Lafayette Street Extension

Home » Our Work » Lafayette Street Extension Project, Sections MGP, MGL, & MGN

Sector: Roads
Location: Norristown and Plymouth Township, PA | Owner: County of Montgomery | Cost: $60 Million | Completion: 2020

Details: JBC Associates was the Construction Manager for this $60 million 1.5-mile corridor improvement project located within the Municipality of Norristown and Plymouth Township in Montgomery County. The Project is designed to significantly improve access and mobility into Norristown’s Main Street, Plymouth Township’s commercial corridors, as well as the Schuylkill River waterfront redevelopment area. The Lafayette Street project is well situated at the core of a regional highway system, SEPTA’s Norristown Transportation Center, and the local Schuylkill River Trail system. The goal of the project is to provide a transportation framework to spur economic revitalization and redevelopment in the area. Undertaken in three phases with three separate construction contracts to accommodate staging and funding availability, the project was funded 80% by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and 20% by Montgomery County who initiated the project in partnership with PennDOT and the FHWA.

The first phase, Section MGP, began construction in 2013 and completed in early 2015. This phase involved the extension of Lafayette Street from Ford Street in Norristown to Conshohocken Road in Plymouth Township along new alignment utilizing an abandoned railroad bed. As part of Section MGP, the Schuylkill River Trail was realigned and rebuilt in this area, and extensive clearing and grading helped to create open space to the Schuylkill River. The second phase, Section MGL, which began in early 2015 and completed in early 2017, widens and improves local roads (Ridge Pike) in its commercial corridor and adjoining residential areas in preparation for a future Turnpike interchange. The third phase, Section MGN, which began construction in late 2017 and completed in 2020, widens and reconstructs the existing portion of Lafayette Street in downtown Norristown and relocates the Schuylkill River Trail. This section improves mobility for pedestrians and cyclists, provides a pedestrian crossing at the Norristown Transportation Center, and connects the Schuylkill River and Chester Valley trails in Norristown.