Traffic moves across U.S. 19 in Cranberry Township at its intersection with Wisconsin Avenue and Rochester Road on Wednesday. Cary Shaffer/Butler Eagle

Cranberry Township will receive more than $100,000 to fund upgrades and maintenance for traffic signals following an announcement from Gov. Tom Wolf.

The yearly “Green Light-Go" program, a competitive state grant program designed to improve the efficiency and operation of existing traffic signals in the state, is administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Bureau of Maintenance and Operations.

This year’s Green Light-Go grant program sent funds to Cranberry Township for three projects: $28,000 for LED replacement at traffic signals along Route 19, $60,000 for traffic signal cabinet replacement at two intersections and $40,000 for automation of incident management contingency timing plans.

Winfield Township in southeastern Butler County received $304,799 for the modernization of the traffic signal at Route 356 and Winfield Road.

“The safety improvements supported by the Green Light-Go program help municipalities relieve congestion and traffic flow, as well as keep Pennsylvanians moving safely and efficiently,” Wolf said in a statement. “I’m proud to help our communities improve mobility for Pennsylvanians.”

Keeping up with technology

Cranberry has participated in the Green Light-Go program since 2014 and has completed 12 projects during that period, township Public Works Director Kelly Maurer said.

“We’re very fortunate to receive them from the state,” she said. “They are for modifications for existing traffic signals, to make them more efficient and bring them up to current technology.”

There are 42 traffic signals in the township, and they require a variety of types of upkeep, Maurer explained. The grants, which require a 20% township match in funding, will provide money to keep the signals up to date.

The first grant will pay for the red, green, and yellow LED bulbs used in the 14 traffic signals on Route 19.

“Currently, we are replacing all the LED lights on 228,” she said. “This new grant is for all the lights on Route 19. That way, they don’t burn out. We do preventative maintenance and replace them routinely before they wear out.”

The lights will not need to be replaced for 10 years.

“(LED lights) use less electricity, which is a cost savings to the township. That’s why these grants make it more efficient,” Maurer said.

The second grant will upgrade two of the computer boxes, called signal controllers, that work at intersections to control traffic signals.

“We make upgrades to these all the time, so we can use the most efficient technology,” Maurer said. “This award is for Route 228 and Franklin Road, and (the intersection of) Unionville Road and Kensinger Drive. They are two of our older traffic signals, so it’s just updating them to current technology."

The final grant will help automate the township’s system of contingency traffic signal plans, which change the frequency of red and green lights when traffic is diverted onto Route 19 due to accidents on Interstate 79.

“We have upgraded them in the past, and we now get alerts ahead of time, but they are still manually operated,” she said. “We are going to use (the grant) to automate it so that they can be put in automatically when needed, thus making them more efficient.”