PennDOT reviews plans to improve Route 21
MASONTOWN – Work to make Route 21 a four-lane road on a section running through German Township could begin in about five years, according to a highway official. The state Department of Transportation held a public hearing Thursday to discuss preliminary plans to upgrade the road to four lanes between S and T Drive near Revere and the Route 166 intersection near Edenborn.
According to Ed Jones, project manager for the design consultant hired by PennDOT to do preliminary engineering on the project, plans remain in the early stages, and construction will not begin before late 2006 or early 2007.
The project, which began as a result of a 25-year needs study conducted by PennDOT and other engineers, also calls for a median barrier to run the length of the 5.2-mile stretch. Jones said the preliminary plans for the section, the longest of three outlined in the original study, will be completed sometime in 2004, the final design in 2005 and construction beginning about two years afterward. Jones estimated a total construction time of one to two years.According to Jim French, project manager for PennDOT, the jug handles may present motorists with an inconvenience but one he thinks is needed for greater safety.Jones agrees with French’s assessment of the barrier.According to the study, between 1994 and 1998, 438 crashes occurred along Route 21, injuring 524 people and killing 20. Thirty-eight percent of all the accidents took place at intersections or driveways, while 30 percent were rear-end collisions. The study also showed that vehicles coming in or out of intersections or driveways caused 35 percent of the accidents, and in 42 percent of crashes, speeding played a part.
In addition, the study revealed a heavy volume of traffic along the route, between 10,000 and 16,000 vehicles a day. PennDOT officials said the upgrade to a four-lane highway will reduce the risk posed by motorists trying to take chances and will allow the roadway to handle the heavy traffic.
Risks aside, some area business owners said the new plans will affect their business by not allowing customers easy access to parking lots.Macar said the median will prevent customers from getting into the businesses and force them to travel an extra 2 miles to get to them, something that has caused her family to turn against the project.According to French, the only break in the median, other than at the designated turnarounds, will be the existing traffic signal at the McClellandtown Road intersection.French said all three sections of the Route 21 project are in the preliminary stages. The other two sections include a 3-mile stretch from the Masontown exit (not including the interchange) to the Route 88 intersection in Paisley, Greene County, and from S and T Drive through the Cherry Tree area to Route 40.
The Masontown/Route 88 section, which includes the rebuilding of the Masontown Bridge, will probably be the first section of the project to reach the construction stage, sometime in 2005, said Glenn Stickel, a consultant with SAI Consultant Engineers.
According to French, the entire Fayette County section is included in PennDOT’s 12-year plan, and the remaining Greene County section could be next, but not for at least 15 to 20 years.