Six major Montgomery County road and bridge projects were approved Thursday by the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC). DVRPC approval was required to release the funds for the project which are coming from the huge Pennsylvania transportation legislation passed last year. Montgomery County Commissioner Leslie S. Richards, who sits on the board of the DVRPC and voted for the package, said the new transportation funds would kick-start several projects that are ready to go and were just waiting for funding. “The DVRPC approval is a major step in beginning to reduce the backlog of projects and improving the deteriorating infrastructure in Montgomery County and the entire region,” Richards said.
The projects affected by Thursday’s action are:
• Rehabilitation of the Route 73 bridge over Skippack Creek in Perkiomen Township
• The rehabilitation of the New Second Street bridge over Tacony Creek in Cheltenham Township
• Replacement of the Second Avenue bridge over a branch of Mingo Creek in Upper Providence Township
• Reconstruction of the Route 422 bridge over the Schuylkill River in Stowe
• Wetland restoration project along the Route 309 corridor in Lower Gwynedd,
Upper Dublin, Cheltenham, Springfield, Whitemarsh. Horsham and Montgomery Townships that were not properly restored during the Router 309 reconstruction
In addition, the DVRPC action will also release $50,000 each to fund the Pennsylvania Turnpike at Route 611 study and the Route 611 corridor study. In all, the DVRPC region will be receiving nearly $99.8 million of Act 89 funds in fiscal year 2014.