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PennDOT, Cecil Twp. working to improve Route 980

3 min read

Less than a month after a new “tar and chip” surface was placed on Route 980 in Cecil Township, state and local officials are discussing how to make the notoriously dangerous road safer.

Officials with the state Department of Transportation and Cecil Township police met late last week to see what could be done to slow down cars and make the winding road safer to traffic near its intersection with Route 50.

That stretch of Route 980 has been the site of at least seven crashes – including a fatal accident last October – in the two years since it was last resurfaced in spring 2011. The road was resurfaced again earlier this month after township officials and residents complained the previous “tar and chip” work produced slippery and dangerous conditions.

Township manager Don Gennuso said he was told by PennDOT officials there were “performance issues” with the asphalt product used two years ago, and that prompted the new surface.

“They had to re-treat the roadway that was previously covered with the (other) product,” Gennuso said.

PennDOT spokeswoman Valerie Petersen admitted there was “some concern” about the skid-resistant material used last time, but the main reason for the new layer was because of the amount of heavy truck traffic that uses the road. She could not say if it was typical to resurface the same road twice in three years.

“Every roadway is different,” Petersen said. “That roadway has a lot of heavy traffic. Other roads have less wear and tear, and don’t have as many larger trucks.”

A PennDOT crew went through the area Tuesday to check the road conditions and found it to be safe, Petersen said. However, there still are complaints from township residents that the road design is dangerous, particularly near Swihart Road just south of Route 50.

That prompted police Chief Shawn Bukovinsky to meet with PennDOT to discuss other options. Some ideas included rumble strips, improved lighting or increased enforcement.

“There were a myriad of things they looked at at that intersection,” Gennuso said. “They talked about trying different things. PennDOT is going to go back and evaluate to see what can be done to make it safer and then come back to us (with recommendations).”

Neither side could say when or if improvements would be made to the road, but Gennuso hoped they could agree to more changes to ease the concerns of township residents and other motorists who travel Route 980.

“There are documented accidents that have occurred, and I think a lot of it has to do with the geometry,” Gennuso said. “It’s a sharp curve, and I think it surprises a lot of drivers when they come into it.”

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