SHENANGO VALLEY PennDOT seeks ideas for fixing Broadway Ave.

The state wants to improve traffic flow on the thoroughfare.
FARRELL, Pa. -- Should Broadway Avenue be expanded to three lanes, and should it get curbs and sidewalks, too?
Those are just some of the questions the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation will ask people at a meeting Monday on the Broadway Avenue Improvement Project.
The state is looking at improving traffic flow along the Broadway corridor from Mercer Avenue in Wheatland to Budd Street in Sharon, a distance of about 2 miles.
The session will run from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in Farrell City Council chambers, 500 Roemer Blvd.
The industrial redevelopment of former Sharon Steel Corp. and National Castings land along the west side of Broadway along that stretch has been the primary impetus for planning road improvements.
What's considered
Dean Collins, PennDOT spokesman on the project, said the state is looking at either widening the two lanes and expanding intersections to three lanes or widening the entire stretch to three lanes.
There are also discussions about putting in curbs and sidewalks along the entire route and adding trees and other greenery.
There's no time frame yet, but Collins said the general plan is to have the project ready to go to construction in two years. No cost estimates have been determined.
The project is still preliminary at this stage, he said, noting that the state wants to see what ideas the public might have for improving traffic flow.
There also are some environmental concerns to be addressed, Collins said, noting there are some old industrial hazardous-waste deposits along the route.
There also may be some historical buildings that the state won't want to disturb, he added.