Press Release
Borough of Hatboro
Friday, February 13th, 2026
The Borough of Hatboro was informed that there is a recent post on a public Facebook page regarding the Borough owned bridge on West Monument Avenue. The Borough does not comment on Facebook pages but is sharing this post on our page in response to the influx of calls, and in an effort to share correct information on West Monument Avenue.
The Borough of Hatboro was awarded a grant in 2021 to replace the West Monument Avenue Bridge. This grant had a considerable match requirement, and as a result, a second grant was applied for and awarded to the Borough in 2023 to assist in paying for matching funds for the project.
Whenever state, county, or federal grant opportunities arise, Borough Council reviews the requirements for each funding opportunity to see if any improvements in the Borough qualify under specific programs. At the time this grant was applied for, the Borough engineer of record noted that the bridge replacement project would qualify for the specific grant program and suggested that the Borough make the application for the bridge project. As many in Hatboro are aware, the Borough has been discussing various other improvements for Memorial Park including those for stormwater management. Under this project, the existing bridge was proposed to be replaced with a much larger, PennDOT compliant bridge to modernize the existing infrastructure and accommodate more vehicles. The new bridge would also incorporate additional stormwater management improvements in the area in addition to the others already being discussed for Memorial Park at the time. The bridge is also a critical piece of infrastructure in Hatboro. Thus, the recommendation to replace the bridge was made because the bridge provides critical access for residents and businesses in Hatboro, not because the bridge was in critical condition. Since Borough Council and staff had to rely on the recommendation of the Borough Engineer, Council authorized the grant application to be submitted.
When applying for any type of grant funding, the Borough asks our State Representative and State Senator for a letter of support. While letters of support do not guarantee funding, they can sometimes make applications more favorable and show that the project supports overall goals within Hatboro, Montgomery County, and the Commonwealth. Both offices were kind enough to send a letter for the West Monument Bridge Replacement Project. Neither Representative Guenst nor Senator Collett visited or inspected the bridge when writing these letters. In this case, they utilized the project description provided by the Borough engineer to prepare their letters which again, indicates that the bridge provides critical access, not that the bridge itself is in critical condition.
The Borough was successful in securing the grant for a full replacement; however, after hearing from many residents in the area, they were not in favor of a much larger, robust bridge because the larger bridge would raise the current weight restriction and could result in heavier truck traffic in the neighborhood. There was also an inspection of the Bridge by the current Borough engineer after the grant was obtained, and we found that the bridge was structurally fine and did not need to be replaced as previously reported. The bridge continues to be inspected yearly by the Borough engineer and frequently by the Borough Public Works Department. The engineer inspected the bridge again recently after receiving complaints about increased truck traffic and once again found the bridge to be structurally sound and not in need of replacement at this time.
In 2024, the Borough staff and Finance Committee of Council reviewed open grants to ascertain which grants were a priority and which were not before making a decision on spending taxpayer money for required matching funds. After Covid, costs for projects increased significantly (and continue to increase), making it more difficult for the Borough to commit to some of the grants we were successful in obtaining, especially those projects that were not an immediate need. Even with the two grant awards for the West Monument Bridge combined, there was still a considerable amount of matching funds owed by the Borough for the project. The Borough has to be prudent with the spending of tax dollars and making sure the projects chosen are the best for the residents of Hatboro. A decision was made that this bridge project was not a priority due to the bridge being in structurally good condition and the fact that the Borough was aware of a pending project involving the West Moreland Avenue bridge. This project is being performed by Montgomery County, and the Borough has no control over the project, the closure, detour, etc. At the time this decision was made about the West Monument Bridge, the Borough had no timeframe when the West Moreland Avenue bridge project would start – only that the project could begin at any point.
When a grant is awarded, the Borough does not receive the actual monetary grant funding immediately. The first step for grants is to execute contracts, award agreements, etc. between the grantor and the grantee. Once the project is designed and bid, the taxpayers have to pay for the project first. The Borough then submits copies of payment requests, project information, construction/inspection documents, and proof of payment to the grantor for review. The grantor then reviews the documentation submitted by the Borough and approves reimbursement of eligible project expenses back to the Borough. The funds for the West Monument Bridge Grant are being held by the agency providing the grant funding for the project and are not in the possession of the Borough of Hatboro, nor were the funds received by the Borough and spent elsewhere as suggested. All grants received by the Borough, including the West Monument Bridge Project, are available at Borough Hall for anyone to review in accordance with the Right to Know Law. As for the list of grants that was previously requested and referenced in this post, there was a right to know request received; however, the requestor asked for the information in a format that did not exist and under the Right to Know Law the Borough does not have to create a document that does not exist. The request, which is public, did not ask for copies of all grants, but rather asked for information be provided in a manner that did not exist. All grants applied for are approved at public meetings, updates on the same are provided at public meetings and all costs associated with grants including requests for payments are approved at public meetings. Failure to meet these requirements would mean any reimbursements for grants awarded to the Borough would not meet requirements and therefore would no longer eligible.
