$3 Million In Grants For Montco Turnpike Interchange Upgrade Highlighted

UPPER MORELAND, PA — Elected representatives and transportation officials stopped by this eastern Montgomery County municipality on Monday to highlight the ongoing progress that has been made with securing funding to help upgrade the Willow Grove interchange of the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

During the past year, Upper Moreland Township has been able to secure $3 million in grants to address traffic safety and congestion issues plaguing the area surrounding the Turnpike Interchange, which connects to heavily traveled Route 611, and is considered to be one of the busiest along the east-west highway.

On Monday, a number of key players gathered at the Upper Moreland Township building to highlight the ongoing work to spruce up the area near the interchange.

"Because this interchange is a priority for so many stakeholders in the region, we've been and will continue to be laser focused on getting this project across the goal line," Upper Moreland Township Commissioner Kevin Spearing said in a statement.

Spearing stated that in 2021, more than 47,000 vehicles passed through the area of the Willow Grove interchange per day on average, making the interchange the busiest by volume across the entirety of the commonwealth.

During Monday's gathering, Jennie Louwerse, the deputy secretary for Multimodal Transportation at the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, said her agency is proud to support the upgrade work at the Willow Grove interchange through the Multimodal Transportation Fund, which was started back in 2013, and provides grant funding for upgrade work of this nature.

"These critical improvements will help keep people connected and goods moving," Louwerse said in a statement.

State Sen. Maria Collett, a Montgomery County Democrat, also attended Monday's briefing. She said she was proud to work with fellow elected representatives, state transportation officials and members of Gov. Tom Wolf's administration to secure the $3 million in funding necessary to help improve the Willow Grove Turnpike interchange.

"These upgrades will help relieve congestion, improve traffic safety, and make it easier for residents to get to work, the shore and anywhere else they may be going," Collett said in a statement.

State Rep. Nancy Guenst, a fellow Montgomery County Democrat, called local infrastructure such as this the "lifeblood of our community," and thanked Wolf, PennDOT and the Commonwealth Financing Authority for "recognizing and working to address these needed upgrades."

The grant funding came from both PennDOT and the Commonwealth Financing Authority. The latter is an independent agency under the umbrella of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development.

For the latest phase of upgrade work at the Willow Grove Turnpike interchange, Upper Moreland Township will be using much of the funding to improve volume capabilities for the Route 611 onramp.