The long-anticipated Mars Railroad Bridge West Expansion Project — the final piece needed to complete Route 228 corridor improvements — is inching closer to the construction phase as state officials prepare to share updated design plans with the public and local leaders.

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation representatives will hold a meeting at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 13, at the Seven Fields Borough building to review the latest details for the project. The meeting will serve as a design update and coordination session as the project nears the end of its planning phase.

The project stretches from Route 3021/Franklin Road to just west of Pittsburgh Street, spanning parts of Seven Fields, Adams Township and Cranberry Township.

Planned improvements are set to include intersection upgrades and road widening, which are designed to ease congestion and enhance safety along one of the county’s busiest corridors.

According to PennDOT, the Mars Railroad West Expansion is in its final design stages, with officials continuing to explore funding options for construction.

“We will continue to work with the commissioners and the municipalities to move the project forward,” said Tina Gibbs, PennDOT community relations coordinator.

Once funding is secured and construction begins, the Mars Railroad West Expansion will connect the remaining gap in the Route 228 corridor — a milestone local leaders say will complete years of regional safety and traffic improvements.

Officials from PennDOT, Butler County and Cranberry Township recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the completion of the Freedom Road expansion project.

That project, which was funded by a $25 million U.S. Department of Transportation Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) grant, established new turning lanes, upgraded traffic signals and widened the road between Haine School Road and Powell Road.