CRANBERRY TWP — Designs for a new eastbound lane for Route 228 are moving along, township officials said.

Jason Kratsas, township director of engineering, updated the board of supervisors at a recent meeting about the design for a new lane, which would stretch from Interstate 79 to Franklin Road.

The lane would be a third straight lane on most of Route 228 east. The last 700 feet of it would be a dedicated right-turn lane onto Franklin Road, Kratsas said. The goal is to alleviate traffic that builds up before the intersection with Franklin Road.

“When you go out 228 at peak hour, there's a bottleneck at Franklin Road,” Kratsas said.

The township got a $1 million grant to fund the preliminary, final and right of way design and utility investigation. HRG Engineering is handling the design work.

There is no funding yet for the completion of the project, but Cranberry officials are pushing for the extra lane because they see it as critical for handling the increased growth in the area.

“We're working toward getting that design complete so that when we can find the money, it's not starting from ground zero,” Kratsas said.