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Winter weather not enough to stop work on Interstate 70

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While the winter weather stops many outdoor projects, the frigid temperatures and frozen ground has not been enough to stop crews from working on two construction projects on Interstate 70 east of Washington.

Crews for Lane Construction are working on the $119 million project that will rebuild the highway from the East Beau Street to Eighty Four/Glyde interchanges in South Strabane Township. Workers from Golden Triangle are continuing their work to rebuild the Bentleyville and Ginger Hill interchanges.

“We didn’t work Wednesday,” said Scott Faieta, assistant construction engineer for the state Department of Transportation who oversees the two projects. “The weather dictates what we can and can’t do.”

Crews are working in the median, doing excavation and drainage work between Beau and the south junction with Interstate 79. They are also preparing to bore under the highway to install pipes.

Excavation work is also being done on a hillside between a railroad bridge and the south junction.

Closer to the Eighty Four interchange, work is being done to excavate a slope between there and Zediker Station Road. Faieta said several streams between the northern side of the highway and Rankin Road have to be relocated.

“The soil is still pretty saturated,” Faieta said. “We are doing what we can to keep moving.”

Faieta expects that overnight lane closures will start the second week of March. Crews will work from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. Some of the work will likely include paving temporary lanes in preparation of the switchover of westbound traffic to the eastbound side of the highway.

The westbound lanes are scheduled to be rebuilt this construction season. Faieta said the work is a few weeks behind schedule. The overall project is scheduled to be done in October 2020.

Crews on the Bentleyville project have torn down a bridge near the Pilot Truck Stop. Work is also being done on the substructure for the span over the westbound lanes of the highway. That project is scheduled to be done at the end of the year.

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