W. Penn wants to meet with PennDOT to discuss widening of Blue Mountain Drive

West Penn Township wants to meet with the state Department of Transportation to discuss the possibility of the widening of Blue Mountain Drive.

The board of supervisors on Monday also discussed making it one lane to create a no-passing zone past Blue Mountain Drive on Route 309.

Supervisors asked landowner Curtis Bailey if he’d be willing to donate some land to widen Blue Mountain Drive, and he said he was open to it.

The board also asked Jay Land, president and owner of Ringgold Acquisition Group II, if he would consider paying for the project, to which he said he would.

Land notified the board he has applied to the Delaware River Basin Commission for a permit for the withdraw of spring water at the Fort Franklin site, as anything over 100,000 gallons on a 30-day average requires such.

“The perception is nobody regulates under 100,000 gallons,” Land said after the meeting. “That is an incorrect perception.”

The application is open to the public, but residents would have to file a Right to Know request and review it in the office, supervisors said.

Last month, supervisors agreed to have the township engineer obtain price estimates to potentially widen the highway to four lanes to address truck traffic.

That came after Supervisor Ted Bogosh — who in the fall suggested widening Blue Mountain Drive and making it three lanes — addressed the problems at Blue Mountain Drive and Route 309.

Bogosh said residents have complained about when vehicles turn off 309 onto Blue Mountain Drive, but are held up on 309 as they wait for trucks to exit south onto 309 because they take up the entire road in order to make the turn.

He then suggested widening Blue Mountain Drive to four lanes for a 100-feet length along 309 to the north side of Blue Mountain Drive (the downhill side), and cross hatch the existing two lanes to allow for trailer swings.

Bogosh said that would also leave a lane open to traffic that enters Blue Mountain Drive, and added that the property owner agreed to the land acquisition in the interest of safety.

In addition, he said the state Department of Transportation would also need to create a left-turn lane on northbound 309 to reduce the possibility of rear-end collisions, which could be done by making the southbound 309 a single lane with no passing until after Blue Mountain Drive.

Supervisor Tim Houser said at that time that regardless of the outcome, the board would need to get approval from PennDOT since 309 is a state road.