Emphasis shifts for Peters Township traffic improvement project

A traffic signal for the Peters Township intersection of East McMurray and Thomas roads is on hold.
Township council voted Monday to authorize a change in scope for traffic engineering services related to improving vehicular flow along East McMurray.
“Even if you were to install a traffic signal at this intersection, it would not have the impact that you would hope,” township manager Paul Lauer told council.
Lauer said traffic tends to back up at East McMurray’s nearby intersection with Valley Brook Road. He said eastbound motorists are looking to make right turns, with the resulting line of vehicles often extending past Thomas Road.
In 2017, the township received a Green Light Go Grant through the state Department of Transportation, and plans proceeded for a new Thomas-East McMurray signal and updates to the existing East McMurray-Valley Brook signal, with technological improvements allowing for coordination between the lights.
Subsequently, traffic engineer Michael Mudry joined PennDOT officials in veering away from focusing on the new signal, and to look at improvements to the East McMurray-Valley Brook intersection instead.
“To do that is going to take some work, including repaving a portion of East McMurray Road,” Lauer said.
The Thomas Road signal still is part of long-term plans, he said, but financing for it could come from the traffic impact fees the township collects, rather than the PennDOT grant.
The change in the project’s scope requires additional work by Mudry’s firm, Traffic Planning and Design Inc., for services that include preparing an application for a state highway occupancy permit to lengthen the right-turn lane from East McMurray to Valley Brook. The permit also will address pavement marking restriping and milling and overlay from McClintock Drive to Valley Brook.
The fee for the additional services represents an extra $15,500. The township’s original agreement with Traffic Planning and Design for the project called for an overall fee of $47,700.