Road work ahead
Thousands of Washington County drivers will be taking detours to reach their destinations after two busy roads close next week, one for three weeks and the other for a week.
Route 980 just off Route 50 in Cecil Township will close Monday for three weeks while Route 519 in North Strabane Township will close for a week starting Thursday.
On Route 980, crews will reconstruct the road under and adjacent to a Norfolk and Western railroad overpass. That stretch of road has an average daily traffic count of 12,925 vehicles. It is expected to reopen Aug. 21.
A posted detour will use Routes 980 and 50 as well as Fort Cherry Road.
Local traffic will be allowed to travel from McDonald Borough as far as the overpass, but will not be able to get to and from Route 50 without taking the detour.
Cecil manager Don Gennuso expects travel in that area will be affected during the closure.
About 11,000 drivers a day will be looking for a new route when Route 519 closes Thursday so that crews can construct a siding track and upgrade warning devices at the Allegheny Valley Railroad crossing between Christy and Wilson roads. The work is expected to be done Aug. 10.
The posted detour for local traffic for vehicles weighing less than 10 tons will use Thomas-Eighty Four Road, Linden Road, Wilson Road and Route 519. Heavier vehicles including tractor-trailers will be detoured using Route 519, Route 19 (Washington Road), Interstate 79 and Route 136.
Township police will be keeping an eye on the local detour route to make sure heavy vehicles do not use it, said Lt. Kris Wagstaff.
“Route 519 is a major artery,” Wagstaff said. “The closure may cause problems.”
“We’ll be patrolling the detour routes even more frequently than we already do,” he added. “Those are winding roads with no shoulder. If you are unfamiliar with the roads, especially if you are a commercial driver, you could get in a lot of trouble.”
Wagstaff said residents along the detour route who see vehicles that should not be on their road should call police.
The fire department has made contingency plans if there are calls in the Eighty Four area.
“We will be adding South Strabane Township Fire Department to help us out in that area,” Grimm said. “It will only be for a week, but the response times to that area will be a little slower.”