Infrastructure Improvement
With continued economic development across Butler County, the improvement and upkeep of roads in the county remains vital.
One of the biggest projects on the schedule of the state Department of Transportation is the addition of two access ramps to Moraine State Park in Worth and Muddy Creek townships.
The ramps will give drivers going east and west access to the North Shore exit.
“The whole purpose of the project is to increase access to the North Shore of Moraine State Park,” Eric Buchan, design project manager for PennDOT, said at a meeting this month.
It will involve the removal of the access road leading from the westbound lane of Route 422 to North Shore Drive. Buchan said this also will entail removing a bridge that is structurally deficient.
In its place will be a new, two-way access road and bridge that will allow drivers going west on Route 422 to exit to North Shore Drive as well as allow drivers on North Shore Drive to enter the westbound lane on 422. A stop sign will control traffic entering the highway.
The ramp that allowed drivers to enter Route 422 east from West Park Road will remain. Right next to it, a ramp that will allow drivers going east on 422 to exit onto West Park Road will be built.
Drivers going north on Interstate 79 who get off at the Route 422 exit will be able to merge directly onto the off ramp leading to West Park Road.
Currently, only vehicles traveling west on Route 422 can access the North Shore. The North Shore on-ramp to Route 422 only gives access to the eastbound lanes.
Visitors who want to access the North Shore going east on Route 422 have to get off at the South Shore exit and then re-enter the highway going west. People on the North Shore who want to go west on Route 422 have to enter the highway going east, get off at the South Shore exit and re-enter the highway going west.
The distance between the South Shore exit and the North Shore exit is about two miles.
Construction is expected to begin in 2017, and is estimated to cost $2.5 million to $5 million.
Park manager Dustin Drew is excited about the project, saying park officials have been looking forward to improved access for years.
“This certainly will make it more convenient, especially for folks coming off (Interstate) 79,” Drew said.
He noted most of the park's amenities are on the North Shore, including Lakeview Beach, McDanel's Launch, Watts Bay Marina, Davis Hollow Marina, disc golf, bike rentals and the amphitheater.
Another major project proposed is the Route 228 realignment from Route 8 to Quality Gardens near Adams Township.PennDOT's plan will eliminate three sweeping curves on the busy road, including the one known as “Ball's Bend.” The new road will make Route 228 a straight highway from Route 8 to the Mars schools.The $20 million to $25 million project will have two lanes both east and west, as well as turn lanes in the center. While PennDOT has completed two widening projects on Route 228 in Adams Township, this is the first project that will not follow the path of the existing highway.Chad Mosco, a PennDOT design project manager, said the new road will be 1.5 miles long.The state would need to acquire multiple properties along the current stretch of road. He said acquisitions will likely begin in 2017, and construction will likely begin in 2019.
In addition to the state's normal bridge replacement plans, nearly a dozen state bridges in the county will be replaced as part of an initiative by the state.PennDOT in October selected the Plenary Walsh Keystone Partners team to replace at least 558 bridges statewide and maintain them for 25 years.The Rapid Bridge Replacement initiative bundles hundreds of bridges into a single contract to take advantage of design similarities of the bridges and economies of scale to reduce the cost to taxpayers.Work will begin this summer. All bridges must be replaced within 36 months.The bridges to be replaced in the county are:• Zelienople borough bridge carrying Route 68 over Glade Run in Zelienople• Route 308 bridge near Rider Church Road over a tributary of Stone Run in Center Township• Freeport Road bridge near Caldwell Drive over a tributary of Thorn Creek in Jefferson Township• Bonniebrook Road bridge near Ringneck Lane over Bonnie Brook in Summit Township• Saxonburg Boulevard over Bull Creek in Clinton Township• McCalmont Road over Connoquenessing Creek in Butler Township• Brownsdale Road over Glade Run in Forward Township• Cruikshank Road over a tributary of Glade Run in Middlesex Township• Seneca School Road over Connoquenessing Creek in Jackson Township• Thompsontown Road bridge south of Queen Junction Road over B&LE rail tracks in Clay Township• Route 19 southbound ramp over Route 19 northbound in Jackson TownshipThe 11 bridges carry a combined 34,000 vehicles on a typical day. The busiest of the bridges is the Freeport Road bridge near Caldwell Drive, which averages more than 8,500 vehicles per day.The bridges and ramps span 24 to 145 feet, with the Route 19 southbound ramp being the largest.All of the bridges have been ruled structurally deficient by the state, but that does not mean the bridges are unsafe.A bridge is considered structurally deficient if there is deterioration to one or more of its major components.The McCalmont Road and Thompsontown Road bridges both have posted weight limits.Construction of the new bridges is expected to start in the summer. All bridges must be completed in the first three-and-a-half years of the contract.The state will maintain ownership of the bridges and will handle snow and weed removal. The state also has right to close a bridge in an emergency.
Bridge work will continue to be a top priority for the state for the next several years.It has multiple bridge projects on its Transportation Improvement Program that could be replaced this summer, include:• Harrisville bridge carrying Route 8• Greece City bridge carrying Route 38 in Oakland Township• Sandy Point bridge carrying Route 38 in Allegheny Township• The bridge south of Hooker carrying Route 38 in Concord Township• Scholars Run bridge carrying Route 19 in Jackson Township• The bridge near Stone House carrying Route 8 in Brady Township• Cunningham Street Bridge carrying Route 68 in ButlerThe estimated cost of each bridge replacement ranges from $500,000 to $5 million.
