Officials: Bypass still goal
Lederach intersection meeting planned in Lower Salford
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is continuing work to design a planned traffic signal at the five points Lederach intersection and is asking for a township resolution to make parts of Old Skippack Pike and Morris Road one way, traffic engineer Stephanie Butler said at the Feb. 6 Lower Salford Township Board of Supervisors morning work session meeting.
The traffic light is being installed at the intersection of Route 113, Cross Road, Salfordville Road, Morris Road and Old Skippack Pike because Route 113 through the intersection is part of the truck
detour route for scheduled bridge replacement work on Route 63 in Upper Salford, PennDOT officials said at a November 2017 meeting in Lower Salford to discuss the Lederach corner plans. The detour is expected to last about six months in 2019, but the traffic signal could be installed before that and could be made permanent, PennDOT and township officials said.
After considering various options for the intersection, the recommended one is to make parts of Old Skippack Pike and Morris Road one way leading away from the intersection when the traffic signal is installed, PennDOT said at the November meeting.
“They would install all the physical features to make it one way as well as all the appropriate signing,” Butler said at the Feb. 6 meeting.
Before making a decision, board members said, they want to have another public meeting at which residents could ask any questions they have about not just the one way plans, but also about other parts of the project.
That meeting could take place in mid-March, board members said.
If the traffic signal plan is completed, “Does that mean we’re going to forget about the Lederach bypass?” board member Doug Johnson asked.
A Route 113 bypass around the intersection has been discussed for several years.
The township should continue its efforts to get that on PennDOT’s list of planned projects, Butler said.
“On its best day, this is a bandage,” Township Manager Joe Czajkowski said of the traffic signal plans.
“Yeah, this doesn’t solve all the problems,” Gifford said.
“It might solve some traffic issues and accident issues, but probably not all of them,” Czajkowski said, “and I don’t think it’s going to really save a heck of a lot of time going through that intersection.”
“I don’t think it’s going to save any time,” Gifford s aid.
Installing the traffic signal won’t reduce the amount of traffic going through the intersection, Johnson said.
The traffic signal will reduce vehicle speeds and improve safety at the intersection, officials said at the November meeting. The 14 vehicle crashes at the intersection in the past four years could have been cut in half if there had been a traffic signal, information at the meeting said.