Cecil Township has received a $750,000 grant from the Multimodal Transportation Fund to rebuild the railroad bridge over Georgetown Road, according to Rep. Jason Ortitay (R-Washington/Allegheny). The underpass has been a recurring safety and traffic issue due to frequent collisions with oversized vehicles.
Over recent years, the low clearance of the bridge has led to repeated strikes by trucks and other large vehicles. In response, Ortitay collaborated with PennDOT to install additional flashing height restriction signs and implemented creative roadside warnings, such as giraffe-themed and wizard-themed clearance signs on both sides of the bridge. He also worked with GPS providers Google Maps and Waze to add digital alerts about the height limit for drivers.
Despite these measures temporarily reducing incidents, collisions have increased again. Each incident results in damage to the bridge, road closures, trapped vehicles, and emergency responders being diverted from other duties.
“This is not a new problem,” Ortitay said. “It’s one I’ve been working to solve for years. We tried signage. We tried flashing warnings. We tried creative visual cues. We even worked with GPS providers. Unfortunately, drivers of box trucks, buses and rental vehicles continue to ignore or miss the warnings, and the result is a dangerous and costly cycle.”
The newly awarded grant will allow Cecil Township officials and the railroad company to reconstruct the bridge with higher clearance in an effort to eliminate this hazard.
Ortitay noted his ongoing cooperation with local officials: “This funding finally allows us to fix the root of the problem instead of continuing to react to it,” he said. “It’s about safety, reliability and making sure emergency responders aren’t constantly pulled away for preventable incidents.”
The project aims to reduce roadway closures caused by vehicle strikes at this location while improving overall safety for motorists and protecting essential rail infrastructure.
The 46th Legislative District includes several municipalities in Allegheny County—South Fayette Township as well as McDonald and Oakdale boroughs—and in Washington County—Cecil, Chartiers, Mt. Pleasant and North Strabane (Districts 6-9) townships along with Canonsburg, Houston and McDonald boroughs.
