Nighttime detour planned as part of I-70 work
Drivers who travel Interstate 70 in the construction zone between the East Beau Street and Route 519/Eighty Four exits in South Strabane and Somerset townships will encounter a nighttime detour later this month.
A detour is tentatively planned for the nights of Nov. 14 and 15 at the south junction with Interstate 79 on the ramp that takes I-70 westbound to I-79 southbound, weather permitting. The ramp will be closed from 8 p.m. each night to 6 a.m. the next morning.
“Traffic will be rerouted to the Beau Street exit and loop back across to the highway,” said Scott Faieta, assistant construction engineer for the state Department of Transportation who is overseeing the project. “We have some paving work to do.”
Faieta said PennDOT is not expecting any traffic tie-ups as a result of the detour.
“That is the least-traveled ramp, so we don’t believe it will have a major impact,” Faieta said.
Most of the work now being done by Lane Construction as part of the $118 million project is in the median, particularly between Beau and the south junction, Faieta said. Crews are doing excavation work, installing drainage, working on stormwater management ponds and clearing trees and other vegetation.
While Faieta said the project is slated to shut down for the winter on Nov. 20, the contractor still will be doing some work off the shoulders of the highway on drainage and clearing brush.
“We won’t have any nighttime closures, although there may be some brief lane closures, as needed, for deliveries,” Faieta said. “The configuration on the interstate won’t change. There will be no new traffic patterns.”
Drivers may encounter some tie-ups next week as lines are painted on the highway. Faieta said it will be a moving operation with a lane closure over two days. He said that work is tentatively planned for Wednesday and Thursday, weather permitting.
Faieta said the temporary lane widening has been completed in anticipation of constructing the new westbound lanes in 2018.
The project is slated to be finished in October 2020.