5 day forecast
Noblestown Road closing looms
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A portion of Noblestown Road at the North Fayette-Oakdale border is set to close Tuesday for up to two months.
The state Department of Transportation will post detours during a $352,000 bridge replacement project just west of the intersection with Whittengale Road, between Steele Auto Body and an apartment building.
Detoured traffic will affect roads in North Fayette, Oakdale, South Fayette, McDonald and Robinson, Washington County.
About 3,800 vehicles a day travel the closed portion of Noblestown, according to PennDOT.
From Oakdale, the posted detour for cars traveling westbound on Noblestown Road will be Route 978 South/Union Avenue to Robinson Run Road in the Laurel Hill area.
Trucks will have a longer detour that uses Route 978 North, North Branch Road, Route 980/Robinson Highway and West Lincoln Avenue in McDonald.
Heavier traffic is expected on side roads and on North Branch Road, where North Fayette police plan extra patrols to monitor truck traffic, Lt. Mike Hamm told township supervisors Tuesday.
Prime contractor Mingo Creek Construction of Meadow Lands has until Sept. 17 to rebuild the culvert that carries Noblestown Road over Robinson Run, township officials said. The closure is scheduled to begin at 7 a.m. Tuesday, weather permitting, and continue around-the-clock, according to PennDOT.
Ambulance crews and firefighters from Oakdale, Sturgeon and North Fayette are cooperating to ensure quick responses, Mr. Hamm said. Local businesses will remain accessible, he said.
North Fayette planned to host a meeting Wednesday to discuss the closure with business owners, emergency responders, municipal officials and West Allegheny School District bus drivers.
School officials are working with their bus contractor, Monark Student Transportation Corp., to devise alternate routes, West Allegheny business manager George Safin said. Classes are scheduled to resume Aug. 27.
Oakdale officials are concerned because parades planned for this month and in September will be affected, borough secretary Kelly Rohbeck said.
First Published July 12, 2012 12:00 am
