JACKSON TWP — With new developments planned on or near Route 528, supervisors weighed in on the potential benefits of making the Interstate 79 interchange on that road fully accessible.

The interchange currently serves interstate traffic traveling northbound to exit onto Route 528 — also known as Lindsay Road — while no exit is available for southbound traffic.

Motorists can enter I-79 southbound from Route 528, although those wishing to travel northbound have to drive north on Route 19 to use the interchange near Exit 85.

“We’re always looking at traffic impact,” Chairman Trent Geis said.

Developments during the past several years that have been planned or built include Jackson’s Pointe at the intersection of Routes 19 and 528, FedEx and other businesses by Sippel Developments and a 42-acre retail development by Plunkett Motor Freight Rentals between Route 528, FedEx and I-79 which will start construction this year.

The interchange was constructed in the late 1960s to early 1970s, Supervisor Jay Grinnell said.

Township manager Chris Rearick said the ramps entering and exiting I-79 on Route 19 would have to be abandoned.

“There has been a rash of accidents there, especially when you’re coming northbound on Route 19 toward Tollgate School Road and Gudekunst Road,” he said.

The township recently received confirmation for a grant to help fund the installation of a traffic light on Route 19’s intersection with Tollgate School and Gudenkunst Roads.

Rearick also said making the Route 528 interchange fully accessible in the long run “makes sense.”

“It would make sense to begin a dialogue now,” he said of getting assistance from the state Department of Transportation. “The goal would be to try and get on those long-range plans in some fashion. The overpasses are also starting to be an issue on Route 528.”

Rearick said traffic impact fees could be used as a match to grants needed for the project.

“We’ve been fortunate in funding projects like the traffic light at Tollgate School and Gudekunst Roads or the Tomlinson-Jo Deener reconfiguration through grant monies with help from impact fee monies,” he said.

Supervisors said while there has not been much public inquiry about the interchange, making the interchange on Route 528 fully accessible would be beneficial for long-term planning.

“The development is going to keep moving north,” Supervisor Allan Osterwise said. “We’ve got to get on somebody’s radar.”

PennDOT representatives were unavailable for comment Friday.