EIGHTY FOUR - More than a week after five people died when a tractor-trailer plowed into a van at Brownlee Road and Route 136, people living near the scene say they notice several safety improvements at the intersection.
Now they hope the state Department of Transportation will do more to the intersection in Somerset Township.
Transportation Secretary Allen D. Biehler toured the intersection Friday morning and promised PennDOT would conduct engineering studies that could lead to more safety measures. State Sen. J. Barry Stout, D-Bentleyville, and state Rep. Tim Solobay, D-Canonsburg, invited Biehler to see for himself the problems that nearby residents have been complaining about for years.
Five people died and seven were injured on April 24 when a large transport van traveling on Brownlee Road crossed into the path of a tractor-trailer heading east on Route 136. Witnesses said the driver of the van stopped twice at the intersection before proceeding and state police indicated the accident was due to driver error.
Biehler said PennDOT engineers were at the intersection the following day to study what initial improvements could be made. He pointed to larger stop signs on Brownlee Road and the numerous updated warning signs placed along Route 136. PennDOT will perform an engineering study later this month to decide if the intersection can be reconfigured to enhance visibility.
"The bottom line is this is a tragedy, no doubt about it," Biehler said.
The most drastic change could be the removal of trees along Route 136 that may have blocked the van driver's view of the truck. PennDOT District 12 Executive Joe Szczur said his agency wanted to trim the trees' branches, but the homeowner suggested they remove the trees.
Workers also will paint stop lines on Brownlee Road and install rumble strips on both routes as PennDOT considers long-term solutions.
Polly Augenstein, who lives near the scene, spoke briefly with Biehler about also installing flashing yellow and red warning lights above the intersection. She suggested the yellow lights may slow traffic on Route 136.
"We'll be back," Biehler told her.
The van, carrying staff and residents of a group home for the mentally ill in Bentleyville, was knocked into a building that Augenstein's family owns at the intersection.
"I am extremely impressed by (their appearance) because it shows they mean business," Augenstein said. "We've been trying for years to get something done, and we kept (thinking) it would take a fatality for them to fix it. And unfortunately, we had five."
Biehler dismissed the notion that this intersection is any more dangerous than others in the region. He noted the hairpin turn at Brownlee Road and Route 519 in North Strabane that also could be perceived as hazardous.
"It's an old, two-lane road not dissimilar to many roads in the commonwealth," he said.
Stout said he will broach the topic at a May 14 state Transportation Commission meeting in Philadelphia.
"I'm satisfied they got on it right away," Stout said. "I invited the secretary to be here ... because we wanted him to see the seriousness of the intersection. The problem is getting money and necessary funds to fix the roads."
Biehler, Stout, Solobay and PennDOT officials toured the site for about 20 minutes before traveling to the Trolley Museum in Arden. They helped to dedicate several refurbished streetcars and a new trolley rail entrance to the museum.