Liberty Bell Motorsports Park

[Phokaioglaukos]

Union Township board weighs options on Liberty Bell traffic

Saturday September 27, 2014 12:01 AM
By Kevin Stairiker - Reading Eagle correspondent

UNION TWP. - The Union Township supervisors are looking at two options for improving Route 724 at River Bridge Road to handle traffic the proposed Liberty Bell Motorsports Park is expected to generate.

Both were discussed at a meeting Tuesday that supervisors Chairman Donald Basile began by calling for a "friendly, informational and non-adversarial" discussion.

The two options were presented by Gregg Bogia of Bogia Engineering Inc., Wyomissing.

The first option would add an 8-foot shoulder and a traffic light at a cost of $350,000, which would be borne solely by the developer, Ethan Michaels Inc.

The second option would be to add a full left-turn lane and a traffic light at a cost of $750,000, which would be shared by the developer and township.

According to officials, the first option could handle two to three vehicles at a time; the second, six to eight.

A dozen residents at the meeting agreed intersection improvements would be needed but had concerns about matters including cost.

Basile said the township's $400,000 share of the second option's cost had been addressed in its 10-year budget plan.

Residents then raised questions about possible unforeseen costs.

"If it's more than $750,000, it ain't getting built," Basile replied.

According to officials, the developer is hoping to get final approvals for Liberty Bell in the coming months and complete the park in 2016.

Plans call for six events a year, including races that would be attended by maximum of 5,000.

The supervisors said they intend to make a decision on the turn lane next month but noted PennDOT would have the final say because Route 724 is a state road.

"It's a bureaucratic nightmare to figure out how PennDOT works," Basile said.

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