Some grants also come with design requirements, and as noted above, the replacement of the West Monument Bridge would need to meet PennDOT specifications as a requirement of the grant. This means that the new bridge would be much larger and would have a higher weight restriction than the current bridge. This could result in larger commercial vehicles traveling through the neighborhood, which again residents in the area were not and still are not in favor of. The Hatboro Police Department actively monitors truck traffic in the neighborhood and on the Borough’s bridges in accordance with the posted weight restrictions. The Borough has received countless calls from residents in the area who do not like the increase in school buses traveling over the bridge as a result of the Moreland Avenue detour. Local school buses transporting children to and from school are under the weight restriction and permitted to use the West Monument Avenue Bridge.
The Police Department is doing added enforcement in the neighborhoods around the West Moreland Avenue Bridge closure. The Chief has shared stats for the month of January at the February 2nd Borough Council meeting as well as police enforcement activities. Although West Monument Avenue is not a part of the detour posted by Montgomery County, West Monument Avenue and surrounding streets are public roads. This means that motorists are welcome to use the road as long as they are obeying traffic laws. Trucks and buses are also able to use the public road for travel as long as they are below the posted weight restrictions and obeying traffic laws. Since the closure of the West Moreland Avenue Bridge, the Hatboro Police Department has been conducting directed patrols in the neighborhoods surrounding the West Moreland Avenue Bridge, including West Monument Avenue itself. Officers have been actively ticketing drivers who are not obeying traffic laws. The Police nor the Borough have the ability to restrict motorists from driving or using public roads; we can only conduct traffic stops for those motorists who do not adhere to motor vehicle laws. We have asked residents who observe violations to call 911. We would also like to remind you that we cannot place a police officer out there 24 hours a day 7 days a week as officers on duty must respond to other calls for service, conduct traffic enforcement in other areas of the Borough as well as monitor traffic around West Moreland Avenue. Also, just a reminder you may not see the officer on West Monument Avenue all the time; they will move around to other streets around West Monument Avenue to enforce traffic laws throughout the neighborhood.
Borough Hall has received calls today from residents desiring lighted stop signs throughout the neighborhoods around the West Moreland Avenue Bridge closure. The Borough received requests for lighted stop signs on West Moreland Avenue in 2021/2022. The Borough installed the signs per the residents’ requests, and the residents immediately asked the Borough to remove the signs as the flashing lights could be seen inside residents’ homes. We have also received calls asking the Borough to post “Local Traffic Only” signs on West Monument Avenue and to prevent motorists who do not live in the neighborhood from driving on the streets. While “local Traffic Only” signs are regulatory in nature, the enforcement of said signs is not easily accomplished or feasible. The Hatboro Police Department cannot arbitrarily stop vehicles to ascertain if a driver lives in a given area. Because of this, it is the position of the Hatboro Police Department that the enforcement of these signs is akin to a secondary motor vehicle violation. This means a motorist would first need to be stopped for a primary offense in order to determine if the vehicle is local traffic. To complicate matters further, the PA Motor Vehicle (Title 75) does not provide a definition of “Local Traffic.” Because of these and other factors, Chief Ruegg has recommended against installation of such signs on W. Monument or any streets within the Borough.
The Borough was recently notified that the Borough must make a final decision if we are keeping the grant or if we are returning the funds, as the current agreement expires in a few months. Borough Council will need to discuss at a public meeting if they would like to extend the grant and do this project after the West Moreland Avenue Bridge project is completed. The Borough takes grant funding and matching funds seriously. We do not perform projects just because we received the funding; we do them based on the need. We have been very successful in getting grants, to which we are very thankful because grants are a cost savings for a small Borough like Hatboro even when they require matching funds to complete.
I will end again; the bridge has been inspected as late as 2/2/26 and is structurally safe for vehicular traffic. The Borough is still collecting information and working on this matter to see if there is a resolution, and we will continue to be out enforcing all applicable motor vehicle laws as well as remind all motorists to follow the posted detours. Again, West Monument Avenue is a public road and motorists are permitted to use this and every public road as long as they obey all traffic regulations. There is increased traffic in all areas of Hatboro and surrounding municipalities as a result of the Moreland Bridge closure and we are working to navigate the increase in motor vehicles throughout Hatboro as best we can.
As always if anyone has questions or concerns, they can be addressed by calling Borough Hall at 215-443-9100, emailing Borough Manager Hegele at dhegele@myhatboro.org or attending a council meeting. All meeting dates can be found on the Borough website at http://www.myhatboro.org.
Approved for Release
Diane C. Hegele, Borough Manager