Drivers on Joshua Road in Whitemarsh Township should expect detours starting the week of Tuesday, Aug. 18, as PECO begins replacing a gas main between Cedar Grove Road and Ridge Pike.

The project will last through the end of 2026, according to a township civic alert posted Aug. 16. Detour signs have been posted along the route.

The roughly four-and-a-half-month construction window makes this the second PECO gas main replacement in the same Whitemarsh corridor this year. The utility completed a separate project on Ridge Pike between Joshua Road and Holly Lane earlier in 2026, wrapping up by July. Whitemarsh Township announced that project on April 28.

During the Ridge Pike work, PECO's contractor, Utility Line Services, replaced aging natural gas equipment and installed new, more durable underground pipe, Patch reported at the time. Crews shut off gas service to nearby homes and entered residences to relight appliances once connections were restored.

In an April 2026 notice about that Ridge Pike project, PECO told affected homeowners: "We will need access to the natural gas appliances or equipment in your home so we can perform this work and later that day to restore service and relight any appliances." The utility also relocated indoor gas meters to exterior locations during that phase.

Whether the same service interruptions will apply to homes along Joshua Road has not been confirmed. The township's alert did not name a contractor for the new project or provide PECO contact information for affected residents.

Whitemarsh Township included "Joshua Road construction" in its weekly newsletter on Thursday, Aug. 13, signaling the project was on the township's radar before the formal alert went out. It is the second major utility closure in the township this summer, following a stormwater pipe replacement on Emerson Drive that wrapped up in late July.