Hatfield project receives funding
Horsham, Lower Gwynedd also awarded state grants
The long-discussed realignment of Cowpath and Orvilla Roads in Hatfield Township is among a list of grant awards announced by Governor Tom Wolf.
Wolf’s office announced on Oct. 2 $49 million in state grant money for a total of 42 highway, bridge, and other transportation projects from the state Multimodal Transportation Fund.
“With these resources, we can improve transportation connections down to the local level and make a big difference for communities,” Wolf said in a press release.
“These investments reflect our commitment to all modes of transportation, both statewide and locally,” he said.
Among the four projects in Montgomery County is realignment of the intersection of Cowpath and Orvilla Roads, which township Manager Aaron Bibro said has been on Hatfield’s to-do list for more than a decade.
“This is a huge day for the Hatfield Community. The commissioners are going to fix an intersection which has had over 50 documented accidents and countless nearmisses in the past five years,” said Bibro.
The township used reserve funds to acquire a gas station on the north side of the intersection in 2014-15, received $280,000 in state grant money in 2016 to finalize the design, then applied for $3 million in state grant money in 2016 to finish the project, but were turned down. Developer contributions were then used to finalize the acquisition of the three houses in March, and two grant applications were approved over the summer seeking the funds awarded Oct. 2.
“The commissioners made aggressive and smart moves to put the township in this position,” Bibro said.
The manager added thanks for township traffic engineers McMahon and Associates, and said the Cowpath-Orvilla grant
brings the township over $4 million in state grants awarded over the past five years for transportation projects, including synchronization of traffic signals along Cowpath Road and repairs to the Walnut Street bridge.
“$3 million will be invested in improving Cowpath Road over the next 18 months. This intersection will be fixed, and all of the traffic signals will be synchronized by spring of 2019,” he said.
Over the summer, local police, fire companies, and the Central Montgomery SWAT team were able to use the three houses on the north side of Orvilla for training. Demolition work on the three houses on the north side of the intersection was done at no cost to the township by a local union apprentice program,
and Bibro said Tuesday that staff will give updates when the commissioners next meet on Oct. 10, and at their annual goal-setting meeting on Oct. 17.
“Simply put: this is a dangerous and inefficient intersection, and this improvement will greatly benefit the over 26,000 vehicles who travel this corridor daily, and also the residents who live nearby,” Bibro said.
Other projects included on the list of grant awards included $3 million for Horsham Township, to widen Horsham Road and Limekiln Pike for additional capacity, and to install two new traffic signals, five-foot sidewalks, ADA ramps and a new signalized pedestrian crossing.
Lower Gwynedd will receive $1,026,616 for road widening, pedestrian upgrades, and signal improvements to the intersection of Bethlehem Pike, Norristown Road and Sumneytown Pike.
“I am very happy to report that the grants will fund the expansion of roads, make pedestrian upgrades and improve traffic signals, projects for which I have been fighting,” said State Rep. Todd Stephens, R-153rd, in a press release Tuesday.
Wolf and PennDOT Secretary Leslie Richards said, of the 42 total projects, 14 were to repair bridges across the state, and applications for the next round of Multimodal Transportation Fund grants will be accepted starting Oct. 5.
“We simply must help our local partners address these critical links to ensure they remain open and in good repair,” Richards said.
For more information about the program visit www.penndot.gov and select Multimodal Transportation under the “Projects & Programs” heading. Hatfield’s commissioners next meet at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 10 and will hold a special goal-setting meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 17, both at the township administration building, 1950 School Road.