New, safer signals in the works for Route 8 and Airport Road
PENN TWP — The project to create a safer intersection at Route 8 and Airport Road continues to move forward.
Township supervisors at their Tuesday meeting said preliminary plans for the intersection update were sent to state Department of Transportation officials, then returned with comments.
The plans will be sent for a second PennDOT review in the next few weeks, said Sam Ward, board of supervisors chairman.
The upgraded traffic signals will have many new safety features, Ward said.
The new signals will include turn arrows which will guide motorists attempting to turn from northbound or southbound Route 8 safely onto Airport or East Airport roads.
Route 8 has a middle lane where motorists now wait at a green light to turn when it is safe.
The new signals will include a flashing white light if an emergency vehicle is approaching and needs to go through the intersection. Emergency vehicles will be able to preempt the signal pattern to get through the light safely.
Both turn arrows will flash yellow at the end of the steady yellow phase to warn motorists they still can turn after a complete stop but must yield to oncoming traffic or pedestrians. The signal then will turn red.
Three pedestrian crosswalks will be added at the intersection with push-button activation and crossing signals. Pedestrians will be able to cross East Airport and Airport roads as well as Route 8 at the corner of the intersection containing the crosswalk.
Lights mounted on two of the signals will provide illumination of the intersection, Ward said.
Adjustment of the signal light timing is controlled by radar, so the green phase will be extended automatically in the event of a large volume of traffic.
Penn Township Police officers also will have the capability of controlling signal lights from a cord extended from a controller, Ward said.
Trans Associates, the company hired by the township to design the intersection upgrade, is working with PennDOT and equipment suppliers to determine how an all-red phase would work if a vehicle is detected approaching the intersection at a high rate of speed.
That feature would maintain the red signal for motorists waiting on Airport or East Airport roads instead of allowing the signal to turn green as a speeding vehicle approaches. It also would turn the northbound and southbound Route 8 signals red in that instance.
The signal’s controller will have a battery backup system that automatically will provide a few hours of power until an emergency generator can be connected.
There will be no right turn on red from East Airport or Airport roads onto Route 8, but motorists will be permitted to turn right onto East Airport or Airport roads during a red light, Ward said.
Small easements for the signal poles and controller will be required on three of the four corners at the intersection.
Ward said all other signal poles are in existing rights of way.
In addition, none of the road surfaces at or near the intersection will be disturbed, as underground conduits will be bored under the roads.
Motorists on Route 8 will be warned of the upcoming light using flashing warning signals with illuminated “signal ahead” signs placed 1,500 feet ahead of the intersection both northbound and southbound.
Ward said the project is anticipated to begin in spring 2024.
The intersection has been the site of several accidents, including those in which motorists and passengers sustained severe or fatal injuries.
After applying for the grant four times since 2017, Penn Township has been approved for $446,706 from PennDOT’s Automated Red-Light Enforcement grant.
