With Money Coming From Federal Government, Montgomery County Could See More Congestion Than Usual This Construction Season
HATFIELD, Pa. (CBS) -- With money coming from the federal government through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, there could be more congestion than usual this construction season.
"We're definitely concerned about the amount of noise we're going to get in this nice and quiet neighborhood that we've had so far," Meghan Kohuth said.
Neighbors in Hatfield Township are growing more worried about their newest neighbor, the 309 Connector project.
Kohuth moved to her neighborhood six years ago. The Connector project will run adjacent to it.
"We may have to move because that's not something I'm OK with," she said.
State and local officials broke ground on the second phase of the project Friday morning. The project runs from 476 in Montgomery County to Route 309 in Bucks County. It got over $42 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
"The start of construction on phase 2 is the next big step forward realizing decadeslong effort to link these two highways," Montgomery County Board of Commissioner Chair Dr. Val Arkoosh said.
Phase 2 of the 309 Connector project is one of over 200 projects in southeastern Pennsylvania that got the green light because of the trillion-dollar infrastructure law. This year, the five-county region will receive $2.8 billion to repair 300 miles of roadways and 40 bridges. Philadelphia alone is getting nearly $1 billion. It includes funding for projects on I-95, including the cap project at Penn's Landing.
"It's not just an investment in the future, it's an investment in the present," Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick said. "Infrastructure is one of those rare things where it intersects economic growth with public safety."
With the start of construction season, it's also a reminder of what you need to do when approaching work zones.
"It's our responsibility to ensure that we slow down when entering a work zone and keep an eye out for our road workers," Pennsylvania State Trooper Jessica Tobin said.
In 2021, there were over 1,600 crashes in work zones across the state -- 15 of them were fatal. Fines are doubled in construction zones and could lead to license suspension.