May 11, 2006 By Steve Ferris 4 min read

WHARTON TWP. – Township supervisors said they are opposed to a plan to re-align a section of Chalk Hill-Ohiopyle Road because it does not do enough to alleviate traffic safety concerns on Route 40. Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) officials displayed project plans and accepted public comment on the project Wednesday evening in the township building.

The plan involves moving the Chalk Hill-Ohiopyle Road and Route 40 intersection westward on Route 40 to a point between Deb’s Pizza and More and the Chalk Hill Superette.

The new 2,200-foot section of Chalk Hill-Ohiopyle Road would run between those two businesses, and continue behind the row of other businesses on Route 40 before connecting to the existing part of Chalk Hill-Ohiopyle Road.

The old intersection would be removed, said project designer Jonathon Balko of PennDOT.

A dirt mound would be placed where Chalk Hill-Ohiopyle Road currently meets Route 40, Balko said.

He said the state would remove the pavement from the 750-foot section of the existing road that would be circumvented, vacate its right-of-way and ownership would revert to property owners.

“We’re relocating the existing intersection about 1,250 feet to the west,” Balko said.

Route 40 east would be widened near the new intersection to include a left turning lane and a traffic light would be installed at the intersection, he said.

Balko said the state is in the early stages of obtaining right of ways for the new roadway and the project will not result in any homes or businesses being displaced.

Township supervisors Jim Means, board chairman, and Jack Lewis said most of the plan is good, but they want it to include a short access road from the new section of Chalk Hill-Ohiopyle Road to the rear of the post office and Parkvale Bank, which face Route 40.

The original plan included that road, but the latest version does not.

“We don’t like it. We like the old plan,” Means said.

Without that access road, eastbound traffic on Route 40 will have to cross the road to enter the bank and post office in the same dangerous way vehicles currently have to cross Route 40 to get on to Chalk Hill-Ohiopyle Road, Means said.

He said the idea behind the re-alignment was to stop eastbound vehicles on Route 40 from crossing the westbound lane to reach Chalk Hill-Ohiopyle Road.

The estimated 275 to 300 residents living in Deer Lake and the surrounding area pick up their mail at the post office, Means said.

“The rest of the plan is good,” Lewis said.

The access road was in the original plans presented to the township in August 2005, but it was eliminated in January, Lewis said.

He said the township has agreed to maintain and pay the electric bills for the traffic light.

The supervisors’ concern about the township’s liability in accidents on Route 40 led to the proposal of the re-alignment plan, Lewis said.

Scott Whyel of Gibbon Glade was one of the township residents who came to get a look at the plans.

“Overall, the plan looks like a great idea, but without that access road, they’re only doing half the job,” Whyel said.

Balko said the access road was eliminated because neither the state nor the township wanted to own it after it was completed.

“It’s a matter of ownership,” Balko said, noting that a public entity would have to own it.

The plan includes driveways into the Superette and other private property along the new section of road.

Means said winter maintenance was one of the reasons he does not want the township to own the access road.

He said the township uses ash – not salt – on its roads, but PennDOT uses salt, which would do a better job of keeping the road clear for the two businesses.

He also said PennDOT road crews are available more often than township workers.

“They’re 24/7,” Means said, about the state workers.

Balko said the project schedule calls for the state to advertise for construction bids d next spring so work can start that summer and be done by spring 2008.

He said the access road could be re-included in the project before the state advertises for bids.