To motorists who routinely travel Route 228 between Routes 19 and 8, the major improvement projects planned for 2012 and 2013 will not come soon enough.

Development around Route 228 has far exceeded the highway’s ability to efficiently handle the traffic load, especially every Monday through Friday.

Unfortunately, even the work scheduled to begin next year and be completed the following won’t alleviate many of the roadway’s difficult issues.

Until all of Route 228 is rebuilt to handle its traffic load between Interstate 79 and Route 8, the road is destined to remain a bottleneck and an impediment to some development.

Considering all that’s at stake in terms of economic development, this Butler County roadway should be near the top of state Department of Transportation priorities in the years ahead, and efforts should be ongoing to resolve issues that have curtailed work on the highway in the past.

The state found a way to overcome issues — including funding — surrounding the Cranberry Connector after that project was stalled. It ought to be able to resolve what’s holding back Route 228 from being the kind of highway it deserves to be.

Regarding money, if the state were to impose a tax on Marcellus Shale drilling and designate some of that revenue for infrastructure improvements beyond water and sewer projects, Route 228 should be targeted for a portion of the money.

However, Gov. Tom Corbett, who is opposed to taxing the drilling, has up to now prevailed in blocking that revenue.

An important aspect of the improvements planned or under way for Route 228 or adjacent to it is the private money invested to coordinate with what is in the state’s plans and current funding ability. For example, Cranberry developer Don Rodgers is building a road parallel to Route 228 behind “restaurant row” near the new Westinghouse headquarters complex. That road will be part of Rodgers’ Village at Cranberry Woods development, which will add to Route 228 traffic.

Most unfortunate about what is planned or under way is that those who must use Route 228 regularly or daily will continue to deal with the current inadequacies for at least two years, with much of the needed improvements still having no timetable.

The efforts on the federal level to cut spending don’t offer hope in terms of freeing up money for what Cranberry Township and areas east to Route 8 need for Route 228.

For now, the county should be grateful for what is planned, but it should not stop looking forward to subsequent work. Route 228 is too important to be placed in a prolonged standstill that, due to ever-increasing construction costs, will each year become more difficult to fund.

Until Route 228 is rebuilt to needed specifications, its corridor through Cranberry and Adams townships will not achieve its full economic development potential.