U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-16th, civil engineer Will Yasenka, project manager Greg Schnur, assistant district executive for construction Paul Coza, assistant district executive for design Alice Hammond & assistant construction engineer Carl Ray met to discuss the Route 228 Corridor Improvement Project in Butler County. Holly Mead/Special to the Eagle

ADAMS TWP — Representatives from the state Department of Transportation, flanked by U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly R-16th, delivered a series of updates on PennDOT’s sprawling Route 228 Corridor Improvement Project, at PennDOT’s temporary field office on Mars-Valencia Road.

One component of the project, the realignment and widening of the Balls Bend area of Route 228 in Middlesex Township, is estimated to be at 95% completion, and is expected to finish by Jan. 6, 2025. Final paving for the Balls Bend project is complete, with shoulder backup and seeding remaining.

The second phase of the reconstruction and widening of Freedom Road in Cranberry Township is estimated to be one-fifth complete, and in the second stage of widening, with paving to follow in October. The estimated date of completion is Nov. 17, 2025.

Construction on the first phase of the Freedom Road widening project finished in December 2023, with only post-construction environmental monitoring remaining to perform.

Another major component of the project, which includes reconstruction and widening on a 3-mile stretch of Route 228 from Three Degree Road to Mars-Valencia Road, is estimated at 43% completion.

Two other components of the corridor improvement project, which include improvements to the Mars Railroad bridge and a section of Ekastown Road, are still in the design process, with Butler County currently seeking additional grant money. The Mars Railroad bridge component would be the most expensive part of the Gateway 228 corridor project, with construction costs estimated at $92.66 million.

In his remarks, Kelly touted the corridor improvement as a positive example of a taxpayer-funded government project which will improve the lives of the area in the long-term, despite the temporary inconveniences caused by the construction.

“The return on investment in safety alone is huge,” Kelly said. “The number of jobs, all-new wage taxes, property values ... everything that's going into this is absolutely off the chart. What you all have spent a couple of years doing is going to add value for the next half-century.”

Taxpayers are largely responsible for footing the bill for the Gateway 228 Corridor project, which is estimated to cost more than $184 million for the 10 components which have either started or finished construction. However, the project, first conceived in 2018, has received two major boosts in the form of BUILD grants from the U.S. Department of Transportation — one worth $20 million in 2018, and another worth $25 million two years later.

“We’re all here today because so many people ... pulled together to do what was needed to advance these four projects to completion,” said Alice Hammond, assistant district executive for design for PennDOT District 10.