Leaders from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and the Montgomery County Planning Commission joined with local dignitaries and officials Thursday morning at Elroy and Wambold roads in Hatfield Township to cut the ribbon on the newly-constructed, 2-mile-long Phase II of the Sumneytown Pike/PA 309 Connector.
State Rep. Steve Malagari, D-Montgomery, joined leaders from the PA Department of Transportation and the Montgomery County Planning Commission Thursday to celebrate completion of Phase II of the Route 309 Connector project at a ribbon-cutting ceremony held at the intersection of Elroy Road and the newly constructed Wambold Road.
“Today, we make history,” State Rep. Steve Malagari, D-Montgomery, said in a speech. “For decades, entire lifespans—since before I was even born—people have been talking about the 309 Connector. It was a ‘really great idea’ that hovered in the ether, but never seemed to fully materialize until the first phase was completed in 2012.”
Malagari said when he took office in 2019, one of his first goals was to complete the work begun by his predecessor, Rep. Bob Godshall, to finally make the long-discussed idea a reality, with the support of Sen. Maria Collett, who was also in attendance.
The 309 Connector will span five municipalities across two counties, two Congressional districts, three state Senate districts, and four state House districts. Phase III is currently in the final design stage, with construction set to begin in 2027.
“That’s a lot of stakeholders to bring together. A lot of concerns to address. A lot of opinions to weigh. But with a lot of meetings, a lot of listening and a whole lot of determination, we were able to do it – to get all those people on the same page and make progress happen,” Malagari said.
“The completion of the 309 Connector’s second phase stands as profound proof of what is possible when everyone comes together in a spirit of cooperation for the common good,” Malagari continued. “This project crossed political boundaries, it crossed municipal boundaries, it required big picture planning and precise, specific skill. There were sacrifices and setbacks. Yet, everyone remained united in their focus and worked to the best of their ability until the job got done.”
The new road provides a more direct route to access local businesses by improving system connectivity between Sumneytown Pike (just north of the Pennsylvania Turnpike’s Lansdale Interchange) to PA 309, along a five-mile corridor between Montgomery and Bucks counties. It’s expected to reduce overall congestion in the area and make travel safer for both drivers and pedestrians.
Malagari noted his appreciation for cooperation among the Montgomery County Planning Commission and officials from Franconia and Hatfield townships.
"This is not the ‘end of the road,’ Malagari said. “The third and final phase of the project, fully connecting into Route 309, will be starting a short time from now. I look forward to carrying this spirit of cooperation with us into the next phase of this project as we continue to work together to move Pennsylvania forward.”
According to PennDOT, the let date for construction on the final phase of the Sumneytown Pike/PA 309 Connector is December 2026, and right-of-way is expected to be cleared by mid 2026.
Phase II covered 2.3 miles in Franconia and Hatfield townships and included:
- Constructing a new roadway (Wambold Road/Township Line Road) from Allentown Road to the Hatfield/Souderton Pike Intersection.
- Reconstructing Township Line Road from Cowpath Road to Hatfield Souderton Pike.
- Replacing two culverts.
- Constructing two retaining walls.
- Building six noise walls on both sides of Wambold Road between Elroy Road and Cowpath Road.
- Installing four new traffic signals and removing and replacing two others.
- Upgrading the traffic signals along existing Wambold Road to a new adaptive system.
- Upgrading pedestrian facilities.
- Constructing stormwater management facilities throughout the project.
- Performing various drainage, roadway and signing improvements.
- Constructing 1.5 miles of multi-use trail between Allentown Road and Cowpath Road.
- Performing improvements to the Route 63 (Old Forty Road) and Pennsylvania Turnpike EZ Pass ramp intersection in Towamencin Township.
Phase III will feature the following, according to PennDOT:
- The project will accommodate two 11 foot-wide lanes with 8 foot-wide shoulders from Hatfield/Souderton Pike in Montgomery County to the connection with PA 309. The horizontal roadway alignment will follow the existing alignment of Township Line Road between Hatfield/Souderton Pike and Bethlehem Pike. This portion of the project has an at grade crossing with SEPTA Railroad Track and has a stream that runs under the road. A noise wall is proposed adjacent to the Hidden Springs community driveway on both sides of their existing driveway. The vertical alignments of Bethlehem Pike and Township Line Road will be improved to modern roadway standards thereby improving sight distance and roadway safety.
- The Bethlehem Pike/Township Line Road intersection will be completely reconstructed as left and right turning lanes are necessary to improve traffic flow. A drainage basin is to be installed in the intersection’s southwest corner. The Spur Road will be removed from the intersection and instead a cul-de-sac will be provided to allow vehicles on Spur Road to turn around.
- The proposed road will continue east past the Bethlehem Pike intersection on new alignment. The Fairhill Road bridge over PA 309 will be replaced with a wider and higher bridge to accommodate the proposed road and required vertical clearance. A half-diamond interchange will be created with two new ramps. These will allow vehicles traveling on the proposed road to enter PA 309 northbound and allow southbound vehicles on PA 309 to exit. The project will terminate at the ramps and will not connect onto Fairhill Road. Fairhill Road will have a cul-de-sac placed at the end of the road for emergency vehicles.
- There are also several intersection improvements to the project area along Bethlehem Pike. The limits of the work include the Spur Road intersection to the north to approximately 600’ south of the SR 1058 intersection. Spur Road will be a dead-end with a cul-de-sac at the southern end. The northern end will require intersection improvements where it connects to Bethlehem Pike. The intersection will be improved by realigning Spur Road to be perpendicular to Bethlehem Pike. This will improve sight distance. A roundabout will be constructed along Bethlehem Pike and County Line Road to allow for a safer intersection in that area. Sidewalks are to be installed at the roundabout for pedestrian access. Additional signing and striping improvements will be installed at the PA 309/Bergey Road intersection. In addition to the PA 309 NB left turn lane onto Bergey Road remaining closed, the PA 309 SB will also be closed. The existing Bethlehem Road Loop Ramp will be converted to two way to provide access to the businesses along the current Loop Ramp.
- PA 309 will be widened from the Bethlehem Pike Loop Ramp to Bergey Road. The intersection of PA 309/Church Road will be reconfigured to restrict lefts onto PA 309 SB. Vehicles on Church Road who wish to travel on PA 309 SB would be required to go north on PA 309 and use the new 2-way loop ramp to proceed onto PA 309 SB. The project also includes improvements to the PA 309/Unionville Pike intersection. The roadway will be widened slightly to accommodate double left turns from PA 309 NB onto Unionville Pike.
- The project will also include an intersection improvement on Sumneytown Pike. The recently completed PA Turnpike project has induced heavy congestion at the Old Forty Foot Road/PA 63/PA Turnpike Entrance Ramp. Improvements include widening to add a turn lane to ease congestion in this area.
