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Safety becomes newest focus of highway study

It turns out for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, bypasses aren't as critical as safety. We're glad that is the consensus.

PennDOT officials involved in the Route 41 highway project say they are changing their focus to identify and make suggestions for improvements to the 10-mile corridor based on safety concerns.

PennDOT made the announcement at its recent meeting of the executive committee.

The committee — composed of 25 different stakeholders, including representatives of 12 municipalities — was formed in April 2005 to assist in the re-evaluation of transportation improvements in the 10-mile stretch between Route 926 and the Delaware state line.

The committee met monthly until October, when PennDOT released three options — two of the options focused on safety improvements and the third option included bypasses around Avondale and Chatham.

Rina Cutler, deputy secretary of administration for PennDOT, noted the agency along with its consultants worked with Avondale last winter to try to determine a location for a bypass to no avail.

"We looked at five different locations and at the end of the day couldn't find one," said Cutler.

"Every option would require taking between 20 and 30 houses. It's very difficult to put a two-lane parkway through a community keeping in mind that you have to avoid historical resources and flood plains."

Given that there was "no real consensus on Avondale or Chatham bypasses," the highway department decided to focus on safety issues. "Obviously improving safety issues, there was consensus," said Cutler.

We agree with this decision.

While the bypass issue needs to be addressed, that could take some time.

Safety issues that can be resolved now should be resolved.