Long-awaited River Road extension opens in Reading

Jul. 7—After almost two decades, the River Road extension in Reading is finally complete.

The short stretch of road connecting West Windsor and West Spring streets officially opened to traffic on Friday following a ceremonial ribbon-cutting. The inaugural day of service for the $10 million project comes after nearly 20 years of discussions, planning, designing and construction.

The extension is expected to facilitate transportation to and from the River Road industrial park, while also increasing safety at the intersection of Schuylkill Avenue and West Windsor Street.

Tim Krall, the acting director of public works for the city, said the completion of the project is deserving of a long overdue celebration.

"This has been a project that has been in the works for a long time," he said. "A big thanks goes out to Mayor Eddie Moran and his administration, who worked with all the stakeholders to finally get this done."

Krall also credited City Council and the Berks County Planning Commission for helping to move the project forward. And he applauded the efforts of the engineers, designers, inspectors, utility workers and construction crews who were responsible for bringing the project to life.

"None of this would be happening without the management and delivery team at the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation," he said. "More than 80% of the funding for this project came from a federal grant that PennDOT awarded to us. The rest was mostly paid for by city taxpayers."

Krall also noted that the project came in under budget and about three months ahead of schedule.

A long wait

After years of discussion, a study was conducted in 2011 to determine the feasibility of a connector road between West Windsor and West Spring streets. It concluded it would benefit the River Road Industrial district.

Design work for an extension of Lincoln Street to connect West Spring and West Windsor streets began in 2016. It also laid out the reconfiguration of the West Windsor Street and Schuylkill Avenue intersection.

The project extended Lincoln Street from West Windsor Street to West Spring Street through a vacant lot owned by the Reading School District.

The city worked with the county, PennDOT and the Reading Area Transportation Study to secure funding for the project.

River Road now ties into West Spring Street and provides an additional link to Lincoln Street. The new road provides a safer route to Schuylkill Avenue.

The intersection at West Windsor Street and Schuylkill Avenue has been transformed into a four-way intersection with a traffic light.

New or improved sidewalks and pedestrian crossings were installed throughout the project as well.

Time to celebrate

City Council President Donna Reed said Friday that she was proud to see the efforts of so many recognized with the opening of the road.

"Good things take time — and this took even longer than we thought," she said. "But at long last here we are and this is finally ready to be open. We had a lot of people pushing very hard for this for a long time."

Reed said she believes the opening of the road is just the beginning of big things to come for that section of Reading, noting that last week the city signed a sale agreement for the nearby 50-acre former Dana South site.

"We should all take pride in the opportunities that this represents," she said.

Moran highlighted the work Krall did as a leader to get the project over the finish line. He said that he put in countless hours over the years to ensure that this day would happen.

"Many may see just a road here," he said. "But it becomes something different when it brings hope and new opportunities to a community. It provides an opportunity to bring manufacturing and industries back into Reading."

Moran said he believes the project is going to bring many new opportunities. And he was excited to be the first motorist to try out the new section of road.

"I am going to take the true honor of driving my vehicle for the first time, so that I can say I was the first one to drive on that road," he said.

A few moments later, following the ceremony, Moran got into his gray Kia Sportage and proudly drove up and then down the new section of road.