Middlesex Twp. to contribute $2 million to Balls Bend project
MIDDLESEX TWP — Middlesex Township supervisors approved the drafting and sending of a commitment letter Wednesday night agreeing to pay $2 million over the course of eight years to Butler County to fund the Balls Bend portion of the Gateway 228 construction project.
The letter will stipulate the township plans to pay $500,000 in 2022 and a little over $214,000 each year for the remaining balance starting in 2023 and ending in 2030 to complete its portion of the funding.
At a previous meeting on Nov. 17, County Commissioners Chairwoman Leslie Osche formally requested that Middlesex Township commit to contributing a suggested $2 million towards the Balls Bend project.
The Balls Bend portion makes up the portion of the Gateway 228 renovation project in Middlesex, from Route 8 west to Officer Ed Brooks Drive.
At the time, Osche said that without support from Middlesex, the county would need to put more funds directly into the Adams Township and Middlesex Township portions of the project.
Current state of the project
PennDOT spokeswoman Tina Gibbs said that current construction on the Balls Bend area of Route 228 is limited to weather-dependent work.
“They are going to continue to do work as weather permits,” she said. “When they can get the crews out there, they are going to. When it’s super cold, the equipment doesn’t always function well.”
Nighttime work shifts at the site ended in early December, she said.
“They don’t anticipate any more night shift work until spring and summer,” she said. “That could change if we happen to get an extended period of nice weather, but I doubt it.”
Gibbs said the expected completion date for the Balls Bend project is still January 2025. The project began in February 2021.
“As of this point, it’s going to be whatever work they can squeeze in on nice weather days, and try to get as much done through winter as they’re able to do,” she said. “Once we can get the weather to break, it makes everything easier, but a lot of the crews will keep working through the winter in case anything would happen. It helps everything move a little more smoothly that way.”
