Cranberry, county officials tout MSA Thruway completion
CRANBERRY TWP — The MSA Thruway will be completed at light speed.
Well, at least, the speed it takes to install lights.
Regional officials, business leaders and residents gathered Thursday afternoon under Route 228 to cut the ribbon on the Thruway, a tunnel connecting Cranberry Woods on the south and Cranberry Springs on the north, although the tunnel will likely not open for another two to three weeks.
The only holdup on the completion of the project, which has been in the works for nearly three decades, is lighting.
“We can now see light at the end of the tunnel,” quipped Gary Sippel, Cranberry Springs Business Park president. “Now we just need light in the tunnel.”
While the Thruway is yet to be completed, it's still an accomplishment, according to township Board of Supervisors president Dick Hadley. The project started in the mid-1990s, when connecting the two sides of Route 228 became a priority.
At that time, Cranberry envisioned a bridge spanning the state highway. But roughly 25 years later, it's taken another form — and that's not a bad thing.
“When you look at this tunnel, it's much more than just a means to decreasing traffic on Route 228 and making access for motorists and pedestrians easier,” Hadley said. “It's a display of what can happen when a community comes together and works together.”To that end, MSA provided the township with the land on which the Thruway and the roundabout approaches sit. Nish Vartanian, MSA president and CEO, said the company will benefit from it just as much as Cranberry.“I can tell you that all of our employees are extremely pleased to be able to get across 228 and go visit some of the restaurants and shops over there without having to cross over 228,” Vartanian said. “It's going to make our life a lot easier.”And MSA was just one piece of the puzzle, said County Commissioner Kim Geyer, who called the ribbon cutting “a great day here in Butler County.”
“Right behind me is a shining example of countywide collaboration, which took many partners — many of whom are standing here in the audience today,” Geyer said. “None of this could have been accomplished without the collaboration.”When the tunnel's construction is finished, Cranberry projects not only a decrease in traffic — a nearly one-third cut to traffic on Route 228 between Interstate 79 and Cranberry Springs, to be specific, as well as a 40% decrease in the queue on the I-79 northbound off-ramp — but also economic benefits. Vartanian said the Thruway could spur the build-out of the office park and the township predicts the potential creation of thousands of full-time jobs as a result of the tunnel.“This has been in the plan, what's called the 'Cranberry Plan,' for over 20 years,” Hadley said. “And we finally now have it.”
