HARRISBURG -- Heralding a season of abundant hard hats and orange barrels, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation yesterday listed $2.8 billion in highway and bridge projects that will move ahead this year, thanks in part to the federal stimulus legislation.

The projects will employ thousands of construction workers statewide, PennDOT Secretary Allen Biehler said yesterday. Locally, the work will offer new challenges to motorists who use the Liberty Tunnels, Parkway West, Fort Duquesne Bridge, Route 28 and several other major and minor transportation links.

PennDOT said it would spend $1 billion in stimulus funds and another $1.8 billion in non-stimulus money on highways and bridges this year.

Mr. Biehler estimated the spending would generate nearly 90,000 construction jobs.

The state listed 67 projects in Allegheny County, four of which are in line for stimulus funds: $46 million for Route 28 work, relocating railroad lines and other preparations for future reconstruction of the congested stretch from the North Side to Millvale; $30 million to rehabilitate the Fort Duquesne Bridge; $13 million to modernize the Parkway West's Route 22/30/60 interchange near Robinson Town Centre; and $12.5 million for the next phase of Liberty Tunnels renovation.

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List of road projects using federal stimulus money.

List of road projects using state and non-stimulus money.

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The Route 28 rail relocation work by itself won't have major traffic impacts this season, but other projects under way or planned on the highway will, including total closure of the outbound lanes near Etna in June.

The Fort Duquesne Bridge work will start in mid-July and cause lane closures in off-peak hours as the deck is refurbished, PennDOT spokesman Jim Struzzi said.

The Parkway West interchange work, scheduled to start in June, will cause ramp closings and lane restrictions on the parkway and Steubenville Pike, he said.

The project aims to improve safety by reducing lane-changing and weaving near the shopping complexes in Robinson and North Fayette.

That is in addition to a separate project expected to close the entire Parkway West on four to six weekends and some nights from Campbells Run Road to Interstate 79.

The next phase of Liberty Tunnels work will shift the current overnight closings from the outbound side to the inbound side in late July, Mr. Struzzi said.

PennDOT also is planning major work on the West End Circle, McKees Rocks Bridge and Parkway East this year.

Three major Allegheny County projects, while not on the list for federal stimulus funding, will benefit from other money freed up by the stimulus bill, said Kevin Evanto, spokesman for County Executive Dan Onorato.

They are a $10.5 million upgrade of the Broughton-Brownsville Road intersection in South Park; a $5.75 million ramp over railroad tracks to the redevelopment site at the old National Tube Works in McKeesport; and $2.1 million to repair the bridge that carries California Avenue over Jacks Run, between the North Side and Bellevue.

Construction on the three projects is expected to begin in November and December, Mr. Evanto said.

In Beaver County, work on a $20 million rehabilitation of the Beaver-Rochester Bridge over the Beaver River will begin in July, Mr. Struzzi said.

Other major projects getting stimulus funds:

• Butler County: Replacement of Harmony Junction Bridge in Jackson, $8.5 million; deck replacement of West Park bridges 1 and 5 in Muddycreek, $4 million; resurfacing and rehabilitation of Route 422 near Route 356, $2.2 million.

• Washington County: Concrete patching on I-79 from Canonsburg to Allegheny County line and improvements to ramps at I-70/I-79 junction, $16.9 million; resurfacing Route 19 from Conklin Road to Route 519 in North Strabane, $3.5 million.

• Westmoreland County: Resurfacing Route 30 from Black Hill Road to Toll Route 66 in Hempfield, $4.1 million; resurfacing Route 30 from Theater Street to Route 217 in Unity, $4 million.

Under federal stimulus rules, contracts for the projects must be signed within 120 to 180 days, and all work must start within a year and must be done by the end of the 2010 construction season, Mr. Biehler said.

He said the stimulus money will pay for repairing 399 bridges and 608 miles of roads in the state.