Upper Moreland Receives $1.65 Million In Grant Funding For Turnpike Interchange Upgrades

WILLOW GROVE, PA — Upper Moreland Township will receive $1.65 million in grant funding to upgrade the Willow Grove interchange of the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

State Sen. Maria Collett, D-12, announced last week that the township is among numerous municipalities within her district to receive grant money from the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Financing Authority.

In total, the authority awarded $2,745,202 to Upper Moreland, Hatfield, Lower Gwynedd and Upper Gwynedd Townships, as well as the Borough of Hatboro.

The grant money given to the municipalities will be used to improve roadways, pedestrian safety and flood mitigation in Collett's senatorial district, according to the senator's office.

In Upper Moreland, the money will be used toward improvements to the Turnpike Interchange at Willow Grove, which is one of the busiest along the entire highway, according to Upper Moreland Board Of Commissioners President Kevin Spearing.

"This interchange is a critically important part of the transportation network in both Montgomery and Bucks counties," Spearing said in a statement. "This grant award will fund the engineering and design work necessary to construct a permanent solution to significantly relieve the extreme congestion at this interchange, and we are grateful to the efforts of Senator Collett, Representative [Nancy] Guenst and everyone involved for their support in making this a reality."

In her own statement, Collett thanked the Commonwealth Financing Authority — which is an independent agency of the Department of Community and Economic Development responsible for administering the state's economic stimulus packages — saying that the grant money will fund many necessary projects throughout the 12th Senatorial District.

"The funding to begin widening the Willow Grove Turnpike Interchange on-and off-ramps at Route 611 will be especially impactful to the residents of my district and beyond, making it easier for them to get to and from work, the shore and anywhere else they may be going," Collett stated. "The projects funded today represent only a fraction of the waiting projects in my district and across Pennsylvania, and I am encouraged that the passage of President Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal will allow us to do even more to energize our local economy, keep our communities safe, and improve our quality of life."

Recipients of the Multimodal Transportation Fund grant in addition to Upper Moreland Township include Hatfield Township, which will receive $446,500 for Welsh Road and Orvilla Road intersection improvements; and the Borough of Hatboro, which will receive $300,000 for York Road sidewalk improvements and $228,321 for pedestrian crossing improvements in the borough.

The Act 13 grant recipients in the 12th Senatorial District are Upper Gwynedd Township, which will receive $76,181 for the Haines Run Hydrologic and Hydraulic study, and Lower Gwynedd Township, which is to receive $44,200 for the Brookside Avenue Flood Stury, according to the senator's office.