Push to fund final stretch of Route 228 project gains momentum
U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa., took a bus ride along Route 228 early last week. A few days later, he joined the county commissioners and Rep. Mike Kelly, R-16th, in urging the U.S. Secretary of Transportation to support the final 3.2-mile segment of the project.
The county commissioners alongside Mark Gordon, Butler County chief of economic development and planning, hope to secure $51 million in federal funding for the Mars Railroad Bridge West portion of Route 228.
Economic activity along the Route 228 corridor has reached roughly $30 billion in yearly gross domestic product fueled by recent growth in jobs and population connecting to much of the country, the Butler County officials told McCormick during his visit.
“As one of Pennsylvania’s fastest-growing corridors, its ability to accommodate expanding freight, workforce commuting and business development is critical,” a fact sheet from county officials read. “Butler County is seeking U.S. DOT funding to unlock billions in economic activity, enhance safety reliability and ensure Butler County remains a hub for manufacturing, logistics and commerce.
“Without continued funding, Route 228 will face crippling congestion, bottlenecking critical supply chains and slowing regional economic momentum.”
County officials also highlighted figures in an effort to communicate the importance of the highway as a “critical economic corridor” and the need to upgrade it. The project encompasses 12,500 businesses, with 40,000 jobs being connected.
County officials also said the completed project will lead to a significant decrease in serious accidents and a reduction in peak hour traffic delays.
“Reliable infrastructure is essential to keeping Pennsylvania’s economy moving,” said McCormick in his letter late last week. “The Gateway 228 project will improve safety, reduce congestion, strengthen freight movement, and create new opportunities for growth in Butler County and across Western Pennsylvania.
“I'm proud to support this application and encourage the Department of Transportation to give it full consideration.”
Gateway 228 serves as a vital commuter route and regional freight corridor but has struggled to keep pace with increased traffic and population growth, he explained in the letter.
According to Butler County’s application, the project will complete a key segment of the corridor, creating a fully connected transportation route between Interstate 79 and State Route 8.
“There’s 3.2 miles right in the middle of this incredible development that will open up what’s already a remarkable growth story. We’ve got all sort of investments, all sorts of jobs here,” McCormick said July 6. “This is so exciting, what’s happening in Butler. This project is going to add to the incredible momentum here.”
The need to upgrade the road has existed for years, county commissioners said. Commissioner Kim Geyer said she has talked about it with others since the ’90s, when she was a Mars Area School District board member.
In June, the county and PennDOT jointly submitted a grant request through the United States Department of Transportation’s INFRA program, which awards competitive grants for multimodal freight and highway projects “of national or regional significance.” The INFRA grant request asks for just under $51 million.
Last week, a Butler Transit Authority bus with U.S. Rep. Kelly, Butler County commissioners and other officials drove McCormick down Route 228 to show him how federal funding could shape infrastructure serving the economic corridor. Kelly has previously written a letter of support for the project.
Starting in Cranberry Township and riding to Harbison Road in Middlesex Township and back, McCormick saw where new housing and businesses have popped up in Seven Fields and Adams Township. Officials noted the number of public and private school buildings on or near the corridor, as well as the proximity to companies like Westinghouse and Coherent.
He also saw the existing two-lane portion of the road and bottlenecks where traffic slows down.
“This used to be all farms?” McCormick asked while riding down the road.
Construction on the Mars Railroad Bridge West would begin in December 2027, with estimated completion in 2030.
McCormick had spoken positively of the project on his tour and indicated he would speak to Duffy about getting the federal funds approved.
“It was critically important to have him here today. He’s the one who will make the call to Secretary Duffy to push this project over the finish line,” Commissioner Leslie Osche said. “He said he really appreciated the opportunity to actually see it, to see the growth and development that is happening along this corridor and why it is so critical.”
This is not the first time the road project has received federal support. In 2018 and 2020, the county received two separate BUILD grants that supplied a combined $45 million for past phases of the Gateway 228 project.
“You don’t want to lose those investments that you make, because the longer it goes, then it starts to wear and you have to replace road. So you really want to see it all completed in as short of a time frame as possible,” Osche said.
Eagle interim managing editor Tracy Leturgey contributed to this report.
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