Tim Zinkham, Cranberry Township engineering services manager, shows Butler County commissioners and other officials a map of the the Route 228 roadway while meeting to observe the progress of the Balls Bend Realignment Project on Wednesday in Middlesex Township. Joseph Ressler/Butler Eagle

Butler County commissioners, PennDOT officials and representatives from Cranberry Township met Wednesday afternoon to discuss progress on the Balls Bend Realignment Project, part of the Gateway 228 project in Middlesex Township.

On May 10, steel girders were delivered to the site, which will be part of the new 180-foot-long bridge at Balls Bend.

“This piece here, the setting of the girders is a big deal,” said Mark Gordon, Butler County chief of economic development and planning. “This is the alignment piece that takes out the bend.”

Over the years, safety became a big concern in the area as Balls Bend has seen a large number of accidents.

“For 40 years the communities have tried to eliminate something that has resulted in fatalities,” Gordon said. “There is lots of traffic, lots of economic activity, roughly $28 billion worth of economic impact.”

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