A major series of road improvements between the Beaver County line and Route 8, which have been packaged together by the Butler County Commissioners and marketed as the “Gateway 228” project, has received approval from the Federal Highway Administration. But its funds will need to be committed quickly. The federal agency, working together with state, county, regional and local governments affected by the east-west corridor under a variety of matching formulas, will undertake the project in segments. One involves Freedom Road from Commonwealth Drive west to the county line. To satisfy the aggressive sequence of milestones and timelines involved in securing funds for the project, Cranberry’s Board of Supervisors agreed at its February 28 meeting to use a portion of its own matching funds to hire a design consultant whose work would begin immediately. The consultant’s finished design would position the partners to solicit construction bids consistent with the fast-approaching deadlines involved in funding the project.