$193,000 Bill for PRHS Traffic Lights Takes Pine Supervisors By Surprise

A $193,000 bill for the addition of traffic lights near came as a bit of a surprise to Pine Township's Board of Supervisors.

Vice Chairman Philip Henry, the liaison with Pine-Richland School District, told the supervisors Monday night that he had met with school district representatives and they thought the township had set aside money for the project.

Through a series of miscommunications, the school district thought that should be an obligation of the township," Chairman Michael Dennehy added.

Pine-Richland School District will pay the bulk of the $1.1 million cost of the project. In January, the school board granted the contract to low bidder Lane Construction.

The traffic signals will be added at the PRHS entrance and at the nearby Warrendale Road-Babcock Boulevard intersection in Pine Township. Work is expected to be completed before school starts in August.

Another Project Moved Ahead

 The PRHS traffic lights plan is on the township's list of road projects, but it was superceded by PennDOT's $3.5 million plan to , said Dennehy.

The Pine Board of Supervisors approved a contribution agreement with PennDOT earlier this year that commits the township to paying an estimated $850,000 on that project.

The funds will come from a pool of traffic impact fees that developers pay as new projects are built in the township.

The fund currently has about $1.2 million in it with $850,000 committed to the Route 910-Pearce Mill project, said Dennehy.

That means the township does not have the funds to pay the school district, he continued.

The school district is sympathetic, Dennehy said, and is willing to work out a payment schedule.

But Supervisor Edward Holdcroft said the township board never discussed funding the school district project.

"We never committed the money," he said.

Just because the township has the project on its roads list does not mean the supervisors have an obligation to the project, Supervisor Frank Spagnolo said.

The important thing is that the project is on the list, Solicitor Gary Gushard said. 

"We wouldn't be having this discussion if the Pearce Mill and Route 910 (project) hadn't accelerated," Gushard said.

Holdcroft, Spagnolo and Supervisor Ted Owen questioned the need for the signal at the high school entrance.

"I think that's an absolute waste of money," said Spagnolo.

Assistant Township Manager Scott Anderson said PennDOT requires the signal, and added that he thinks there is a need for it.

The new traffic pattern in and out of the school was not allowed to work properly during the past school year because of construction to expand and renovate the high school, he said. 

When asked for his opinion, Chief T. Robert Amann said police will get a better feel for how well traffic flows when school reopens in the fall and construction is completed.

Route 910-Pearce Mill Road Project

Construction on the Route 910-Pearce Mill project is to begin in 2013; two bridges and culvert pipes on Route 910 will be replaced as part of the project at a cost of $3,420,000, PennDOT representatives told the supervisors.

The supervisors voted unanimously Monday night not to charge PennDOT a $500 right-of-way fee; the PennDOT reps had requested the waiver. 

Route 910 is a major east-west artery through the township that many motorists use to access the Interstate 79 Wexford interchange.

Pearce Mill Road is a major north-south road on which ,  and  are located to the north of the Route 910 intersection. To the south, the road travels into .

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