Montco approves spending on Rte. 422 study

Montgomery County allotted $15,833 yesterday to study whether adding tolls on Route 422 would generate enough money to improve the highway and extend the R6 Norristown commuter rail line to Reading.

At a meeting, the county commissioners approved the expense as the county's share of a $625,000 feasibility study recommended in February by county planner Leo D. Bagley.

Berks and Chester Counties would pay a share of the study cost. The Tri-County Chamber of Commerce has allotted $2,500 and the CEO Council for Growth of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce $12,500. The state Department of Transportation and federal government will cover the rest.

The plan is expected to focus attention on the need to improve Route 422, especially near Valley Forge and Pottstown. The highway, which connects King of Prussia with Douglassville in Berks County, is old and overcrowded, Bagley said at a public meeting in February.

Commuters who now sit fuming in rush-hour traffic, Bagley said, could instead travel by rail to Norristown and from there to Center City or points in the suburbs.

To raise money, planners say, Route 422 would need tolls using high-speed, E-ZPass "gantries," Bagley said. Rendered in a drawing, the gantries look like metal pipes arched over the highway at exit and entrance points.

The gantries would sense cars traveling below. E-ZPass would register tolls on drivers' accounts or mail bills to the holders of the license plates, Bagley said. He said all toll revenue would be spent locally.

The study will conclude by the end of 2010, Bagley said.