Road projects planned in Washington, Greene counties
PennDOT Secretary Leslie S. Richards
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
A map of the 2018 construction projects for Greene County
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
A map of the 2018 construction projects for Washington County
The sign on Interstate 79 southbound near the north junction with Interstate 70 in South Strabane Township flashed a warning about upcoming work on the highway.
Work to repair the ever-growing number of potholes on the stretch of I-70 from the north junction to just west of the Chestnut Street exit is only the beginning of what promises to be a busy construction season on roads in Washington and Greene counties, as well as in Allegheny County.
Leslie S. Richards, the state Department of Transportation secretary, was joined Monday by executives from PennDOT Districts 11 and 12 at a news conference in Bridgeville to announce that about 146 highway and bridge projects are continuing or will begin in the seven-county area covered by the two districts.
Richards said Gov. Tom Wolf announced plans to improve more than 1,100 rural and low-volume roads and rehabilitate 85 bridges owned by municipalities or counties as part of a five-year program. She called these “much-needed projects.”
More immediately, drivers on I-70 should expect traffic tie-ups as crews begin work later this week or next week to fill the potholes that seem to increase daily on that stretch. The work was to have started last week, but the weather did not cooperate. Nor does the forecast look promising for it this week, said Bill Kovach, assistant District 12 executive.
The highway will be restricted at times to a single lane in each direction so repairs can be made to the asphalt.
“We will start as soon as the weather breaks,” Kovach said. “We may push back the morning start times until 8:30 or 9 a.m., but we will be working through the afternoon rush hour.
“We will be working both sides of the road,” he added. “At times, it will be in both directions, but most times, it will be one side or the other.”
The work is weather-dependent, said Joseph Szczur, District 12 executive, adding that the blacktop plants used by the state just opened last week for the upcoming construction season.
The work being done on the stretch of I-70 is just a temporary fix compared to other projects across the district in Washington and Greene counties.
Work continues on an initiative to modernize I-70 between Washington and New Stanton, Szczur said.
“That is one of the most functionally deficient sections in the interstate system,” Szczur said, adding that the section of I-70 just west on the Monongahela River is the oldest section of interstate in the United States.
“Many parts of the interstates were built in the 1950s and 1960s,” he added. “They were not designed to handle the amount of traffic (we now have), especially truck traffic.”
In Washington County, work is continuing on improvements in the area of the Bentleyville interchange on I-70. Szczur said the project is going well and should be done in December.
Work also is continuing on the reconstruction of the highway between the Beau Street and Route 519 interchanges. Szczur said it is a continuation of the work that was done a few years ago near the Murtland Avenue interchange that included construction of the state’s first diverging diamond interchange.
Also on I-70, near the West Alexander exit and the West Virginia state line, resurfacing work will be done. The work also includes pavement overlays on McGuffey and Old Brick roads. The interchange at West Alexander will close, and a detour will be put in place so it can be repaved.
The state will be opening bids later this year on a safety-improvement project in North Strabane Township from the intersection of Routes 519, 19 and 980, down Route 519 to the Interstate 79 ramps. Szczur said that will be a major reconstruction.
East McMurray Road in Peters Township is scheduled for resurfacing between Route 19 and the Allegheny County line.
A bridge rehabilitation will be done on the span that carries Noblestown Road over Robinson Run in Robinson and Mt. Pleasant townships. Several other bridge replacements are planned in other areas of the county as PennDOT continues to address reducing the number of structurally deficient bridges.
Szczur said work should wrap up this summer on reconstructing the intersection of Routes 88 and 837 in the Mon Valley. Work is supposed to start next month to pave a section of Route 837 between Route 88 and the Allegheny County line.
Other local roads in the county slated for improvements are Route 18 (Jefferson/Henderson avenues) in Washington and Canton Township from Route 40 to Oak Grove Road/ North Hewitt Avenue; Route 19 (Washington Road) in North Strabane and Peters townships; Route 40 in Amwell, North Bethlehem and South Strabane townships; Route 917 in Bentleyville, Ellsworth and Somerset Township; Justabout Road in Peters Township; Old Route 71 in Charleroi, Speers, Twilight and Fallowfield Township; Almond and Wherry roads in Ellsworth and Somerset; Main Street in Marianna and West Bethlehem Township; Route 2027 in the California area; and Route 2030 in Bentleyville.
In Greene County, work will begin on Route 218 in Franklin Township and Waynesburg. The state will get bids later this year to rehabilitate the bridge that takes Whiteley Road over Little Whiteley Creek in Monongahela Township.
Roads slated for surface improvements include Route 19 in Franklin and Whiteley townships and Waynesburg; Route 21 (High Street) in Waynesburg; and Route 221 (Lippencott Road) in Morgan and Washington townships.
In Allegheny County, the district just received funding to make repairs on Interstate 376 between the Fort Pitt Bridge and Edgewood, where the number of potholes also is increasing.
Other work includes the continuation of the I-378 project near Pittsburgh International Airport. A crossover will be part of the project this year, said Cheryl Moon-Siriani, District 11 executive.
“The eastbound lanes will cross onto the westbound side,” said Moon-Siriani. “Traffic will be maintained at all times.”
That work is expected to resume later this month.
Going out for bid later this year will be replacing the bridge at the intersection of Boyce and Mayview roads at the Upper St. Clair and South Fayette Township line. Moon-Sirianni said some utility work may be done this year, but she says traffic is certain to be affected in that area. Traffic is expected to be detoured. The estimated completion date is September 2019.
In the Mon Valley, work is continuing on a project to rehabilitate the Elizabeth Bridge on Route 51 over the Monongahela River.