Upper Gwynedd names bridge after Dr. Francis Jeyaraj

He has spent a lifetime building bridges between different communities, and a fitting tribute will soon honor that legacy forever.

Upper Gwynedd officials voted unanimously on Tuesday night to name a pedestrian bridge in the township after Dr. Francis Jeyaraj.

“He is truly a human connector, who leads by example, and is constantly seeking new ways to bring our community together,” said Commissioner Denise Hull.

“His bridge will continue his legacy of connecting our community, and building bridges between cultures. It is my honor to make a motion to name the pedestrian bridge the ‘Dr. Francis Jeyaraj Pedestrian Bridge,’” she said.

    Dr. Francis Jeyaraj, center, talks with friends at the Upper Gwynedd commissioners meeting on Monday, May 12, 2025. (Photo courtesy of Liz McNaney)
  

Upper Gwynedd officials have discussed the need for repairs to the Sumneytown Pike road bridge, located just east of the intersection with Church Road and West Point Pike, since late 2020, and in early 2021 the township secured funds from PennDOT to repair the roadway bridge just next to the pedestrian bridge.

    A worker crosses the pedestrian bridge spanning the Wissahickon Creek next to Sumneytown Pike. The bridge was installed as part of the road widening project in Upper Gwynedd in 2009. (MediaNews Group file photo)
  

The road bridge was built in 1927 and was found to have age-related deterioration after heavy flooding in August 2020, and township officials have since said the new roadway bridge would be wider than the current one and include pedestrian lanes, thus the suggestion to move the pedestrian bridge, built in the late 2000s, to cross the Towamencin Creek near Gwynedale Way; in early 2024 the township secured just over $300,000 in state grant funds for the move.

Hull summarized that history during the commissioners meeting on Monday night, for a crowd of friends and colleagues who turned out to honor an unsuspecting Jeyaraj.

“We are delighted to move that bridge further down Sumneytown Pike, to serve as a crossing over the Towamencin Creek, and thus connect the sidewalk from the Weis shopping mall, to the sidewalk in front of Gwynedale,” Hull said.

“This is a bridge that the developer of Gwynedale had promised to its residents almost 40 years ago, so it’s long in coming. It will add to the connectivity of Upper Gwynedd Township,” and will keep residents from having to walk along the roadway of Sumneytown itself in that area, Hull said.

    Cars speed past a pedestrian bridge on Sumneytown Pike in Upper Gwynedd in Aug. 2023. (Dan Sokil – MediaNews Group)
  

“We realized, with this new placement, that this was an opportunity to name the pedestrian bridge after a member of our community who is truly a unifier. This is someone who has spent his entire life bringing people of all nationalities, and backgrounds, and religious beliefs, together.”

A longtime pediatrician who was born in Malaysia of Indian descent, Jeyaraj helped found the International Spring Festival, held annually at North Penn High School since the early 1990s, that brings community members together as they represent dozens of home countries. Jeyaraj has served on countless community boards and groups, and put in a stint as chief of the medical staff at Abington Lansdale Hospital, according to Hull.  Other volunteer efforts have included time on the boards of Pearl S. Buck International, United Way, Arconet, Montgomery County Community College and the Montgomery County Health Department, and Jeyaraj has also been a part of the Advisory Council for the Pan Asian Senior Services (PASSi) and the Dr. Boston Foundation and is the founder of the Indo-American Club.

    Dr. Francis Jeyaraj speaks to friends at the Upper Gwynedd commissioners meeting on Monday, May 12, 2025. (Photo courtesy of George Whitehair)
  

His list of lifetime accolades continues: “He was awarded the Community Service Award from the Indian American Political Affairs Committee, the Person of the Year Award from B’Nai Brith, an international Jewish service organization; the Community Service Award from the North Penn Chamber of Commerce; and the Community Service Award from the Lansdale Jaycees, among so many other awards,” Hull said.

Jeyaraj was also named the 2022 MLK award by Jefferson Lansdale Hospital’s MLK Committee, and the 2023 Pillar of the Community Award, from the Greater Harleysville and North Penn Senior Services.

After the board unanimously approved the motion, Hull said the bridge relocation will likely happen sometime in 2026, and Jeyaraj thanked the board for the honor amid a round of applause and handshakes — and his friends for keeping the proclamation a secret.

“My first home in the area, when I came here in 1975, was in Upper Gwynedd. I really cannot say enough about this great town, and I felt this is an area like the rest of America: we have our own problems, but it’s a very, very welcoming town,” he said.

He then referenced the pledge of allegiance said at the start of the meeting, telling the board he helped start the festival as a way to help immigrants from dozens of home countries assimilate.

“The North Penn School District has something like 85 different languages spoken today. And it is not an easy thing to make that into one country. We cannot have many different countries within the one country, it’ll just not work,” he said.

“As we saluted the flag, we told the flag that we are in fact one country, one people. And if we do it any other way, that great experiment that George Washington and others started, it’s not going to succeed. So I’m eternally grateful, and humbled, it truly means a lot to me.”

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