re-design – and eventual re-construction – will go north and south on Newark Road about 500 feet, and about 800 feet in both directions on Baltimore Pike.
The total engineering costs in order to prepare the intersection for shovel-ready work will be $466,700. If additional engineering is needed, the cost would increase by about $200,000. The township would have to request proposals from other engineering firms to conduct inspection of McMahon Associates, Inc. design and engineering.
The firm has been working with the township on a proposal for a grant that, if awarded, is expected to account for most of the costs related to the intersection project.
The board also gave approval to a request by Pleasantville Farms, LLC, to seek modification to Natural Resource Protection standards, for the purpose of building two mushroom buildings on an 11.1-acre site between Starr Road, Penn Green Road and Santilli Road in Landenberg. The project will include the demolition of an existing mushroom building; modification of steep slopes on the property; the development of two access points to the property; and the addition of increased stormwater and graywater capability.
Many of the approved modifications resulted from consultation with – and recommendations from -- the township's Planning Commission.
In other township business, Kristie Wyatt was appointed to the township's Comprehensive Plan Update Committee; and Priscilla Jordan and John Corbett were appointed to the township's Park and Recreation Committee.
Southern Chester County Regional Police Department Chief Gerald Simpson said that the annual police officer awards ceremony will take place on April 13, beginning at 7:30 p.m., at the township building.
To contact Staff Writer Richard L. Gaw, e-mail [email protected].
