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Road work rolls on around region New funding clears way for 2nd round of projects Wednesday, August 11, 1999 By Joe Grata, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
New spending authorized under the state's 1999-2000 fiscal year budget, that became effective July 1, has brought a second wave of highway construction to the region this season.
The work ranges from a $12 million reconstruction of the Vanport interchange on the Beaver Valley Expressway, which started this week, to replacing two Route 18-Ten Mile Creek bridges, whose advanced deterioration threatens to leave a portion of Greene County west of Waynesburg landlocked, starting in another month.
The work also includes the first phase of a five-year reconstruction of the Etna interchange of the Allegheny Valley Expressway/Route 28 and Route 8. Flashing electronic message boards have been advising motorists to be prepared for the start of construction on Monday.While the state budget has a lot to do with the mid-season spurt of highway-related work, there are other factors, said Ron Geist, managing director of the Pennsylvania Highway Information Association, a highway advocacy organization.
"There are 'x' number of people available to do and manage the work, so it has to be spread out over the April-through-October construction season," he said. "Also, there's a lot more work being done statewide, which is a product of the gas tax increase of two years ago and significant increases in federal transportation funding."
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation typically permits contractors to do asphalt paving through mid-October.
Some of the work that was started this week or will be started soon includes:
Westmoreland County paving -- Penn-DOT accepted an apparent low bid of $1.98 million to resurface sections of roads, starting soon and finishing next summer. Included are Main Street, Mount Pleasant; Adamsburg Road; Old Derry Road/Route 981; Millersdale Road in Hempfield; Mount Pleasant-Scottdale Road/Route 819; Lincoln Road in Latrobe; Harrison Avenue around the Penn Township-Jeannette line; and Bush Road in Derry Township.
Also, PennDOT expects to start construction next month on the $1.6 million improvement of Route 217 in Derry Borough, mainly around the Second Avenue intersection.
Etna ramp -- PennDOT is extending and improving the exit ramp from Route 28 South to Route 8 North, so the ramp will be closed, starting Monday, for the $4.7 million project that involves extensive excavation of an abutting hillside. A single-lane restriction in the work zone is expected to cause a bigger rush-hour delay than motorists usually encounter.
Peters-North Strabane bridge -- Penn-DOT expects to start next month on a $1 million bridge project on McMurray Road, about a mile east of the Morganza Road intersection. The existing bridge over Little Chartiers Creek will be replaced, approaches will be improved and traffic signals will be installed at the intersection. Work is to be finished in Feburary.
Ten Mile Creek bridges -- The two bridges that are being built -- one 105 feet long, the other 130 feet long -- will replace temporary structures that PennDOT built after the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported in April that two deteriorated bridges with 12-ton weight limits were severely affecting public safety in Rogersville and Greene County commerce in general. The new bridges, to cost a total of $2.3 million, are to be completed early next summer.
Vanport expressway -- On Monday, PennDOT closed the northbound lanes of Route 60 and the Route 68 on- and-off-ramps, as the latest phase of a $12 million reconstruction project on the Beaver Valley Expressway. Detours via the Brighton or Monaca interchanges are expected to be in effect through the end of September.
Industry paving -- PennDOT has awarded a $4 million contract to repave Route 68 from Barclay Hill Road to Wolfs Run Road, work that should be finished this year, weather permitting. No detours will be required, but intermittent delays should be expected from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.
O'Hara patching -- PennDOT maintenance crews this week are milling and patching Old Freeport Road in O'Hara, while other crews are replacing deteriorated concrete slabs on the Allegheny Valley Expressway.
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