Long-delayed Route 980 realignment set to begin
The intersection of Routes 980 and 50
Signs at the intersection of Routes 980 and 50
CECIL – One of Washington County’s most notorious intersections is finally getting its long-awaited facelift.
Crews will begin reconstructing Route 980 at Route 50 next month after more than two decades of discussions and planning by the state Department of Transportation to make the Cecil Township intersection safer for both motorists and bicyclists.
“It’s a great thing,” Cecil Township Manager Don Gennuso said. “They’ve been talking about it for many years.”
The $2.3 million project will realign both approaches from Route 980 toward Route 50 to remove the offset intersection, and also build a new crossover bridge for bicyclists and pedestrians who use the Montour Trail. Construction will begin in mid-February and should be completed by late September.
PennDOT officials have been discussing fixing the intersection in the Cecil Township village of Venice since the mid-1990s, but could not secure sufficient funding for the project. Crews demolished 90-foot railroad trestle – loathed by truckers for its low overhang across Route 50 – in 2001, but the rest of the project languished until now.
In addition to making the area safer for drivers, the construction project will be a boon for bicyclists and joggers, according to Dennis Sims, president of the Cecil Friends of the Montour Trail.
He noted some riders and pedestrians would turn around at the intersection rather than venture onto the heavily traveled Route 50 to continue along the trail, although some motorists adjusted to people crossing there, Sims said.
“They were afraid of that intersection,” Sims said of the cyclists and pedestrians. “We were lucky, though, because nothing (terrible) happened there.”
The groups that support the Montour Trail always intended to build a bridge across that intersection, Sims said, and in September 2009, installed stairs on the northern side of Route 50 to give bicyclists a faster path to connect. Sims said they’re grateful for PennDOT’s decision to rebuild the intersection and include the new trail bridge in the plans.
“We’re just going along for the ride,” Sims said. “Pun intended.”
About 6,000 motorists drive through that area on Route 50 each day, and another 3,600 vehicles use that section of Route 980 daily, according to PennDOT statistics.
People who use Montour Trail can expect to see detours around the area as crews dig out a portion of the pathway in order to build the bridge and reconfigure the southern approach of Route 980.
Motorists will be able to use both routes until construction of the trail bridge is completed over the summer. After that time, work will begin to change the 700-foot southern approach of Route 980, causing brief detours for motorists.