Another Pa. Turnpike Widening Project Gets Rolling
By Brad Segall
TOWAMENCIN, Pa. (CBS) -- Construction is about to begin on a major reconstruction project along the northeast extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
Crews will begin working to reconstruct and widen five miles of highway between Berks Road and the Lansdale Interchange in Montgomery County -- the busiest stretch of highway along the toll road.
The road will get a makeover and will be widened from four lanes to six.
The eleven-mile stretch between Mid-County and the Lansdale interchange carries more than 65,000 cars a day. State Rep. Kate Harper (second from left in photo) says most of those people are going to work, making it a major commuter road for the area.
"If you get into trouble in the left lane -- tire blows out, something happens to your engine -- there's nowhere to go," she said today. "Currently the road is just not able to handle that volume of traffic."
The nearly $200-million project is being funded entirely by toll revenue: no state or federal dollars are involved.
Work is expected to be finished by late 2016.
Turnpike officials say the "southern" widening project -- from Mid-County to Berks Road, which has been under construction for nearly three years -- should be ready by October of this year.
