SEVEN FIELDS — The three traffic signals along Route 228 in the borough will be getting upgraded next year, though officials don’t anticipate long red light wait times to change.

Thanks to a $101,881 federal grant administered by the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, the borough will be getting preemption devices that make the lights automatically turn green when an emergency vehicle is responding to a call, borough manager Tom Smith said.

The preemptive devices will allow faster response times for the emergency vehicles that serve the borough from Evans City Seven Fields Regional Police Department, Adams Area Fire District and Cranberry Township EMS.

The lights will also get countdown signals for pedestrians at the intersections with Castle Creek West and Castle Creek East. The borough provided a $25,000 match for the grant.

Seven Fields, along with Adams Township, has partnered with Cranberry Township for the past several years in efforts to synchronize the traffic lights and improve the flow of cars on Route 228 from Cranberry east to the intersection with Heritage Creek Drive in Adams Township.

All three municipalities have received grant awards in recent years that have gone toward upgrading equipment, improving the timing of signals and doing studies for future improvements such as a light at the intersection of Myoma Road and Route 228.

Adams Township and Seven Fields this week both renewed their maintenance agreements with Cranberry Township for 2017.

Seven Fields officials commented Monday night that they would like to see changes made to the signals so that cars on side roads don’t have to wait as long to get onto Route 228.

Council Vice President Jack Oakley said has has timed the lights and cars have to wait about 2 minutes and 35 seconds to turn from Castle Creek Drive onto Route 228.

“We need to cycle a little quicker than that,” council member Mike Trotta said.

Smith said the borough can work with Cranberry Township and request changes be made, but a significant change would likely not be permitted by the state Department of Transportation until money is allocated to widen the road.

“Their main objective is to keep traffic moving from east to west on Route 228,” Smith said of PennDOT.

Smith said council members or residents could write letters to their state representative and state senator asking for help getting state funding for the road, which would be the long-term solution to congestion.