Apr 5, 2022 3 min read

A lengthy detour will be in place when construction on Jefferson Avenue in Washington resumes next week near the Interstate 70 interchange.

Crews are planning to close the northbound lane of Route 18 between the I-70 eastbound ramps and Wylie Street for nearly three months as they restart work on the roadway April 13, according to the state Department of Transportation.

Scott Faieta, assistant construction engineer for PennDOT District 12, said the lane closure is needed so they can remove old trolley rails and dig two feet into the ground to rebuild the roadway. The southbound lanes through that area will remain open for motorists, and drivers in both directions will still be able to access the eastbound interchange.

The official PennDOT detour for northbound traffic will ask motorists to get on I-70 and drive east to the Murtland Avenue exit, and then take the diverging diamond back onto the interstate heading west toward the Jefferson Avenue exit to East Wylie Avenue. The route for tractor-trailers will ask truckers to take a similar detour, but exit at Jessop Place instead.

The northbound lane closure on Route 18 will continue through the end of June, Faieta said.

“It’s likely to make people think a little bit,” Faieta said of the detour. “We’re doing full-depth roadway replacement down there.”

Washington Mayor Scott Putnam said city officials are aware of the closure and detour, and that PennDOT has notified affected businesses in the area. Putnam said he is not concerned about issues with public safety vehicles not being able to access the area because the city’s fire department has substations on both sides of the construction site.

Putnam added that he’s tried to alleviate concerns from residents by explaining that the area is notorious for potholes and uneven pavement due to heavy truck traffic, so motorists should be patient while PennDOT completes the project that will offer a long-term solution.

“The people I’ve talked to are aware. ‘They say, what are we going to do?’ I say, we need to get it fixed,” Putnam said. “It’s got to get done, and it’s going to be an inconvenience, but we have to deal with the short-term problems so it can get fixed.”

This will be the third year of the multi-phase project in that area. While construction was supposed to be completed by the end of this summer, delays on utility work in the early days of the pandemic forced PennDOT’s contractors to work out of sequence and the project now will most likely be finished by May 2023, Faieta said.

Crews were in the area Monday making preparations for the larger construction work that will resume next week.

“We’re out there right now doing some short-term lane closures and drainage work,” Faieta said.

The $10.2 million project that began in 2020 focused on Jefferson Avenue between Tyler Avenue and Route 844, along with additional work on Wylie Avenue. The project updated and added traffic lights in the area, realigned the westbound I-70 off-ramp with East Wylie Avenue and rebuilt the sidewalks.

In this final phase, crews will rebuild Jefferson Avenue and lay down a new layer of asphalt in what motorists hope will make for a smooth ride moving forward.