Western Pennsylvania road work unveiled
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The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is forecasting another busy construction season this year before funding problems put the brakes on bridge repairs and road reconstruction.
In addition to the ongoing remake of Route 28, PennDOT will sprinkle its orange barrels on three sections of Interstate 79, the Veterans Bridge/Crosstown Expressway, Ohio River Boulevard, McKnight Road and West Liberty Avenue.
It will continue work in the Liberty Tunnels and on the Boston Bridge, which connects Elizabeth Township and Versailles.
"We have a lot of projects. With tight budgets, I don't know how long that's going to last," said Dan Cessna, district executive for Allegheny, Beaver and Lawrence counties.
The department on Wednesday released its proposed construction schedule, which includes 63 projects in Allegheny, 19 in Beaver and 16 in Lawrence. Again the focus will be on bridges, with 77 of them to be rehabilitated or replaced in the three counties.
Mr. Cessna said that under then-Gov. Ed Rendell's accelerated bridge repair program, the department has reduced the number of structurally deficient bridges in the district to 488, the first time in 15 years that the number is below 500.
But because of funding problems, PennDOT will pave only about half of the roads that currently need resurfacing and will continue to use less-expensive methods like seal coating, also known as tar-and-chips, in some places.
While PennDOT estimates it will pay out as much as $400 million for construction projects in the district this year -- about $50 million more than last year -- the number will fall to around $200 million for each of the following two years because of the statewide transportation funding shortfall, said Cheryl Moon-Sirianni, assistant district executive for design.
If the funding shortfall continues, PennDOT's progress against deficient bridges could be reversed, Mr. Cessna said.
"Bridges become structurally deficient almost weekly," he said.
First Published January 27, 2011 12:00 am
