$146M invested in area PennDOT projects
Work is in full swing on the construction of the roundabout on Route 519 near Wylandville Elementary School in Eighty Four.
A load of dirt is dumped in the background, as seen through the shovel in the foreground, as work continues on the construction of the roundabout on Route 519 near Wylandville Elementary School in Eighty Four.
Workers, machinery and traffic move in close quarters at the roundabout under construction on Route 519.
Traffic on Route 519 moves slowly through the construction zone as work is in full swing on the construction of the roundabout near Wylandville Elementary School in North Strabane Township.
While drivers traveling through Washington and Greene counties might groan when they encounter “construction ahead” signs and orange barrels, it does show that the state Department of Transportation has invested heavily in our region.
Roughly $130 million is being spent on major construction projects in Washington County this year, said Scott Faieta, PennDOT assistant construction engineer overseeing a number of the projects. In Greene, more than $16 million is being spent on projects.
“I have had the same people call to complain about the conditions of a road and then call again to complain about the construction,” Faieta said. “There are a lot of millions of dollars being spent here. That money could have gone elsewhere in the state.”
Two unique projects are under way in Washington County, including the construction of a diverging diamond interchange at the Murtland Avenue exit on Interstate 70 in South Strabane Township and a dual roundabout at the intersection of Route 519 and Brownlee and Thomas-Eighty Four roads in North Strabane Township.
The $51.258 million project to construct the diverging diamond interchange is being done by Golden Triangle Construction. Work started last September and will be done in November 2017. When completed, drivers will cross over and switch lanes on Route 19 with traffic signals controlling the flow of traffic. Drivers will have the option of continuing on Route 19 or continuing onto the interstate.
“By the end of the year, most of the work will be done on Route 19 as we start to focus on the divergent diamond interchange,” Faieta said. “Most, if not all, the work should also be done on I-70 eastbound.”
Drivers will start to see differences in traffic patterns as work continues throughout the summer and into the fall. Traffic on I-70 east will split near the north junction with Interstate 79 with the left lane crossing over onto the westbound side of the highway where it will continue towards the Beau Street exit. Faieta said there will be two westbound lanes and one eastbound lane on that side of the highway.
Faieta said signs will be placed leading up to the crossover, notifying drivers who plan to get off onto Route 19 that they will have to stay in the right lane. That lane will then cross over so it can go over the bridge that takes the highway over Route 19.
Also on I-70, work is continuing at the south junction. That $35.2 project, also being done by Golden Triangle, began in October 2011 and will be wrapped up this August. Faieta said most of the work, including the construction of the flyovers, is complete. Work will be done to remove two bridges under the flyover that carry the highway over I-79 at the interchange. Those structures will be replaced with a box culvert. Faieta said the work to tear down the bridges will require traffic to go down to a single lane in that area over two weekends in late June or early July.
“I am sure there will be backups,” Faieta predicted.
Work on the roundabout began last July by Allison Park Construction of Gibsonia and will be completed in November. The project involves building the double roundabout at the intersection that has been the scene of several crashes. Each roundabout will have two lanes going in each direction and two roundabouts will be separated by about a 500-foot stretch of road.
Faieta said there will be two detours needed for the project. Brownlee will be closed, likely in mid-June, for about 18 days with traffic directed to Route 136 and then back to Route 519. Thomas-Eighty Four will close for about 15 days in mid-July with traffic taking Linden Road to Wilson Road and back to Route 519.
Work to reconstruct and widen the Pike Street and Country Club Road intersection in Chartiers Township was set to start earlier this month but was delayed because of utility work. The $2.143 million project, being done by Frank Gavlik & Sons of Charleroi, was to be done this July but now will not be completed until July 2016. There will be single-lane traffic controlled by flaggers when the project begins.
Faieta said Pike will be closed at some point for the reconstruction of a railroad crossing. All traffic will be detoured during the closure, expected to last about five days. There also will only a single lane on Pike during a portion of the work. Traffic coming from Country Club will only be able to turn right toward I-79 and not be able to make the left onto Pike. Traffic wanting to go to Meadow Lands will be detoured onto the highway. That detour will be in place for about 60 days. No restrictions will be in place during the Washington County Fair or for events at the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum.
Work will be done in November on a project to replace the bridge over Linden Creek on Linden Creek Road in North Strabane Township. The $1.4 million project is being done by Marrico Construction of McMurray. The road closed in April, and a detour is in place.
Preservation of a bridge on Dry Ridge Road in Donegal and Independence townships is to begin June 22 and wrap up by mid-October. The $694,496 project by Gregori Construction of Sarver includes painting and structure repairs. A detour will be in place.
Work to demolish the Donora-Webster Bridge is continuing with crews now demolishing land spans on the Donora side. Demolition of the three river spans over the Monongahela River is slated to happen in mid-June, once various government approvals are obtained, Faieta said. Beech Construction is the contractor for the $2.5 million project that should be done in late August.
Milling and resurfacing I-70 between the West Chestnut Street and Taylorstown exits will be done in late July. Lane Construction of Pittsburgh is the contractor for this $7.6 million project being done at night.
Work is continuing on Route 136 in the Ginger Hill area. The $2.198 million project, being done by Allison Park Construction, is a safety improvement project to alleviate sight distance issues. Faieta said Crackerjack Road traffic will be detoured, likely in the middle of June, and reopen no later than Aug. 15.
Allison Park is also doing bridge preservation work at several locations in Washington County. Repairs, which started last year and will wrap up by Labor Day, are being done to bridges on Route 231 in Hopewell Township, Route 331 in Blaine Township, Route 917 in Bentleyville and a state road between Beallsville Road and Deems Park.
Replacing a bridge on Route 481 in Monongahela that began in March by Frank Gavlik and Sons will be done in November. Traffic is being detoured as part of the $1.567 million project.
Golden Triangle will begin work next month to repair 10 slides, all on Rocky Run Road in East Finley Township. It is part of a $3.2 million project across PennDOT’s District 12 to repair slides.
Route 40 between Pancake in South Strabane Township and West Chestnut Street in Washington will begin later this year. Faieta said the work will include milling off the old surface and repaving the road.
Work also will begin later this year on the Speers/Belle Vernon bridge that carries I-70 over the Monongahela River and Routes 88 and 906. The $20 million project by Titan Industrial Services is meant to preserve the bridge. The work includes painting, steel truss member repair and an epoxy deck overlay.
Work to resurface and replace some guardrail on Route 21 between Rolling Meadows and Gwynn roads in Franklin and Gwynn roads in Franklin and Jefferson townships in Greene is slated to wrap up Friday. Paving work has been completed by Golden Eagle Construction.
Work has started on a safety improvement project at the Route 19/Arch Street intersection to Sugar Run Road in Franklin. The contractor for the $15 million project is Gulisek Construction with work to be done by October 2017.
Work will begin next month to replace a bridge over a branch of Muddy Creek in Cumberland Township. PennDOT crews from Greene will replace the existing structurally deficient bridge with a precast box culvert.
Plans are already being made for projects that will begin next year. Beech Construction Co. of Carnegie will start work next month to replace the South Central Avenue bridge in Canonsburg. Traffic will be detoured after July 4 for 115 days. The cost of the project is $2.5 million.
Bids were opened for a project to reconstruct the Centerville/Monongahela interchange on I-70. The structure that carries Route 481 over the highway will be replaced. Four lanes of traffic will be maintained on the interstate. Faieta said work will likely start in September and be done in late 2017.
The project to reconstruct the Bentleyville interchange on I-70 is expected to be bid in July. Faieta said it will likely start in late fall and take four-and-a-half years to build.