The area near Pullman Business Park will have a different look in about two years.

Butler Township plans to build a sports complex in the 19 acres of land it purchased near the park, but the administration is also applying for grants to fund traffic improvements to a nearby intersection and to install a track outside the sports complex.

The township commissioners approved a resolution to apply for $1.8 million through the Multimodal Transportation Grant Fund to improve the intersection of Whitestown Road, Hansen Avenue and Armco Drive, and a resolution to apply for $250,000 through the Greenways and Trails grant.

Both grants are awarded through the Department of Community and Economic Development.

Tom Knights, township manager, said instead of having multiple ramps for drivers to exit Hansen Avenue, the intersection will be turned into a “perpendicular intersection that basically connects Hansen to Armco.”

He said in addition to creating more ease of access, the improvement aims to cut down on fender benders at the intersection.

“It's an accident-prone intersection,” Knights said. “So, certainly we're looking at the ease of commercial traffic to get on and off Hansen.”

Additionally, the new road is planned to be wide enough to more easily accommodate large vehicles and buses. The grant would also allow for the creation of a crosswalk at the intersection.

“It will actually give turning radius to accommodate a 50-foot trailer and will provide an access point for the Butler Transit Authority,” Knights said. “We're looking at pedestrian enhancement as well; that's what makes it multimodal.”

The Greenways and Trails grant would fund the installation of a running and walking track around the border of the sports complex. Knights said it will be a half-mile long and 6 feet wide, and it will have a rubberized surface.

“That's to help cushion the joints on it,” Knights said. “It will be very similar to college tracks.”

Knights said if funded, the traffic improvement project could begin as early as next spring.

The trail may be completed later because construction on the sports complex has to be finished first, he said.

“That trail might be one of the last items completed,” Knights said.