SOUTH FAYETTE TOWNSHIP, Pa. — First responders rushed to a terrible accident Sunday, and the damage remains after a truck crashed into a tree in South Fayette.
Neighbors told 11 News they worried an accident like this was going to happen, with traffic doubling since the new southern beltway opened right onto this old, windy road.
The new South Fayette Way exit off the new southern beltway takes drivers from the new highway onto Cecil-Stergeon Road, where the new paving quickly ends.
“We don’t call it a road, we call it a trail,” said Don Fink, a South Fayette resident.
Fink has lived on Cecil-Stergeon Road for 23 years. He jokingly calls it a trail because it’s the kind of backroad that’s hard to navigate and full of potholes. He estimates traffic on his road has doubled since the southern beltway opened
“We believe it’s become more of a dangerous road, it’s busier people who don’t know this road with the blind curves and things like that, it’s just more dangerous today than it used to be,” Fink said.
Police believe speed may have been a factor in the accident. Fink told us he feared this would happen because there have been several close calls with drivers veering off the road.
“They hit a tree. They must have come up over the hill, whether they were pushing aside because another vehicle was coming the other way,” Fink said.
We reached out to South Fayette Township commission president Gwen Rodi who said there are short-term and long-term plans for the road, with repairs and improvements beginning next month. Fink says he’s grateful for the improvements and can live with more traffic, as long as people are safe.
“Yes I think its good for Pittsburgh, Western Pennsylvania,” Fink said. “We need a beltway around this area. It’s a good thing for South Fayette overall.”
Rodi told 11 News next month there will be some paving and potholes being filled, and there are talks with developers about the future of this area which could include relocating the road to make it straighter and more accessible.
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