PennDOT narrows plans for Chalk Hill intersection
WHARTON TWP. – State Department of Transportation officials have narrowed the field to two choices for reconfiguring the intersection of Route 40 and Chalk Hill-Ohiopyle Road At a special hearing Tuesday night, they presented a final round of designs for residents to consider regarding the intersection’s relocation. They displayed five options, but will pursue only two of them.
“When I first started working on this project, I thought it would be simple. Now, here we are two years later with five different plans,” said Pat Richter, project manager with PennDOT.
The first three plans, A though C, were unveiled last June to 43 residents. Plans D and E had been left with the township supervisors for cursory examination.
Tuesday night, everyone focused on two plans, A and E. Plan A involves constructing a new section of roadway from the final bend in the Chalk Hill-Ohiopyle Road to meet Route 40 across from the Chalk Hill Plaza. Plan E starts at the same curve but comes out farther west, between Zep’s Restaurant and the Chalk Hill Superette.
Richter explained that the popular plan D, in which Chalk Hill-Ohiopyle Road would meet Half King Colony Road, was set aside because of potential wetland issues. He noted that when comparing the popularity of the alternatives, not only did plans A and E have the most support, but they were very close in terms of estimated cost. Plan A would cost an estimated $1.3 million and plan E would cost an estimated $1.4 million.
Dave Condrack of GAI Consultants, the firm hired by PennDOT to conduct the traffic studies and tabulate the results of questionnaires submitted last summer, noted that the amounts of traffic during peak hours, weekends and special event days indicated that a simple stop sign intersection no longer will work.
While a number of residents were unhappy about the location of the intersection in plan E, the biggest sticking point was the subject of whether a traffic light should be installed. PennDOT is leaving that decision up to the public.
Resident John Delvecchio argued that a turning lane would alleviate problems without the need for a light. Tom O’Hern with PennDOT explained that by presenting a turning lane for traffic heading east, it would make it harder for motorists hoping to turn east by adding another lane of traffic to watch.
“While the driver is busy watching traffic from the west, looking for his spot, he pulls out and presents the driver’s side to oncoming traffic, and that is the car you don’t see,” he said. A number of residents said that condition already exists, with most motorists passing turning vehicles on the berm of Route 40.
In response to suggestions that a similar turning lane worked for Nelson Road, O’Hern explained that the situation at Nelson Road is much different. Nelson Road has an average of only 500 cars per day, while Chalk Hill-Ohiopyle Road has 1,300 daily, he said.
O’Hern asked residents to consider safety and security when deciding for or against the traffic light. In lieu of existing traffic patterns and expected growth, he noted that by leaving the intersection with only a stop sign will only cause more problems in the long term.