Projects aim to improve
Throughout the year, different areas of Butler County completed, held back, sold or debated over infrastructure, with some finding creative ways to pay for the projects without any hit to taxpayers.
These actions and proposals had the goals of lowering traffic, adding or expanding sewage systems or bolstering a municipality's revenue, but often they were met with fierce opposition from residents or even municipalities themselves.
With nearly every county municipality receiving funds from the federal American Rescue Plan Act earmarked for infrastructure, these projects — completed or otherwise — may only be a glimpse at what's in the future for Butler County residents. And these are just a few of the major infrastructure projects planned, completed or funded in Butler County in 2021.
Although the MSA Thruway — a road passing under Route 228, connecting Cranberry Springs and Cranberry Woods — was first proposed in the 1990s, it was in 2021 the project was finally completed.The Thruway first was envisioned as a bridge passing over the state route, but in the roughly 25 years since its original conception it turned into an underpass, complete with bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, a roundabout on either side and an exit lane from Interstate 79 northbound.Some Cranberry officials said the underpass was part of what residents called the “Disney plan” — a pie-in-the-sky view of how Cranberry would develop. But now, on the other side of the turn of the millennium, it's both reality and symbolic of more than just infrastructure.“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,” said Dick Hadley, chairman of the Cranberry Township board of supervisors, at the tunnel's ribbon-cutting. “It's a display of what can happen when a community comes together and works together.”Few things happened in 2021 without the influence of COVID-19, and the Thruway was no exception. While the ribbon was cut Oct. 14, the underpass didn't open for another month, as supply-chain disruptions led to delays in installing lights inside the tunnel.But now, with the Thruway's completion, Cranberry officials hope it will decrease traffic by significant amounts — a 22% morning and 10% evening reduction in vehicles on Route 228 between the I-79 exit and the Cranberry Springs and Woods entrances — just as they envisioned nearly three decades ago.
For a few months in 2021, driving in Connoquenessing Township meant seeing myriad yard signs, all with the same message: opposing a $22.5 million sewage treatment plan.The township's sewer authority proposed the multimillion-dollar plan in May after the state Department of Environmental Protection warned it would create and build its own system if the township wouldn't.Township residents voiced their opposition to the plan. It would include tens of thousands of linear feet of pipe, 500 to 1,000 manholes and five pump stations, something Connoquenessing residents feared would mean encroachment on their properties.Although the sewer authority warned if DEP built its own system it would do so without considering residents' concerns or the cost, Connoquenessing denizens worried about the costs associated with the township's plan. One resident said, while it will cost $3,800 to connect a house to the public sewer, the roughly $15,000 cost to decommission and excavate a septic system is a much larger burden.Another resident asked why the $22.5 million plan was necessary, suggesting connecting with Butler's sewer would be more cost-effective. Residents also voiced concerns over what they viewed as the potential for excess development: If public sewage was available in Connoquenessing, they thought, more people may be interested in moving there.Taking the residents' concerns into account, the township in October voted to shelve the plan and coordinate with the DEP as to which changes it could make to comply with state regulations while appeasing Connoquenessing's residents.
In southwestern Butler County, there was additional fighting about a proposed sewage system. This time, however, the debate stemmed not from residents, but elected officials. And, like in Connoquenessing, the plan is now on hold.The Western Butler County Authority proposed a roughly $64 million Act 537 plan in 2020, which would both overhaul WBCA's water pollution control facility and upgrade the Harmony Pump Station.Quickly, both Harmony and Jackson Township, two of WBCA's member municipalities, approved the plan. Lancaster Township and Zelienople had concerns, though, and would not allow the plan to go through without specific and detailed answers to their questions.In July, the WBCA opted to bifurcate its plan into the $10.6 million pump station upgrade and the $53 million wastewater treatment overhaul, thinking the pump station, at least, could be approved while the municipalities worked out the treatment facility's kinks.Lancaster, Harmony and Zelienople met in September to plan joint questions to pose to WBCA, and eventually the authority managed to cobble together a steering committee, which continues to meet and discuss their respective municipalities' concerns over the upgrades.
Rather than planning new or upgraded infrastructure, the city of Butler took a seemingly opposite approach: It sought bids to purchase a portion of parking in the city's downtown area.In January, city council received a $3.75 million bid to sell both the 412-space Tier Parking Garage and the 66-space adjacent lot to a Massachusetts company. Council accepted the proposal in January, but the company and city needed to work out a sales agreement and contract for parking enforcement.When those came to life in March, council voted against selling the garage and two lots for the $3.75 million asking price. Some council members said they would consider the proposal if it included just the garage.Taking that as a cue, the Massachusetts company submitted later in March a $3.5 million offer to purchase just the Tier Parking Garage. Again, though, and along the same 3-2 line, council rejected the offer for just the garage, which also included decreased parking fines.
