Over the past few weeks, the Township has observed a number of postings on social media regarding the Route 8 corridor. The majority of these concerns dealt with safety, especially at the Route 8 – Wildwood Road intersection. The Township shares these concerns and has worked tirelessly with PennDOT (who owns and maintains Route 8 and Wildwood Road) on a viable short as well as long-term solution.
In a recent post by the Customer Care Center for PennDOT District 11 it was pointed out that a safety study by the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC) would be completed during the fall, which we believe may be helpful in identifying realistic long-term solutions. In the meantime, the Township will continue to seek traffic signal and safety improvements along the Route 8 corridor. It is correct what the Customer Care Center indicated in a recent email; the Township does indeed own, operate and maintain the traffic signals on Route 8, even though this roadway is owned and maintained by PennDOT – it is mandated by State law. However, what they didn’t say was that they (PennDOT) provides specifications as to how these traffic signals are to be operated in the form of a permit that can only be changed or altered by them.
We will continue to work with PennDOT District 11 in seeking improvements to the Route 8 corridor as we did regarding the recent improvements made to the Duncan Avenue and Hardies Roads intersections. We are also open to and are pursuing safety improvements such as the installation of painted highway turning lines to assist drivers exiting Wildwood and Wildwood Road Ext. onto Route 8. Lastly, the Township is working with PennDOT, and continues to work with PennDOT, on long-term safety improvements to Route 8 such as the redesign and reconstruction of the Wildwood Road, Wildwood Ext. – Route 8 intersection. It is anticipated that this intersection will be totally reconstructed in 2025-2026.