Justin Geonnotti with Dynamic Traffic LLC, Lake Como, N.J., presented plans to the Perry Township supervisors on Tuesday that would be part of a warehouse project.
The plans include a traffic signal at Pottsville Pike, also known as Route 61, and Birch Hill Road, realigning that intersection, widening the road, adding shoulders there and conducting general improvements to Birch Hill Road.
The improvements are part of plans to build a 417,000-square-foot warehouse on a plot at 150 Birch Hill Road.
The plans have yet to be granted final approval and are still being reviewed by the township.
Geonnotti said the changes would allow trucks to navigate the intersection and Birch Hill Road more easily, so truck traffic from the warehouse wouldn’t have to access back roads.
Supervisors said the full project plans will be made available on the township website, www.perrytownshipberkscounty.com.
Also Tuesday night, supervisors announced the successful rollout of the CodeRED emergency alert notification and reporting system.
CodeRED is an early warning alert system that allows local authorities to deliver alerts for severe weather and other imminent threats via email or mobile device.
Emergency Management Coordinator Jarrod Emes said the system was tested when the remnants of Hurricane Ida struck on Sept. 1. The storm caused minor flooding, including on homes close to the Schuylkill River.
“I truly think the CodeRED was our best method just to try to warn and alert residents of the river rise that occurred,” Emes said.
Residents interested in enrolling in CodeRED can do so via the Perry Township website.
Also Tuesday, officials discussed installing emergency access for firetrucks to draw water from the Schuylkill River next to a newly installed river access ramp along Mohrsville Road.
The existing ramp is not able to support the weight of firetrucks, so the plan was to install additional access, according to Dennis Wagner, chief of the Shoemakersville Fire Company, which provides coverage to the township.
However, the ramp was not built before the work permit for the area was closed.
Wagner asked township engineer Joe Body why he had supervisors close the permit for the project before emergency access was installed.
Body said the permit was intended to cover the work that was done and would have expired before more work could be completed.
Chairman Lance Adam said he was in contact with the state Department of Environmental Protection about getting another permit.
The new permit would allow work on the emergency access to begin in roughly six to eight weeks.
Costs for the original project were covered by a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and Schuylkill River Greenways, a Pottstown-based nonprofit.
Source: Berkshire mont
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