Ground Broken for Major Northeast Extension Project

A groundbreaking ceremony was held Monday for a major project to rebuild and widen the busiest section of the Northeast Extension in Montgomery County. 

The $198 million project will completely reconstruct a five-mile section of Interstate 476 and expand the highway from four to six lanes. 

Pennsylvania Turnpike Commissioner Pat Deon and Chief Executive Officer Mark Compton were joined by State Senator John Rafferty, State Rep. Kate Harper, State Rep. Bob Godshall, State Rep. Matt Bradford, Montgomery County Commissioners, township officials and project-team members to celebrate the start of the milepost A26 to A31 reconstruction and widening project.

"This stretch of I-476 between Mid-County and the Lansdale Interchange is the busiest four-lane section of highway across the entire Turnpike system, with average traffic exceeding 65,500 vehicles per day," Compton said. "What's more, traffic volumes are expected to surpass 100,000 vehicles per day by the year 2030, so this improvement project is vitally needed to accommodate increasing traffic."

The project, which is estimated to be complete in late 2016, includes the area just south of Berks Road and just north of the Lansdale Interchange and traverses Worcester, Upper Gwynedd, Towamencin, and Lower Salford townships.                                                              

Three new on/off ramps will be constructed as part of the project; two will be "E-ZPass-Only."

During construction, four lanes will be available most of the time, with single-lane closures limited to off-peak hours.