BUTLER TWP — The state doesn’t have enough money to build many of the projects wanted by Butler Township and the city of Butler.

But local officials met with PennDOT officials Monday to discuss — among other things — plans to repave Route 68.

That project in both municipalities would mean milling and repaving 3.5 miles of Route 68 from Benbrook Road to the bridge over the railroad tracks near Butler Memorial Hospital.

The work is needed, but there is no funding or schedule for the project, said Courtney Snyder, maintenance program engineer for PennDOT.

The Route 68 project might be added to the four-year Transportation Improvement Program when it is updated in 2019, but funding would most likely come from the district’s maintenance budget, Snyder said. Using that approach, the project would be done in phases and hopefully begin within five years, she said.

“We know it needs work,” Snyder added.

Areas that would require special attention during the Route 68 project are crosswalks at Monroe Street, handicap ramps, traffic sensor loops in the pavement and pedestrian crossing signals in the city, said John Evans, city zoning and code management officer.

Traffic sensor loops are typically damaged or removed during repaving projects, but they are expensive and the city wants to replace them with radar or video sensors, Evans said.

Adam Marshall, PennDOT assistant traffic engineer, said traffic sensor loops are being phased out and replaced with cameras.

City and township officials said Route 68 is heavily traveled and gets a lot of truck traffic.

PennDOT or the repaving contractor can replace stormwater drainage pipes while they are repaving the road if the municipalities provide the material, Snyder said.

The city uses stormwater inlet grates designed to accommodate a high flow of water, Evans said.

Snyder said the Route 68 project would not require detours and the repaved sections of road would be at the existing road’s elevation.

In the city, the curbing along Route 68 at Fourth Street should be maintained to prevent storm runoff onto Fourth Street, said David Adam, deputy police chief.

Township Police Chief John Hays said reportable and nonreportable vehicle accidents are common on Route 68 at Eberhart and Benbrook roads.

Butler Transit Authority Executive Director John Paul gave the PennDOT officials a list of bus stops on Route 68.

The second project discussed Monday involves upgrading six traffic signals on three-quarters of a mile of New Castle Road from Moraine Pointe Plaza to Butler High School in the township.

The signal computers have a menu of timing plans that are based on traffic volumes at those intersections, Marshall said.

“We’re trying to improve that to reduce congestion,” he said.

Upgrading the signals to adaptive signals allows the computers to make minor adjustments to the timing of the signals to smooth traffic flow, he said.

Police can now manually operate any traffic signal, but an adaptive signal could make small adjustments to the signal timing during temporary spikes in traffic, such as after a football game at the high school, Marshall said.

Signal timing should be adjusted during holidays when traffic volume is especially high, Hays pointed out.

Edward Kirkwood, township manager, said the township is applying for a grant to upgrade its traffic lights.

PennDOT is applying to the federal government’s congestion mitigation air quality program for the signals. The grants require a match.