Horsham Township and state officials broke ground on part two of a project that will widen Blair Mill Road to five lanes.
HORSHAM TOWNSHIP, PA —Get set for Phase II.
Horsham Township officials held a groundbreaking ceremony recently to kick off the second phase of the Blair Mill Road Safety Improvements and Widening project.
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The project calls for widening Blair Mill Road to five lanes from Welsh Road to Easton Road.
They were joined by state Sen. Maria Collett and state Rep. Melissa Cerrato for the ceremony.
“Transportation is connected to every aspect of life and is essential to sustain and grow economic development,” Township Supervisor Bill Walker said. “If we want a dynamic township, a dynamic county, and a dynamic Commonwealth, then transportation projects have to happen.”
Phase I involved the closing off of New Road with the CVS, Wawa, and PJ Whelihans Project.
Phase II is an $8.5 million endeavor made possible through funding from Horsham Township, a PennDOT Multimodal State Grant, and a Military Installation Remediation and Infrastructure Authority (MIRIA) grant.
Phase II is a two-year project with utility relocations in the first year and road improvements in the second year, concentrated on Blair Mill Road, Witmer Road, and the Commerce Avenue intersection, township officials said.
Walker was joined at the ceremony along with Council President Mark McCouch, Vice President William Whiteside, and Councilman Sean Wade.
The improvements along Blair Mill Road date back to plans from 1966 with the last plan in 2015.
They were recommended in the Willow Grove Naval Base Redevelopment Plan in 2012, the PennDOT Decade of Investment Study in 2014, and the MCPC Turnpike Corridor Reinvestment Plan in 2015.
In 2015, the council took the lead to implement improvements on Blair Mill Road between Welsh Road and Easton Road, Walker said.
Phase I was completed by The Verrichia Co., who built the Wawa, CVS, and PJ Whelihan’s. That project included closing off New Road and some intersection improvements at Blair Mill Road and Easton Road.
Phase II’s preliminary engineering started in 2016.
Walker said the township went through that stage as well as right-of-way acquisition, final engineering, and bidding out the project.
“Now seven years later, we’re in the construction phase,” Walker said.
Phase II work will primarily be at the Blair Mill Road and the Witmer Road/Commerce Drive intersection with some minor work north of the intersection.
Meanwhile, Walker said preliminary engineering work has begun on Phase III with the expected completion of the widening of Blair Mill Road to five lanes by 2029.