Signaling Change
CRANBERRY TWP — The traffic landscape along Franklin Road near the new Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic High School continues to change as crews have installed a new traffic signal there.
Drivers will find the new signal at the intersection of Mars Road and the new Hillmont Drive, which is the main access road to the high school. The intersection is the last one before Franklin Road meets Route 228.
Officials said the new intersection and traffic light are part of an “emerging parallel road network” in the township that should alleviate traffic on busy Route 228.
Jason Kratsas, director of engineering, said the township had planned on upgrading that intersection for at least 11 years, and finally found a way to do so when North Catholic was built.
The township partnered with school officials to make changes there, and Kratsas said the new traffic light was an all-important part of the parallel road network running next to Route 228.
“We’ve been working on (the parallel road network plan) for the better part of 11 to 12 years,” Kratsas said. “Really all the projects you see out there are really tailored around that master plan. Our intent is to allow traffic on the northern side of Route 228 to get around without actually having to travel on Route 228.”
Residents now can travel on Old Mars Road parallel to Route 228 and come to the intersection with Franklin Road. Previously, residents would have to make a dangerous left turn on to Franklin and then travel about 80 yards to north to access Mars-Crider Road.
With the traffic signals, that option is a lot safer, Kratsas said.
“Basically, we had two dangerous intersections, and it was always in our master plan to align them,” he said. “When North Catholic came in and they needed an access road to their site, we found a way to partner with them to build that local road.”
In addition to those improvements, nearby Mars-Crider Road will soon feature a new right-in/right-out traffic pattern at its intersection with Franklin Road.
Crews also installed new turning lanes on both sides on Franklin Road’s intersection with Route 228. The new design will allow drivers to use dedicated left, right and through lanes at that intersection with new traffic lights being installed to correspond to each option.
