PA Turnpike Releases Report on Award-Winning Pollinator Initiative

PA Turnpike Releases Report on Award-Winning Pollinator Initiative

Project part of PA Turnpike’s goal to become America’s First Sustainable Superhighway by 2040

MIDDLETOWN, Pa. — With peak blooming right around the corner, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PA Turnpike) has released its annual report on the Pollinator Habitat Project, showcasing the continued success of its ongoing environmental initiative.

Since 2022, seven pollinator habitats have been developed with 32 different species of flowers, grasses and other plants that have become a thriving home for bees, butterflies and other pollinating insects. Locations include: the Central Administration Building (CAB) in Middletown, Hickory Run Service Plaza, Irwin Interchange, Harrisburg West Interchange, Bensalem Interchange, Allentown Service Plaza and T-168.4 Salt Shed Westbound. Each habitat service plaza location includes signage for a public education component.

“The PA Turnpike is committed to being good stewards to our environment and the Pollinator Initiative is achieving its goals of providing ecological and human benefits while also reducing the fuel required for mowing and its associated environmental impact,” said Brad Heigel, the PA Turnpike’s Chief Engineer. “This report supports the received industry recognition for this program, which creates more ecological roadsides, helps provide public awareness and education and reduces maintenance costs.”

Some of the highlights of the new report include:

• Expanding support for 25-35 different species, proving PA Turnpike’s pollinator initiative is a scalable program
• Escalating pollinator counts in 2025, providing significant benefits for wildlife, water, and air quality, as well as long-term management costs
• Using new seed mixes that show strong establishment, increasing the likelihood of developing self-sustaining sites
• Increasing benefits for wildlife, water, air quality and long-term maintenance costs in areas with low seed mix success compared to previous turf environments
• Developing rapid monitoring protocols to focus on the control of undesirable species
  

The PA Turnpike won the 2024 Diamond Award in Environmental Engineering from the American Council of Engineering Companies of Pennsylvania, recognizing the PA Turnpike’s efforts of the pollinator program to preserve Pennsylvania’s beauty while also benefiting the environment.

The pollinator initiative reduces greenhouse gas emissions and operating costs while creating more aesthetically pleasing and higher functioning landscapes. In 2025, the PA Turnpike also piloted a scaled-down approach based on the pollinator sites for developing meadow habitats along the roadway called Integrated Roadside Vegetation Management (IRVM). This pilot was launched at two maintenance sheds, Newville and Gibsonia. At the Newville Maintenance Shed, a reduction of 30.3 metric tons of CO2 was achieved between 2023 and 2025.

“Responsibility Matters” is one of the six core values in the PA Turnpike’s strategic plan, emphasizing its commitment to sustainability. This extends to all its assets along its 565+ miles of roadway. The PA Turnpike created a Sustainability Committee in 2020, with a group of dedicated employees driving the strategy to ensure all projects are reviewed for economic, environmental, and social impacts in line with the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The PA Turnpike continues to excel in its goal of being a responsible steward for current and future generations across the Commonwealth by earning its fourth consecutive perfect score from the PA GreenGov Council in 2025.

For those wishing to join the PA Turnpike by growing their own pollinator habitat, here are some tips based on our pollinator initiative:

• Develop a site plan
• Does your site have adequate sunlight?
• What is your goal for nectar producing species?
• Get germinating species in your mixes that bloom throughout the year.
• Don’t “set it and forget it”
• Early maintenance and vegetation control is crucial for long-term success.
• Have you identified pre-existing conditions that may be limiting factors (shade, soil, non-desired vegetation)?
• Be patient
• Understand that not all seed species will germinate in the first year. For example, the PA Turnpike saw Blue False Indigo for the first time in 2025, at a site that was planted four years ago.
• Environmental conditions are important driving factors for successful plant germination, and a maturing habitat will show a revolving door of species year-to-year.

For more information on the PA Turnpike’s sustainability program and pollinator initiative, please visit: Pollinator Initiative | PA Turnpike.

For more than three decades, the Pennsylvania Turnpike has made environmental stewardship and sustainability a top priority. It was the first state agency to achieve four consecutive 100% scores from the Commonwealth’s GreenGov Council. Its sustainability and stormwater management programs earned two IBTTA Toll Excellence Awards for Social Responsibility. To learn more about the PA Turnpike’s goal of becoming America’s First Sustainable Superhighway by 2040, please visit its website.

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Media Contacts:

Marissa Orbanek, Press Secretary: (267) 408-5151, morbanek@paturnpike.com 

Crispin Havener, Assistant Press Secretary: (717) 870-2841, chavener@paturnpike.com