Road development updates

In an effort to save the Rt 228 Project and the new Simon Property Group mall, Cranberry Township has resubmitted a scaled down proposal for upgrades to Rt 228. A $20 million gap in funds have created a risk that the mall project will be abandoned taking the entire Rt 228 Project with it. From the Post-Gazette:

The current proposal is to [focus] improvements between Route 19 on the west and Castle Creek East Drive in Seven Fields on the east. The eastern terminus in the original plan would have been Myoma Road, farther east, in Adams. Also, Route 228 would be widened only between Franklin Road and Castle Creek, instead of adding through-lanes in each direction throughout the project area. In addition, construction of a loop road from Route 228 to southbound Interstate 79 would be delayed.

Those cutbacks would translate to a fully funded status for the remaining $65 million worth of work, including intersection improvements along the corridor, elimination of the tapering of the road east of Franklin, and construction of an overpass ramp from I-79 to the Simon development, as well as a ramp from westbound Route 228 to northbound I-79.

On the western side of Rt 19 is the Freedom Road bottleneck. To address the problems with that corridor, a public forum will be held to discuss the issues. Again, from the Post-Gazette:

There are two primary concerns: Those who own residential and business property immediately adjacent to Freedom Road want the land to be rezoned to a more intensive and economically valuable commercial use. Those who own residential property just beyond that are fearful of being next door to an even busier commercial corridor with no buffer between them.

A public meeting will be scheduled to seek input from property owners in the vicinity, and separate meetings will be set for the three study committees. Ultimately, their recommendations would be presented to the township's planning advisory committee, then forwarded to the township supervisors. No dates are set.

[Township planner John Trant Jr.] said all options will be on the table, from the extreme of a four-lane expressway to a roadway flanked by sidewalks and bike lanes. "It's all up for discussion,'' he said.