New Route 19, Ehrman Road Traffic Signal Readying to Go Live

The signal is located in front of the Sheetz now under construction at the intersection.

After close to a year in the making, the new traffic signal at the intersection of Route 19 and Ehrman Road is set to go live later this week. Jason Kratsas, Cranberry’s director of engineering, said PennDOT is expected to put the signal into flash mode on Thursday, May 16. Kratsas said the signal would flash in yellow for motorists on Route 19. For those traveling along Ehrman Road, the signal will flash red.   “It’s just a warning cycle to show people that a new signal is coming in,” he said. The signal should be fully operational by Wednesday, May 22. The addition of the signal caps off months of planning and construction for the traffic poles, including several delays. The traffic signal in Cranberry is one of the first to be tested …

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Reminder: I-79 Ramps Project in Cranberry Causing Traffic Restrictions

PennDOT is adding new on and off ramps between the highway and Route 228.

Traffic alert! The construction taking place to link new on and off ramps between I-79 and Route 228 in Cranberry will continue to affect motorists this week. Monday, May 6 through Thursday, May 9, nighttime single lane restrictions will be in place on Freedom Road to relocate underground utility lines. Work will take place between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. each day.  In the hopes of alleviating traffic in the area, PennDOT is adding new northbound and southbound on-ramps leading from Route 228 to Interstate 79. The $14.78 project eliminates two turning movements from Route 228 to I-79, improving access for motorists. Included in the construction are a new northbound on-ramp, a new southbound loop ramp and the reconstruction of the southbound off-…

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Traffic Squeeze: Cranberry Route 228, I-79 Ramps Project to Affect Motorists

There will be lane closures in place throughout the weekend and next week.

You’ve seen the bulldozers moving dirt around the area for months, now the construction taking place to link new on and off ramps between I-79 and Route 228 is expected to affect motorists. The PennDOT work begins at 9 p.m. Friday, May 3 and will continue throughout Saturday, May 4.  To accommodate the construction, which involves removing the roadway’s concrete medians, the passing lanes on Route 228 will be closed in both directions.  The lanes on Route 19 and Freedom Road, which feed those closed lanes, will be closed while work is underway.  More night work also is on deck for next week. Monday, May 6 through Thursday, May 9, nighttime single lane restrictions will be in place on Freedom Road to relocate underground utility lines. Work…

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Public Safety Responders Get a Lesson in What’s Right—And What’s Wrong

As a way to enhance safety practices, Cranberry participates in a Traffic Incident Management training exercise with fire and law enforcement agencies from around the region.

The Cranberry Volunteer Fire Company just wasn’t prepared. The batteries in the radios were dead, so fire police couldn’t communicate with each other, an emergency response vehicle was parked too close to a fire engine, creating a safety hazard, and some of the firefighters weren’t dressed in full gear.   Fortunately, this wasn’t real life. “This is how not to do it,” said Chuck Yorks, the incident management/emergency management specialist at Gannett Fleming. “They were told to set it up incorrectly, and they did.” The fire company was participating in an I-79/I-76 Traffic Incident Management scene set up training exercise to enhance first responder safety.  Part of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, TIMs brings together first …

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Ehrman Road Update: Traffic Signal Equipment Could Be Weeks Away

Currently being shipped from a facility in Nebraska, the signal poles are scheduled for more testing under PennDOT’s new regulations.

After a long slow march that included several delays, plans to construct a traffic signal at the intersection of Route 19 and Ehrman Road in Cranberry are nearing the finish line. “We’re getting there now,” said Jason Kratsas, Cranberry’s director of engineering. Kratsas said the traffic signal equipment currently is being shipped from a facility in Nebraska where the design was tested under regulations recently adopted by the state regarding the construction and fabrication of signal poles, mast arms and their foundations. Kratsas said pipe-bending facility in Nebraska is one of the few places in the country approved by PennDOT to bend and to test the signal’s mast arm. The equipment was shipped there in January, he said. “There was a …

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New State Policy Delaying Traffic Signal Construction at Ehrman Road in Cranberry

Township engineer Jason Kratsas also updates the timeline for construction of the Sheetz gas station and convenience store to be located at the intersection.

A new PennDOT regulation is delaying a traffic signal from being erected as planned at the intersection of Route 19 and Ehrman Road in Cranberry. “It has really kind of been tough because it’s out of our hands,” said Jason Kratsas, Cranberry’s director of engineering. “We’ve really been trying to push things along.” Kratsas said the state adopted the new policy regarding the construction and fabrication of signal poles, mast arms, and their foundations in mid-2012.  The traffic signal in Cranberry is one of the first to be tested under the new guidelines, Kratsas said. The delays are being caused because the state and Union Metals, the signal manufacturer Cranberry is using for the project, are figuring out the inspection process for the …

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Reminder: Construction on Route 228 Ramps Project Begins Monday

Traffic alert! How and when the road work will after you.

Traffic Alert: PennDOT Begins Long-Term Restrictions on I-79

Crews are replacing the highway's bridges over Route 422.

Motorists on Interstate 79 in Butler County may want to allow more time for their commute in the coming weeks. Starting Thursday, March 7, traffic on the highway at the Route 422 (Exit 99) Interchange in Muddy Creek Township will be reduced to a single lane in each direction, weather permitting, a statement from PennDOT said. The left lane in both directions will be closed at about 7 a.m. Thursday and will continue around-the-clock through late March. Crews will continue work to construct temporary crossovers through the median on I-79. One lane will remain open at all times in each direction. The crossovers are necessary to allow crews to replace the I-79 bridges, one at a time, over Route 422, according to PennDOT. The northbound bridge …

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Reminder: Round-the-Clock Road Restrictions Start Today on Warrendale Bayne Road

The project is expected to wrap up by summer.

Traffic Alert: Work Set to Begin on Route 228 Bridge Replacement Project in Adams Township

The work will take place overnight.

Nighttime lane restrictions will be in place next week to facilitate work on the Route 228 Mars bridge replacement project in Adams Township, according to PennDOT. The lane restrictions will be in place beginning Monday, March 4, from 7 p.m. until 6 a.m. the next day. These nighttime restrictions will occur Monday through Thursday of next week to perform cross-pipe replacements on Route 228, weather permitting. Traffic will return to normal patterns during daytime hours each day. The $12.6 million bridge replacement and intersection improvement is being constructed by the Joseph B. Fay Company of Russellton. The project is expected to be complete by September 2014.  PennDOT reminds motorists are to slow down and to minimize distractions …

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