BUTLER TWP — A controversial bridge removal project in northwestern Butler Township was revived Monday by state transportation officials.

State officials are looking at “various alternatives” but are focused on the removal of Lions Road Bridge because of “substandard” conditions that would be created by any repair work, said project engineer David Layman with the state Department of Transportation.

Layman said replacing the bridge would require raising its deck by two and a half feet, creating steep connecting slopes to the road that could be hazardous in winter.

He said PennDOT also is leery of a replacement project because it would result in displacing the residents of one or two homes.

The two alternatives being publicly considered are multimillion-dollar projects that would build a new section of road linking Lions Road north of Route 422 with the nearby interchange of Route 422 and New Castle Road. Both options also would make improvements to the interchange, which was left unfinished and is missing three connecting ramps.

The projects would involve building 1,500 to 2,000 feet of new road through the residentially-zoned “Bocci Property” according to a conceptual layout provided to Butler Township by PennDOT.

That new road would connect New Castle Road with Lions Road, and under one potential plan would include interchange improvements on both sides of Route 422 to allow access from the north side of Lions Road.

The cost of that work is estimated about $2.4 million, Layman said.

If officials decide to fully reconstruct the interchange's three missing ramps — which would install two loop ramps and one off ramp connected to Route 422 — the cost rises to about $5 million, Layman said.

Replacing Lions Road Bridge itself would cost about $3.2 million.

The project is in preliminary design, Layman said, meaning it still has a long way to go before construction is expected to begin in late 2017.

Between now and then, Layman said, the state officials will have public meetings on the proposals with a visit to Butler Township expected sometime around Thanksgiving or Christmas.

But the state budget impasse is slowing the department's decision-making process on the matter, Layman said.

He urged homeowners and residents to contact the department's District 10 office with questions about the project, and said he's aware of about 10 homes near interchange ramps to the east of New Castle Road that could be affected by any improvement work.

The revival of the proposal, which ran into controversy last year after officials from both Butler and Center townships opposed the bridge's removal, sparked angry comments from Butler Township officials on Monday.

They called the proposal a public safety issue and a back door attempt to improve infrastructure near the site of VA Butler Healthcare's planned health center in Center Township.

Layman said that state officials consider Lions Road “low volume,” but that the future of the road, including the VA health center project and “other (development) ideas” does factor into the department's decision-making process.

Center Township supervisors said Tuesday that initial work on the VA health center is under way at the Herold property.

Center Township supervisors Ken Frenchak and Ed Latuska, board chairman, said the VA development would impact the interchange.

“Once Cambridge gets this building constructed for the VA ... there's going to be other development that happens on that property,” Frenchak said,

The two supervisors, who last year passed a joint resolution in Center Township with Butler Township advocating the preservation of Lions Road Bridge, are split over the revived proposal.

Frenchak echoed safety concerns voiced by Butler Township officials, and said he was concerned the bridge's removal would limit EMS access to Center Township.

“Why all of a sudden is it such a big thing?” Frenchak said. “Why can't they put weight limits on it (the bridge)?”

Latuska said his opinion of the project has changed since state officials added the tie-in linking New Castle Road and Lions Road.

“That seems like it's going to solve those (safety) problems,” he said.

Latuska said he also sees a bright economic future for that area of both townships, and views the PennDOT project as an initial step toward that future.

“Starting with the VA and this tie-in, I just think that you're looking at the next 10, 15, 20 years; a big boom for that area,” Latuska said.