Ridge Pike Improvement Project

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What Is The Ridge Pike Improvement Project?

The Ridge Pike Improvement Project involves the full reconstruction of Ridge Pike between Norristown and Philadelphia, with additional widening and safety improvements at specific locations. The project will lessen congestion, improve safety, improve stormwater management, provide safe areas for pedestrians, and help keep the adjacent communities economically competitive.

The Ridge Pike Improvement Project will also help achieve the goals of the county’s comprehensive plan, Montco 2040: A Shared Vision, by repairing existing infrastructure, enhancing access to businesses, improving safety for walkers and bicyclists, and keeping older neighborhoods economically competitive.

Traffic Restrictions

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About Ridge Pike

Montgomery County owns Ridge Pike from Philadelphia to Norristown. Ridge Pike provides access to I-476 (the Blue Route), numerous commercial centers, and well-established neighborhoods. More than 30,000 vehicles use this 5 mile section of roadway daily. The roadway and many of the structures remaining along Ridge Pike today have been part of the landscape for a very long time, some dating to colonial times. The modern roadway was constructed in the 1930s. Through the years, Ridge Pike has been widened, reconstructed in concrete around the 1970s, and repaved numerous times. The planned reconstruction will include relocation of utilities, a full reconstruction of the roadway and a sidewalk in the eastbound direction for the full length and a westbound sidewalk where feasible and necessary.

Project Segments 

The Ridge Pike project area is nearly 5 miles long. The project has been divided into four shorter segments to aid in project management. The area west of School Lane has been completed by the Lafayette Street Extension Project and has set the stage for the new PA Turnpike interchange with Lafayette Street and Ridge Pike. Section A requires some complex engineering in areas near the PA Turnpike, the Norfolk Southern rail lines, and the Sunoco pipeline. This project from School Lane to Belvoir will include two new bridges and widening to support the proposed PA Turnpike interchange. Section B, in the busy commercial area between Belvoir Road and Chemical Road, will be widened to include one new bridge and a center left turn lane. Section C extends from Harmon Road, near Butler Pike, to Crescent Avenue in Lafayette Hill. Widening will be included at major intersections, particularly at Butler Pike and Joshua Road. Widening will be minimized when possible to reduce impacts to the adjacent residential communities. Section D extends from Crescent Avenue to the Philadelphia city line. The addition of a second through lane east of Church Road will reduce the congestion experienced in that section on a daily basis.

Engineering will be ongoing for a few more years with construction likely to begin in early 2022 and continuing on the various segments for several years.

More specific information about the individual segments is provided below.

Right-Of-Way (ROW) Acquisition

Sections of the Ridge Pike Improvement Project are now in the right-of-way acquisition phase. Click here for a brief Q&A about how the right-of-way process works.

Public Involvement

For questions or comments about the Ridge Pike Improvement Project, please contact Laureen Sendel-Grant at 610-278-3734.