BUTLER TWP — The intersection of Hansen Avenue, Whitestown Road and Armco Drive will be the target of an overhaul in a project by township officials.

Township manager Tom Knights said at a Monday, Feb. 20, 2023, meeting of the township board of commissioners that the project will take at least 18 months and traffic at the intersection will be impacted during construction because the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation likely won’t not allow for a detour during the work.

However, the new plan includes a realignment of Armco Drive and some left-turning lanes to make exiting that road easier. The intersection is planned to resemble a cross.

“There will be a dedicated left-turn lane,” Knights said of Armco Drive.

Commissioner Joe Wiest also said easing traffic at the intersection will benefit drivers, particularly truck drivers, who get stuck waiting to turn left onto Hansen Avenue from Armco Drive.

“We are creating a good cause even though (the project) is not in our township,” Wiest said. “Cleveland-Cliffs is definitely in our township; we’re creating a better situation for them.”

Knights said the township still needs highway occupancy permits to be approved by PennDOT before it can bid out work for the project. Gateway Engineers engineered the plan.

Construction on the road project likely will take place at the same time as the construction of a recreation complex at Pullman Business Park nearby — a project that received phase one approval from the township commissioners Monday.

Phase one involves the installation of an artificial turf field near the Butler Transit Authority office that will come with soccer, lacrosse and football markings. There also will be a parking lot with 68 spaces, which Knights said is slated to contain four chargers for electric vehicles.

The plan also includes lighting for the area housed in phase one of the plan.

While 8 of the 12 acres involved in the project are in Butler, with only the remaining 4 within Butler Township borders, Knights said the entire project belongs to the township. Construction will not begin until all phases for the project are approved.

“Butler Township owns 100% of the property,” he said. “Phase one geographically is located in the city of Butler, not the entirety of the project.”

Commissioners also approved phase three of the Duffy Highlands subdivision plan, which consists of 111 home sites and was originally presented in 2018 as a four-phase project. Most of the plan is within Center Township, but phase three has 34 of 40 units located in Butler Township.

The plan includes a clubhouse, pool, walking trail and community sidewalks, according to Bob Brennan, owner of developer Brennan Homes. Phases one, two and four of the project are entirely within Center Township’s borders, he said.

On Feb. 7, the Butler Township Planning Commission voted to recommend approval of phase three of the plan to the Butler Township commissioners with a few contingencies, including approval by the Center Township supervisors. The Center Township supervisors approved the phase on Feb. 8.