PA Representative Joe Ciresi banner image

Dear Neighbor,

I hope you find these weekly updates informative. This Sunday, the House has been called back into voting session. Stay tuned for budget updates next week.

Route 422 Paving and PennDOT updates

This week, PennDOT announced that construction will begin on Sunday, July 19, on a $6.2 million project to resurface and repair a 4.4-mile section of U.S. 422 in Limerick and Upper Providence townships.

Drivers are advised of the following travel restriction:

Sunday, July 19, through Thursday, July 23, from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. the following morning, a lane closure will be in place on westbound U.S. 422 between Troutman Road and Royersford Road for milling operations.

Drivers are advised to allow extra time when driving through the work area because backups and delays will occur. The schedule is weather-dependent.

Under this project, PennDOT’s contractor will perform pavement preservation work on U.S. 422 including milling, application of a bituminous overlay, reapplying pavement markings, reinstalling edge-line rumble strips. Base repair work will also be performed as needed.

For more information, visit the U.S. 422 Pavement Preservation page.

Sign up for text updates on power outages

Over the July 4th holiday, there was a power outage in part of Lower Pottsgrove Township. My office has been in contact with FirstEnergy to learn more about what can be done to reduce the frequency of outages in several areas.

In the meantime, make sure you alert Peco or FirstEnergy as soon as you lose power. You can also sign up for real-time updates:

Peco outage information
FirstEnergy (Met-Ed is a subsidiary)

Pottstown County Assistance Office (CAO)

On July 1, the Pottstown CAO closed to walk-up appointments. You can still drop off COMPASS applications and other paperwork at an on-site drop box at 24 Robinson Street. Additionally, EBT cards may be issued here in emergency situations, according to PA Department of Human Services.

My staff is available to help you with any DHS issue. We work with DHS to relay your information and paperwork to the CAO in a timely manner.

I will be advocating for the restoration of walk-up service in Pottstown with Secretary Val Arkoosh. Her department said this change is necessary because:

“DHS expects its CAO workload to exponentially increase when it begins implementing new requirements from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (also known as H.R.1), including more frequent eligibility redeterminations and work requirements for approximately 750,000 Medicaid recipients starting in 2027. DHS will begin direct outreach with impacted constituents this Fall. The decision to repurpose otherwise exclusively public-facing Pottstown staff to case processing is a part of DHS’ efforts to maximize worker productivity, and to ensure DHS can maintain its responsibility to make accurate and timely eligibility determinations—even with increased workload—without having to increase its staffing complement.”

Evening Office Hours

In an ongoing effort to make our constituent services more accessible, my Royersford district office is open until 7 p.m. on the first and third Thursday of the month, including:

Thursday, July 16
Aug. 6 and 20

Going to Philadelphia? Check your SEPTA Senior ID card

The City of Philadelphia is hosting a lot of noteworthy and fun events this summer. If you have a Senior Key Card, check the expiration date. If it’s within 60 days, visit our office to complete a renewal. It only takes 5 minutes to complete!

SEPTA provides free key cards to seniors over 65, which are good for travel on all modes of SEPTA.