PennDOT Details Projects Planned For 2022 Season
By: John Shumway and Bryant Reed/KDKA-TV
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- When winter turns to spring in Western Pennsylvania, it unleashes the wave of construction throughout the region.
Several projects throughout Westmoreland, Washington, Greene and Fayette counties were announced Thursday, including two major projects involving Interstate 70.
No sooner had the diverging diamond interchange at Murtland Avenue near Washington opened in 2017, PennDOT was already eyeing the Route 51 and Interstate 70 interchange near Rostraver Township for its next diverging diamond. The work will soon begin on that Rostraver interchange.
I-70 will be widened, the cloverleaf ramps will be eliminated and the diamond will be created. You can expect lane disruption on both Rt. 51 and I-70 as they do the work.
"We reduce the number of conflict points -- that's when traffic has to cross each other -- to just two. And what that does is it allows for more free movement of vehicles and reduces the amount of accidents," said PennDOT District 12's assistant executive for construction and engineering William Beaumariage.
Further east along Interstate 70, the widening of the road will continue, this time in the area of the Yukon/Madison interchange. Around 4 miles of the highway will see the widening in the area and several bridges will be replaced with ramps being improved and lengthened as well.
The planned work won't end at Interstate 70, however, with road projects also scheduled to begin in Peters Township, Washington and Connellsville.
WATCH: John Shumway reports:
A dramatic change will take place at the popular intersection of Valleybrook Road and Bebout Road in Peters Township, near the Montour Trail and near the entrance to Peterswood Park. When all is said and done, instead of a T, there will be a roundabout in place.
In Washington, the antiquated intersection of Rt. 18 and I-70 is about to get a major facelift. PennDOT will also upgrade several other intersections in the area.
In Fayette County, crews will wok on the long-planned reconstruction of the Crawford Avenue Bridge, which travels over the Youghiogheny River and railroad tracks. That six-span steel bridge carries Route 711 through the heart of town. Prepare for significant traffic disruptions.
Also, look for some major work in Westmoreland County along Rt. 981 in Unity Township. The work will run from Mt. Pleasant through Norvelt.
PennDOT says they're ready to get started on construction projects now that funding levels are back to pre-pandemic levels with help of the bipartisan infrastructure bill.
Most of the plans that had to be put off due to lack of funding during COVID-19 are now back.
WATCH: Bryant Reed reports:
"We'll start the design and sometimes we'll be done with the design, but it might take a year or two until we can fund construction. What this bill has allowed us to do is to advance a lot of projects that we may not have been able to and move them forward," Beaumariage said.
But like the rest of the world, that doesn't mean PennDOT isn't facing its own issues of supply chain woes and soaring inflation.
"One thing that's hitting us hard right now is gas prices. We have an adjustment factor in our contracts so as the price index goes up for diesel fuel, so does the index for our construction," Beaumariage said.
For more details on the project, click here.