Community members call for change at dangerous part of Route 30, PennDOT starts planning

NORTH HUNTINGDON, Pa. — After multiple crashes on Route 30 in North Huntingdon, the owner of a dental office is now speaking to us about the safety concerns he shares with his staff.

Dr. Joseph Liu, who owns Luminous Smiles Dental Studio, said, “I think every single day we talk about how there is an accident every single night. My employees and myself included we are worried about driving out and getting hit by a car.”

Dr. Liu’s practice sits at the corner of Carpenter Lane and Route 30. A few weeks ago, he shared surveillance video from his cameras of a high-speed chase ending directly in front of his building. Another photo with multiple emergency crews was shared on Facebook Wednesday night at the same intersection.

“I hired a company to put those in for me, specifically to look at the highway because if something were to happen to me, I want to have it on camera,” said Liu.

PennDOT said at least 82 reportable crashes have happened on the one-mile stretch of Route 30 in the past four years. They have yet to receive the 2025 data. Because of this, a new project is in the design phase.

“A lot of the scope around this project is to reduce crashes and to focus on our crashes in the area,” said PennDOT District 12 Engineer David Barker.

The project includes adding an inside shoulder to the road, a center median, and a jug handle turn to better align Leger Road and Carpenter Lane.

Dr. Liu said the addition of the jug handle will cut into his property and bring the road closer to his building.

“My main concern is whether a car is going to run into my building,” said Dr. Liu. “Obviously, that jeopardizes the safety of me, my staff, my patients...And it’s something I think about almost every day.”

Construction on this project won’t start until 2027 and Dr. Liu said he hopes that in the meantime, people will slow down and pay more attention to the roadway.

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