By KATHY MELLOTT
CASSANDRA — Two Mainline communities will soon have, well, a main line.
Representatives of Portage and Washington townships will meet in coming days to establish a temporary marker showing where one locality ends and the other begins.
Later, permanent signs and a cement marker will be installed on Route 53 to end the long-running boundary spat, officials said Friday.
It’s not an inconsequential dispute.
A clearly delineated boundary line between Portage and Washington townships on Route 53 is needed more now than at any other time of year, said Cresson Township police Officer Jim Hoenshell.
The Cresson Township Police Department provides police service for Washington Township and was involved in a recent mix-up between the local department and state police when a wreck occurred in the disputed area on Route 53.
“Last month we got into a problem. And with winter coming, that’s when there are a lot of accidents in that area,” Hoenshell said.
The disputed area is near the former Kick’s Convenience Store between Lilly and Portage.
Cresson Township police were following a recently agreed-upon boundary line between the two municipalities when they responded to an accident they thought was in Washington Township. State police said they were going by a GPS system that put the crash site in Portage Township, which has no local police department.
Questions about the line have existed for years and – following a Route 53 upgrade several years ago – the road sign designating the boundary was replaced at the bottom of the hill near the road to Cassandra.
PennDOT was using a GPS map, one that did not look back to boundaries of 200 years ago, local officials said.
The issue came up in 2008 when the sign was moved north to the top of the hill – prompting the two townships to agree to split the cost of a surveyor.
The results show the line should be about three quarters of the way up the hill, something both localities can live with, said Portage Township Supervisor Chairman Elwood Selapack.
Washington Township Supervisor Chairman Ray Guzic said he will enlist the help of Portage Township and paint a white symbol on the guard rail to aid police and fire companies.
“Then we’ll get the signs up as quickly as possible,” he said.
First responders will be notified of the temporary marker, officials said.
“It’s not that we’re moving the line. We are establishing the correct line,” Washington Township Solicitor Thomas Swope said.
