Major Road Work Project Resumes On Route 65
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - A major road improvement project on Route 65 (Ohio River Boulevard) resumed Monday morning.
The Route 65 improvement project includes patching concrete, overlaying asphalt, bridge reconstruction and more. Crews are working on the northbound lanes of Route 65 between the Fort Duquesne Bridge and the McKees Rocks Bridge.
"The shoulder that's there currently is just not capable of handling the traffic as we shift motorist through that corridor," said Steve Cowan, PennDOT District 11 spokesman.
Roadwork in the northbound lanes is expected to last six months and should be completed in September. The cost for the project is $25.28 million.
The traffic is expected to be a concern for the evening rush, when thousands of drivers heading out of the city to points north, will be impacted by the lane restrictions.
"Tt's certainly going to be difficult for the first week or two," Cowan said.
Between the Fort Duquesne and the West End bridges, one lane of traffic will be closed around the clock, leaving two lanes open to traffic. Between the West End and McKees Rocks bridges, one lane of traffic will be closed around the clock, leaving only one lane open to traffic.
"It has definitely woken me up several times, and everything like that, but I don't get upset about it," said Christian Molloseau, who lives in Pittsburgh's Marshall-Shadeland neighborhood, near the construction.
Molloseau said it's not the traffic, but the noise of the construction.
"There was a time when it was definitely adding to the aggravation in my life, like, tremendously, and me and my friends used to joke around about it all the time, about me not being able to sleep, getting woken up all throughout the night, because they definitely do work throughout the night," he said.
PennDOT said in addition to the work on the road, there will be work on the ramps, that will require detours. The information will be posted to alert drivers.
Join The Conversation On The KDKA Facebook Page
Stay Up To Date, Follow KDKA On Twitter