The intersection of Branchton Road and Route 8 in Slippery Rock Township has seen multiple accidents. Molly Miller/Butler Eagle

SLIPPERY ROCK TWP — Road officials are looking at an intersection that has been the scene of several deadly accidents over the past decade.

According to Supervisor Chairman Paul Dickey, the board voted to ask the state Department of Transportation for a study on reducing speed limits on a stretch of Route 8 that intersects with Branchton Road.

He said at the meeting that PennDOT will conduct a traffic study at the intersection, which is expected to be completed by mid-November.

In the meantime, the department will install thermoplastic rumble strips on Branchton Road as “an extra measure to physically grab motorists’ attention to the upcoming stop condition.” The strips were scheduled to be installed beginning Oct. 20, weather-permitting.

“They think that this will address the traffic issues there,” Dickey said. “They didn’t feel a stop light would be warranted even if we did a study. There is criteria ... they have to go through a study of how much traffic there is and how much traffic comes down the side roads.”

Additionally, the department will install pavement markings on Route 8 near the intersection, and will relocate a guardrail, scheduled to start Oct. 20. PennDOT will also replace a LED stop sign on Branchton Road, which the supervisors said has been working intermittently.

In September, the Branchton Road and Route 8 intersection was the site of a fatal crash between a motorcycle and a passenger vehicle.

In April, the intersection saw three vehicle crashes — one of them fatal — and a number of other crashes have occurred at the intersection during at least the past two decades. In 2003, five members of a North Carolina family died when their Dodge Neon and a tractor-trailer collided.

Dickey said township and PennDOT officials have discussed the intersection for years, and the state department has been resistant to installing a traffic light.

“Traffic lights aren’t designed to slow traffic; they are just to manage flow,” Dickey said. “They think that this will address the safety issues there.”