Motorists traveling in the King of Prussia area have a new route option today following the opening of Goddard Road, a once-private road donated to Upper Merion Township by Lockheed Martin Management and Data Systems (M&DS).

The opening of Goddard Boulevard will allow motorists to bypass the often congested Route 202 to access the Lockheed Martin campus, King of Prussia Mall and other area businesses. Lockheed Martin representatives joined township and state officials for a grand opening ceremony today cutting a ribbon to mark the road's official opening. The opening of Goddard Boulevard culminates a six-year $30 million expansion project of M&DS' headquarters in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.

"I am proud that our company had the opportunity to partner with local, state, and federal officials and the private sector to develop and execute this project," said M&DS president Marc Hansen. "As one of the largest employers in King of Prussia, it was vital for our company to improve this site, and enhance the surrounding infrastructure to accommodate the unprecedented growth that our business has experienced over the last six years."

When the project began in 1996, M&DS $1 billion company committed to the recapitalization of building 100, former location of General Electric Aerospace and Martin Marietta Astro Space, to house its new headquarters. M&DS converted and upgraded the building from a manufacturing to a high-tech facility, at a cost of $30 million to provide a convenient and first-class working environment for its employees. Six years later, M&DS has grown to a $1.8 billion company with approximately 3000 employees in the King of Prussia area.

"I'd like to compliment and thank Lockheed Martin for their cooperation with Upper Merion Township and the township's Transportation Authority in the completion of this project," stated Dan Rooney, chairman of the Upper Merion Board of Supervisors. "M&DS has fulfilled its commitment to our community and together we have demonstrated that private industry, in partnership with local government, can achieve extraordinary results."

Goddard Boulevard is approximately 6/10 of a mile long connecting North Gulph Road and Mall Boulevard with direct access to the Pennsylvania Turnpike, the Schuylkill Expressway East bound, Route 202 South and Route 422 East and West.

Management & Data Systems (http://mds.external.lmco.com/), headquartered in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, has been a leader in systems integration, systems engineering, software development and program management in support of vital national systems for more than 30 years. M&DS is a unit of Lockheed Martin Corporation with approximately 8,000 employees at facilities in Arizona, California, Colorado, Pennsylvania, and the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area, Virginia and Maryland.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin (http://www.lockheedmartin.com/) is a highly diversified global enterprise principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture and integration of advanced-technology systems, products and services. The Corporation's core businesses span space and telecommunications, electronics, information and services, aeronautics, energy and systems integration. Lockheed Martin had 2001 sales surpassing $23 billion.

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SOURCE: Lockheed Martin Management & Data Systems