Freedom Road

Freedom Rd Bridge_drawing July 2018

A Commitment to Expansion

Recognizing the importance the Freedom Road corridor plays in making Cranberry Township a regional hub, the Board of Supervisors have been committed to improving that corridor for several decades.  Although Freedom Road is a PennDot Highway, the Board of Supervisors have been successful in obtaining a number of grants over those years to make various improvements to several intersections in the Corridor. 

In the last two years, the Board of Supervisors partnered with the Butler County Board of Commissioners to pursue Federal grants to complete the improvements in this Corridor.  That cooperative effort resulted in two major grant awards from the U.S. Department of Transportation through their BUILD program. In addition to the project that is currently underway to replace the Freedom Road bridge over the PA Turnpike, those widening projects will result in the following improvements as depicted in the following graphics. Although the actually construction contract will be awarded through PennDot, the Township is taking an active role in advancing the project to ensure the Federal Funds are utilized in a timely manner. For additional information about this project, please contact Tim Zinkham, Manager, Engineering Services at Tim.Zinkham@cranberrytownship.org or at 724.776. 4806 ext 1183.

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Map of Freedom Corridor Oct 2020

Turnpike Bridge Replacement

  • The Freedom Road Turnpike Bridge project will replace the existing structure carrying Freedom Road over Interstate 76, Pennsylvania Turnpike. 
  • Work on the project began in the Spring of 2019 and includes a new steel beam six-lane bridge, widening, paving, drainage, signal upgrade/replacement, and lighting work. 
  • As part of the accelerated bridge construction program, the structure will be constructed in sections off-site and moved into final position requiring only short-term closures on the Turnpike or Freedom Road. 
  • Two-lane traffic is being maintained as crews complete each side of the bridge.
  • The eastbound lanes were completed in Summer 2020.
  • Westbound lanes were completed in Summer 2021.
  • The project is expected to be completed by Fall 2021.  

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Executive intersection detail

Commonwealth Drive to Haine School Road

  • Freedom Road will be expanded with multimodal improvements from Commonwealth Drive to Haine School Road.
  • Work will be paid for via a $20 million Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Developments (BUILD) grant, which Butler County secured in 2018.
  • Construction was started in 2021 and will continue into 2022. The project is expected to be completed in Fall 2022.

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2020 Build Grant

Haine School Road to Beaver County Line

  • Freedom Road will be expanded with multimodal improvements from Haine School Road to Powell Road during the first phase of the project.
  • The second phase includes the expansion of Freedom Road from Powell Road to Lovi Road at the Beaver County line.
  • Work will be paid for via a $25 million BUILD grant secured by Butler County in 2020.
  • The Route 228 and Freedom Road corridors will see more than $62 million worth of work in the coming years thanks to a $25 million federal grant.
  • The project is expected to begin in 2023 and be completed by Fall 2024.

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Thorn Hill