Shuttered Bunola River Road reopens

By JEFF STITT
jstitt@yourmvi.com
A portion of Bunola River Road in Forward Township that has been closed for nearly a month as a result of safety concerns was reopened for single-lane traffic on Wednesday morning.
Due to a landslide, a section of the road between Regina Drive and Riverview Road had signal-lane access and a temporary stop light since last year.
After receiving reports from Forward Township police Chief Travis Stoffer that the temporary signals were malfunctioning and drivers were running the lights, PennDOT closed that section of the road to all traffic, including first-responder vehicles on Jan. 23.
State Sen. Jim Brewster, D-McKeesport, immediately started receiving complaints from residents, area first responders, the owners of Triple B Farms, Riverview Golf Course and two different marinas that are located on or near the road. They said the closure was inconvenient because detours on long, windy roads delayed first-responder times.
Business owners complained the road closure would affect their profits because the 15-minute detour could deter their customers from patronizing their businesses, Brewster said.
Brewster, District 11 Executive Director Cheryl Moon-Sirianni and state Rep. Mike Puskaric, R-Finleyville, worked closely with first responders, West Penn Power and Bronder Technical Services to install a permanent power source to which stop lights are now connected.
On Wednesday, Brewster flipped the switch to activate the lights. He and technicians from Bronder Technical also met with Stoffer, Elizabeth borough police Chief William Sombo, SouthEast Regional EMS Chief Doug Pascoe, Elizabeth Mayor Barry Boucher, Forward Township supervisors Dave Magiske and Ron Skrinjorich, the owners of Trip

To read the rest of the story, please see a copy of Thursday’s Mon Valley Independent, call 724-314-0035 to subscribe or subscribe to our online edition at http://monvalleyindependent.com.le B Farms and others at the site of the traffic lights.