Phase Two Underway In Project To Make Norristown More Accessible
By Jim Melwert
NORRISTOWN, Pa. (CBS) -- The second step of a three-phrase project to make it easier to get in and out of Norristown got underway this week.
The end goal is to connect Norristown to the Pennsylvania Turnpike. For now, it's phase two of the Lafayette Street project which got underway this week with a ceremonial groundbreaking. This nearly $13-million phase extends Lafayette Street closer to the Turnpike along the Norristown border with Plymouth Township. It widens Ridge Pike from the Norristown line to Turnpike Bridge, and moves intersections to try to reduce back-ups at Conshocken Road.
"This project is going to ease congestion," says Montgomery County commissioner chair Josh Shapiro, "reduce accidents and connect our county seat in a way that it's never been connected before."
Shapiro says the $85-million project is the largest locally run project currently in Pennsylvania, funded by 80-percent federal funds, 20-percent local.