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Construction to cause turmoil in Jefferson
Tuesday, October 20, 1998 By Joe Grata, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission will open bids Nov. 10 to rebuild 2.4 miles of Route 51 through Jefferson Borough, starting in the spring and lasting at least two years, as part of the Mon-Fayette Expressway.
As a result, one word describes what awaits residents and motorists living and driving south of Century III Mall in West Mifflin: turmoil.
The work on Route 51, the lone major north-south route linking Westmoreland and Fayette counties with Pittsburgh, also involves building new intersections, 13 structures crossing two meandering creeks, flood walls and cul-de-sacs on local streets.
For two construction seasons, March through October, Route 51 will be restricted to one lane in each direction, with no suitable alternate route to escape the mess.
"It's going to be a real challenge," said Tom Fox, turnpike community involvement coordinator for the project, admitting he was attempting to put a good face on a bad traffic forecast.
Although Route 51 is a state-owned road, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation officials insisted the turnpike make the improvements because it's expected to be at least six years later before the expressway opens north of Route 51 to Pittsburgh and the Parkway East.
Jefferson officials insisted the turnpike upgrade intersections and do some other work in exchange for approving the multimillion-dollar project.
Jefferson Manager Richard Clark has already figured out how to avoid what he foresees will be a mess. "I'm not going down there for the next two years."
There's more.
Before the work wraps up, the turnpike will start building the massive Route 51-Mon-Fayette Expressway interchange in Large. That $25 million-plus job will involve a 444-space park-and-ride lot, piers to carry twin bridges 80 feet above Route 51 and an overpass at Payne Hill Road for the interchange.
Turnpike officials admit it may be 2002 before the dust settles along Route 51 in the Large area.
Up to now, construction of the 17-mile, $613 million segment of the expressway between Interstate 70 in Fallowfield and Route 51 in Jefferson has taken place on mostly new alignments and has affected only short pieces of rural roads. The segment is part of a 65-mile, at least $1.7 billion, expressway connecting Pittsburgh and I-68 in West Virginia along a corridor following the Monongahela River.
The contract on which bids will be open Nov. 10 covers the Route 51 and related work from the tracks that cross the four-lane road in Large, north to Coal Valley Road that goes to Jefferson Hospital.
Clark said he's worried about the large number of ambulances that travel Route 51. "How do they get through?"
He said turnpike officials promised the Route 51 contract will require the low bidder on the project to hold weekly meetings with Clark and other Jefferson officials. "We're sure there will be problems," he said, "and we'll make every effort to solve them."
The turnpike has been acquiring property and razing buildings for more than a year, squeezing out enough space along Route 51 and Lewis Run to widen the road by 14 feet to provide left-turn lanes for businesses that remain.
The Route 51 work is estimated to cost from $15 million to $20 million, but right-of-way and utility relocation have cost almost half as much.
So far, the turnpike has shelled out $1.5 million to acquire part of 54 properties, but the biggest dollars have been estimated compensation made to business owners not satisfied with the settlements.
Payments have included $350,000 for Marion's Tavern, $450,700 for an Eat-n-Park restaurant, $373,575 for Essey's Service Station, $500,000 for Gene's Motel, and $542,000 for Star Lite Motel frontage, although the motel is going to remain. Fox said negotiations are continuing for land owned by Dick Corp.
PennDOT has stipulated that Route 51 can be reduced to one lane in each direction only from March through November.
"During the Christmas shopping season, when people patronize the retail shops and the mall in West Mifflin and when the snow could be piling up, two lanes have to be restored," Fox said.
Payne Hill Road is to remain open, giving some motorists an option to take Route 885 to escape congestion, although 885 is only two lanes wide and heavily used.
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