Lewisburg, East Buffalo Seek $1.17M to Upgrade Route 15 Signals for Rail-Trail Crossing

Lewisburg Borough and East Buffalo Township have jointly applied for $1,172,498 in PennDOT Green Light Go grants to upgrade three traffic signals along Route 15, a prerequisite that state transportation officials are requiring before the Union County Trail Authority can build a $1.6 million street-level crossing to connect the east and west sides of the Buffalo Valley Rail Trail.

The three intersections targeted for upgrades are Route 15 at Route 45 (Market Street) in East Buffalo Township, and Route 15 at Buffalo Road and St. Mary Street in Lewisburg Borough. The proposed crossing, once built, would stitch together the two disconnected halves of the rail trail at one of the corridor's busiest points.

"To put the trail crossing light in, the township and the borough are required to upgrade the three traffic signals on Route 15," East Buffalo Township Manager Jolene Helwig said. "The way of upgrading those is applying for the Green Light Go grants."

Trail Manager John Del Vecchio put PennDOT's position plainly: "PennDOT wants those intersections fixed." He added that the signal work is only the first hurdle. "Once those are fixed, and if we get our funding through PennDOT, we are hoping to go to construction in 2027."

The Green Light Go program reimburses municipalities for improvements that boost the efficiency and operation of existing traffic signals. East Buffalo Township is seeking $215,846 with a required 20 percent match of $53,961. Lewisburg Borough's share breaks into two requests: $511,595 for the Buffalo Road signal, with a match of $127,898, and $445,057 for St. Mary Street, with a match of $111,264. The three requests together reach the combined $1,172,498 total.

Lewisburg Borough Council had already approved its Green Light Go applications before the township acted. East Buffalo Township supervisors then approved an agreement with Lewisburg and the Union County Trail Authority, along with a grant resolution tied to the Route 15 trail crossing, at a public meeting Monday night.

Grants Manager Shannon Berkey noted that the formal agreement still requires action on the borough side. "The agreement with the township and the authority is on the agenda for the public meeting on March 17," Berkey said.

The Route 15 corridor has been identified as a planning priority in Union County's comprehensive plan, which designates capital investment along the route as a high-priority item and names PennDOT, Union County, Lewisburg Borough, and East Buffalo and Kelly townships as implementation partners. That plan also cites access management along the Route 15 and Route 45 corridors as a coordinated strategy across adjacent municipalities.

Whether the 2027 construction window holds depends on two conditions Del Vecchio outlined: the signals must be upgraded, and the Trail Authority must secure its own PennDOT funding for the $1.6 million crossing. Grant award decisions and PennDOT approvals for both pieces remain pending.