Buffalo Township evaluate Route 356 corridor for development
Growth is expected for the Route 356 corridor near Exit 17 of the Route 28 expressway, so Buffalo Township officials are trying to plan for a likely increase in traffic.
Several developers have their eyes on land along Route 356, envisioning hotels, restaurants and medical offices.
So township officials are trying to determine whether they need to add traffic signals, turning lanes or even widen Route 356 to four lanes for a stretch.
The area they are most concerned about is about a two-mile section that runs from Route 28 to beyond Freeport Area Senior High School.
About 20 people — including PennDOT representatives, township supervisors, school district leaders and construction, real estate and contracting companies — met Thursday to talk about traffic plans.
The possibility for jobs underscores each commercial property idea, township supervisors chairman Dan Przybylek said.
"Bringing all the people with money on the table together," Przybylek said about the meeting. "(An) opportunity for your developers to communicate amongst yourselves."
Many contractors spoke about their need for access from Route 356 into their properties.
Dave Tomaswick, of PennDOT's permits division, said the corridor is a "limited-access area" because of the expressway.
Limited access is a term designated mostly for interstates and interstate on-ramps as a way to limit intersections to keep traffic moving. Because Route 356 is the interstate off-ramp, limited access also applies to part of the corridor.
To break limited access, a process including a traffic study must be undertaken.
Each developer's scenario must be run past PennDOT because PennDOT cannot look at the whole project as a corridor, Tomaswick said.
Tomaswick said PennDOT will likely support the township's feelings about the road, adding that forcing drivers to make a right turn into a business and a right turn out back onto the road is the safest option. "Right-in, right-out" would help eliminate head-on crashes, according to PennDOT.
Many construction ideas were presented, including Moraitis Properties' plans to build a 119-room Hampton Inn and Suites, a Quaker Steak and Lube restaurant with a banquet room, a Huddle House restaurant, a Taco Bell, start-up companies, and a large urgent-care medical center, Nick Moraitis said.
Ideas from others include another hotel and an incubator program with Carnegie Mellon University.
Bob Gage of Dollar General said the company would like to build a discount store in the area but access from Route 356 poses a problem. The proposed site is less than a mile from the high school.
Two years ago, the township was offered a federal $3.4 million grant for the project, but officials weren't ready to start moving.
Now that grant is dead, Przybylek said, meaning the township may consider tax-increment financing.
U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire said the corridor is an untapped area for growth and that he'll try to help.
"That is, in my opinion, one of the biggest potential growth opportunities in our area," the McCandless Democrat said.
