NEWS
MONTGOMERY COUNTY OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS
COURT HOUSE, NORRISTOWN, PA., BOX 311, 19404-0311
PHONE (610) 278-3061 FAX 278-5943
COMMISSIONERS:
JAMES R. MATTHEWS, Chairman, JOSEPH M. HOEFFEL, Vice Chairman, BRUCE L. CASTOR, JR, Commissioner
RELEASE: IMMEDIATELY 04/07/09 PR#09-20
Montgomery County Commissioners Funding Signalization Upgrades Along Route 611 in Jenkintown
JENKINTOWN — The Montgomery County Commissioners presented Jenkintown Borough Council with a check for $576,000 Monday to upgrade and coordinate traffic signals along Route 611.
The eight signals to be upgraded in Jenkintown are the only ones remaining along Route 611 that are not coordinated between Doylestown and Philadelphia.
This is one of four Jump Start projects the County Commissioners will undertake this year. The purpose is to demonstrate traffic improvements projects that would be included in a new $150 million program that will be brought to voters in a referendum in November.
After the much-publicized collapse of a bridge in Minneapolis two years ago, the state and federal governments have clearly indicated that all of their transportation dollars for the foreseeable future will be used to fix existing roads and bridges that are wearing out.
“We’re still feeling the reverberations of that disaster,” Commissioners Chairman James R. Matthews said. “Montgomery County and its municipalities are going to have to get together and fix some of our own problems.”
The borough will match the County’s grant with $64,000 for the project, which will interconnect all of the signals, provide a countdown for pedestrian crosswalk signals, battery backups and emergency vehicle pre-emption.
The borough expects to start the project in the fall.
Montgomery County Commissioners Vice Chairman Joseph M. Hoeffel, Jenkintown Borough Council Vice President Allyson Dobbs and Montgomery County Commissioners Chairman James R. Matthews
