A planned construction project on the Three Mile Hill portion of Route 31 in Bullskin Township has some Bear Rocks Community residents concerned.
Mark Fiano, president of the Bear Rocks Community Club, said the residents are having a problem with safety issues at the bottom entrance of Bear Rocks, which they feel aren't properly addressed in the most recent plans.
Those plans currently show that if a vehicle pulls out of the bottom entrance to turn left on Route 31 toward Mt. Pleasant, it will have to cross both lanes going up the hill and an added de-acceleration lane coming down the hill, Fiano said.
"There's no safety zone between the uphill lanes and the downhill lanes," Fiano said, adding that there is a sort of buffer zone created with the addition of a left-hand turn lane coming down the hill into the lower Bear Rocks entrance, but it's just about 12 feet long.
"Either the front end of your car will stick out in the fast lane going down the hill, or the back end of your car will be sticking out in the fast lane going up the hill."
Some of the residents are also upset that a public meeting wasn't held after the final plans were drawn, Fiano said.
"This is a $5 (million) to $10 million project and the whole reason for it was to address safety issues, but this seems to create another one," Fiano said.
Bill Oshnack, PennDOT project manager, said there is no island built between the two directional lanes for a reason.
"We don't build islands in these cases because it creates more of a safety hazard," Oshnack said. "Those coming out of the Bear Rocks entrance should wait until all lanes of traffic are clear before they attempt to make that left-hand turn.
"There is plenty of sight distance in both directions for them to do that," Oshnack said. "The safest thing is to have some patience and wait for all four lanes to clear."
Initially, plans called for closing Route 31 to downhill traffic from the bottom entrance, but at a public hearing a couple of years ago, there was an overwhelming response from Bears Rocks residents to keep it open.
"We did what the people wanted, but we still have the option of closing that entrance if they feel safety is an issue," Oshnack said.
State Rep. Jess Stairs has contacted PennDOT about the issue.
"I will be following up to see what's exactly called for in the plans to make sure everyone has a safe entrance onto Route 31," Stairs said.
The project is scheduled to be up for bid in October. Work will probably begin in the spring of 2006.
There will be two lanes in both directions with a barrier in the middle, but there will be access at both entrances to Bear Rocks as well as a left-turn lane going up the hill that will allow for traffic to enter Brown's Timber, Oshnack said.
The top entrance of Bear Rocks will be relocated very close to the current spot, but the lower entrance will stay at its current location.
At the top of the hill coming from Donegal and heading toward Mt. Pleasant on Route 31 west, there will be a left-turn lane added at County Line Road.
PennDOT must widen the road to accommodate the additional lanes, Oshnack said. Going up the hill on Route 31 east from Laurelville, PennDOT plans to widen the road on the right side until it reaches the truck escape ramp. After that, the left side of the road will be widened.
