Description

Anyone driving through Phoenixville these days knows that the bridge closure on Whitehorse Road means extra time spent in traffic. The 3 mile drive from 113 to Pawling’s Road usually takes ~7 minutes, these mornings it takes ~45 minutes.

Besides the waste of time, fuel, money, and patience, I couldn’t help but think of the extra air pollution generated by hundreds of cars and trucks idling for 6 to 7 times the usual amount required just to cross 6 traffic lights.

Does Penn DOT have to file an EPA statement about the effects a construction project has on air pollution created as a result of diverting hundreds of vehicles onto gridlocked streets to idle an extra 40 minutes every morning? Laws have been passed prohibiting trucks idling because of excessive air pollution. Would it not be reasonable to take into account traffic disruption before such detours are permitted?

There might be a reader who knows: approximately how many cars typically pass through Phoenixville each day, how much extra fuel, money, and pollution that creates.