UPPER GWYNEDD — State Rep. Liz Hanbidge, D-62nd, announced on Tuesday that Upper Gwynedd Township has been chosen to get a $306,229 transportation grant to move the Sumneytown Pike pedestrian bridge.
Hanbidge mentioned that the bridge currently goes over Wissahickon Creek but will be moved to cross Towamencin Creek, where there is no pedestrian access. This relocation will make it easier for people to walk between a nearby shopping center, a planned expansion of the current Wawa, Corpus Christi School and Church, and North Penn High School.
“This grant shows our dedication to improving pedestrian infrastructure, ensuring that everyone in our community can travel locally in a safe way,” Hanbidge said. “Moving the pedestrian bridge to an area that gets more foot traffic is a smart way to enhance public safety and reduce traffic congestion.”
Upper Gwynedd officials have talked about the necessity for repairs to the Sumneytown Pike bridge, which is located just east of the intersection with Church Road and West Point Pike, since late 2020, and in early 2021 when the township received funds from PennDOT to fix the roadway bridge next to the pedestrian bridge.
The road bridge was constructed in 1927 and has displayed deterioration due to age after heavy flooding in August 2020, and township officials have said the new roadway bridge would be wider than the current one and include pedestrian lanes, thus the suggestion to move the pedestrian bridge, built in the late 2000s, to cross the Towamencin Creek near Gwynedale Way.
The funds come from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development’s Multimodal Transportation Fund. The MTF provides grants to promote economic development and ensure that a safe and reliable transportation system is available to the residents of the commonwealth.
Upper Gwynedd’s commissioners next meet at 7 p.m. on April 1 at the township administration building, 1 Parkside Place. For more information visit www.UpperGwynedd.org.
