Route 356 expansion in Buffalo Township business district delayed until 2027

Motorists who have been coping with years of construction work and closures along busy Route 356 in Allegheny and Buffalo townships won’t get long-term relief for a few more years.

PennDOT now says one of the final steps in overhauling the corridor — widening the highway through Buffalo Township’s business district — isn’t expected to begin until fall 2027.

That work initially was slated to start in 2022. It got delayed so the planned road improvements could be combined with plans to relocate an adjacent bus stop park-and-ride. Inflation and cost increases on other projects also played a role in pushing back construction in Buffalo Township, according to PennDOT spokesperson Christina Gibbs.

“Many times, we have to prioritize projects based on needs and funding, so it’s not anything unusual,” Gibbs said.

With an anticipated price tag of $28 million, crews will expand a section of Route 356 roughly between Harbison Road and 1,800 feet north of the Buffalo Plaza intersection.

The section of road will be widened from two lanes to five, with four travel lanes and a center turning lane.

Construction is expected to take two years, with completion targeted for 2029, according to Gibbs.

During construction, traffic on Route 356 will continue to flow with one lane in each direction through the business hub. About 18,000 vehicles travel the corridor daily.

Buffalo Township Supervisor Michael Oehling Jr. said he hasn’t had any significant contact with PennDOT about this section of highway since 2021, when the agency pushed back the start date to 2025 before delaying work even further.

“We would love to meet and talk with PennDOT further on the subject,” Oehling said.

It’s a critical corridor for Buffalo Township and Freeport Area School District, which relies on Route 356 for access to its middle and high schools. Superintendent Ian Magness said the district looks forward to “being a good partner for anything that improves our school community.”

The congestion is more annoying than hazardous, according to Oehling, except for the park-and-ride nestled between Route 356 and Silverview Road, where he could “see an accident happening” someday.

PennDOT plans to move the lot to the side of Silverview Road closer to a Route 28 southbound on-ramp. It will accommodate about twice as many cars and provide safer access to Silverview Road, Gibbs said.

Adjacent roads to be improved

In addition, Monroe and Cole roads will be widened as they approach Route 356. As part of that work, Monroe Road will get a left-turn-only lane.

Locust Drive and Bear Creek Road will be moved in order to relocate the latter’s intersection with Route 356.

Other planned improvements in the corridor include installing a sidewalk and ramps that comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, as well as replacing three traffic signals and a storm drain.

Allegheny Township has dealt with work on Route 356 since 2019 after roughly a decade of requests from township officials and residents concerned about the high number of crashes on what was a hilly, winding road prone to dangerous winter weather conditions.

Since then, miles of Route 356 have been reconstructed and even relocated south of the Freeport Bridge. Work has involved removing some steep hills, widening the road, upgrading intersections and installing a roundabout where the highway meets La Belle Vue Road — a particularly complicated intersection.

Closures near the roundabout are expected to be in place until early next month, with crews expected to wrap up work next May.