Triple Dedication: Cranberry Celebrations New Water Main, Sidewalks, Sewer Pipeline

With the turning of a valve, Cranberry residents are now better connected—through water lines and sidewalks.

On Thursday, the township celebrated the end of three major projects linking its northern and southern areas.

A new 24-inch water main has been installed along Executive Drive and Thomson Park Drive to connect Cranberry’s southern water circuit and storage system with its northern counterpart.

The line will allow residents to take full advantage of the powerful new Commonwealth pump station completed earlier this year on Pennwood Drive in Thorn Hill Industrial Park, a statement from the township said. 

The new pipeline, which runs from Freedom Road to Rochester Road, will provide as much water as township planners anticipate residents will need once the community is fully built out, which could happen by 2030.  

It ensures the maintenance of desired water levels in Cranberry's west and north storage tanks, both of which are served by the Township's 16-inch northern water circuit.

In a ceremonial inauguration Thursday for the new water line, Cranberry’s Board of Supervisors joined together to turn the arms of an oversize wrench to open the valve in a vault below ground level.

That’s not the only change along Executive Drive.

Instead of covering the new pipeline back up with grass and shrubbery, the township added 2,600 feet of new sidewalk. The concrete walkway connects with the other sidewalk segments already in place along the road. 

“As a result, pedestrians are now able to walk the mile from Freedom Road to Rochester Road without stepping into traffic lanes,” a township statement said.

Cranberry staff members also went on a symbolic test walk Thursday of the new sidewalk. According to the township, the walkway is part of a "rapidly growing network of sidewalks and trails in different areas of Cranberry which have either recently been completed, are now being built, or whose construction is planned for the near future." 

Slightly west of the new water line and sidewalk, a second major pipeline project also is now just about complete.  

Within the last week, a new sewer main running along Brush Creek from the sewage treatment plant on Powell Road to Cranberry's southern border with Marshall Township, was placed into service. 

The five-mile pipeline, known as Interceptor One, carries wastewater from all parts of Cranberry into the Brush Creek plant.

"These projects will enable Cranberry to grow the way we have visualized in our comprehensive plan," Supervisor Chairman Bruce Mazzoni said. "They also will keep our sewer and water infrastructure in top operating condition for the foreseeable future. And the sidewalk we just completed reflects a need our residents have consistently cited for better pedestrian connections within the Township."

The three projects cost a total of about $10 million.