Over the years, the intersection of Franklin Road with Peters Road has seen more than its share of accidents.

"It has the highest incident of crashes of any intersection in the township," said Cranberry Township Manager Jerry Andree.

But help is on the way in the form of a new traffic signal at the intersection. Prior to that, construction crews added new turning lanes to Peters and Franklin Road and the roads were widened.

While contractors finished work to widen the roads and completed the turning lanes more than two months ago, the traffic signals were erected Thursday. However, they have yet to go live.

Andree said wiring for the signals would be competed within the next few weeks. After that, the signals will go through a testing period with flashing yellow lights, a PennDOT requirement.

Since the addition of the turning lanes – and until the signals go live – four flashing stop signs have monitored the intersection. Prior to that, drivers on Franklin were not required to stop at the intersection. 

Although the traffic signals originally were slated to go up when the turning lanes were completed, Andree said, the poles did not arrive because of delays at the manufacturing plant.

Improving the intersection, he added, has been a major priority of the township. The issue – and one of the biggest causes for collisions – was a blind spot as drivers headed north on Franklin Road toward the intersection with Peters.

Because of the high number of fender-benders, Andree said, the township qualified for a federal safety grant to help improve the intersection.

Over the summer, the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission also completed a complimentary safety audit and provided feedback to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and Cranberry Township. While Peters is a township road, Franklin is owned by the state.

PennDOT allocated $300,000 of funding left over in the state's safety program for the project. Cranberry provided the remaining portion of the estimated $620,000 project.

Andree said he has received positive feedback from residents on the improvements. While they were only temporary, Andree said, the addition of the stop signs in particular was a hit with drivers.

"The biggest surprise was that the stop signs worked so well," he said. "But we couldn't leave it that way. The state wouldn't permit it."