Massive Turnpike Interchange Upgrade Envisioned

The Montgomery County Planning Commission is working to finalize a comprehensive plan that once carried out, would breathe new life into “old and tired” office parks adjacent to turnpike interchanges between Valley Forge and Willow Grove. 

The yet-to-be-funded project would also provide more convenient access to Pennsylvania Turnpike interchanges, plus easier entry on and off the turnpike and could include the addition of an interchange on Welsh Road on the border of Horsham, Upper Dublin and Upper Moreland, according to Leo Bagley, Montgomery County Planning Commission assistant director. 

“It’s a county planning commission idea to, from a big picture perspective, look at strategically investing in these old office complexes on the turnpike corridor,” Bagley told Patch, adding that the hope is to “reposition the office parks to create possibilities.”

Bagley said county officials would work through summer 2014 with the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, PennDOT and the Turnpike analyzing the “best investments.” From there, a financial plan for recommended improvements would be drafted.

“Construction could be 10 years away for some of these depending upon what kind of revenue it’s going to take,” Bagley said, adding that it’s too soon to determine total costs. “I don’t know what the scale of this is going to be yet, whether we can afford to modernize interchanges or add interchanges.”

Ultimately, Bagley said the project would be funded through a combination of Pennsylvania Turnpike, PennDOT and county monies, with the possibility of private investments trickling in as well, he said.

“To implement large-scale projects takes many years and a lot of money,” Bagley said. “This is not something that’s going to happen overnight.”

Bagley and Montgomery County Planning Commission Section Chief Brian O’Leary presented the concept at this week’s Upper Moreland Commissioners meeting. Bagley said county officials have been meeting with towns along the corridor for the last several months.

Impact of turnpike upgrades

Many of the business parks along the turnpike corridor–totaling 8,800 acres of existing office/industrial space–were first developed in the 1960s and 1970s, according to county officials.

“When the turnpike interchange was built in the 1960s … parts of Horsham and Upper Dublin were pretty much open ground,” Bagley said. “When Willow Grove went in and Fort Washington went in, it created access and the access created opportunities for developers.”

As part of their presentation, county officials showed existing vacancy rates–ranging from 11.1 percent in Horsham and Willow Grove to 20.8 percent in Plymouth Meeting and Blue Bell–as compared to lower vacancy rates at the Navy Yard in Philadelphia (2.9 percent) and Conshocken (9.3 percent).

Rent per square foot throughout the target area is $20 to $24 while Center City Philadelphia’s rent per square foot is $25 and Conshohocken’s is $30, according to documents.

The hope, Bagley said, is for the reinvestment and redevelopment to reinvigorate the “old and tired” office parks situated in the target redevelopment area, which covers Upper Moreland, Horsham, King of Prussia, Norristown, Plymouth Meeting, Fort Washington, Blue Bell and Upper Merion.

Horsham Township Manager Bill Walker said the township recently hosted a meeting with the township’s top 10 employers to give county officials insight on the proposed upgrades.

Horsham, which is already home to 4.5 million square feet of office space and is the No. 3 employer county with 26,000 full-time jobs, intends to bolster that within the next 20 years or so. As part of the mixed-used redevelopment plan for 862 acres of the Willow Grove air base, Horsham plans to add a 133-acre office park–totaling 1.9 million square feet of office space–expected to create more than 7,000 jobs.

When businesses are considering opening or relocating in Horsham, Walker said traffic-related upgrades are always a concern.

“If it’s not their first it’s their second question ‘what traffic improvements are planned for the area,’ “ Walker said. “If their employees can’t get to work easily and home easily that’s an issue.”

The right time to ease traffic

In a February letter of support to Bagley, Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission Chief Operating Officer Craig Shuey said, “the timing of the effort is very good,” adding that it could coincide with the turnpike’s all-electronic toll road system, as well as its first long-range plan in more than a decade.

Citing “significant financial obligations,” Shuey said, “it will be critical for the county to prioritize its interests and provide detailed cost-benefit analyses for those deemed most advantageous.”

To that end, county officials, over the next year, intend to coordinate with municipalities to assess real estate trends, development potential, existing zoning and look to update where needed. In addition, through the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, traffic modeling of the corridor and modernized interchanges would be undertaken.

The county would also provide the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission with conceptual engineering of interchanges and financial analysis of traffic and revenue. County officials would also work with PennDOT and municipalities on localized traffic impacts of upgraded interchanges.

Upper Moreland Commissioners Chairman R. Samuel Valenza said the governing body has discussed for several years the need to improve the turnpike interchange. Upper Moreland would like the southbound lane to have four lanes–two lanes in each direction–instead of the single lane currently in place.

Ensuring that the project moves to fruition, however, is not as easily done.

“It’s up to the legislators,” Valenza said of funding. “Private funding is a key in some of these projects.”

To be effective, Valenza noted that multiple state, county and local officials need to work together.

“As long as everybody’s on the same page it’s a start,” Valenza said.

Even though neither improvement is technically in Horsham Township, Walker said that both the potential interchange addition on Route 63 and the Willow Grove turnpike interchange modifications would help Horsham alleviate traffic issues on state-owned routes 611 and 63.

“They have done nothing to the Willow Grove interchange for 56 years,” Walker said. “It’s time for Horsham and Upper Moreland and Abington and Hatboro to have our turn at a major traffic improvement for our communities and jobs in our communities.”