Twice-delayed work on McKnight Road set to begin Monday

ROSS TOWNSHIP, Pa. (KDKA) -- Work that has been delayed twice is set to begin on McKnight Road next week, PennDOT announced on Thursday. 

Lane restrictions will be in place as crews begin a big $25.5 million project in Ross and McCandless townships -- the busy roadway's first major upgrade in years. 

Starting Monday, Feb. 19, weather permitting, there will be single-lane restrictions on McKnight Road between the Babcock Boulevard/Evergreen Road interchange and Perrymont Road daily from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The restrictions will last through early summer. 

Crews will be starting pipe and drainage cleaning operations as part of the McKnight Road improvement project. PennDOT says work will include bridge and culvert preservation, milling and paving, concrete mountable curb replacement and new signage and pavement markings between Venture Street and Perrymont Road, including the Babcock Boulevard/Evergreen Road ramps.

It's been about 15 years since PennDOT gave McKnight Road a major upgrade. KDKA-TV talked to PennDOT District 11 Executive Jason Zang about the project. He said especially through the business district, which is most of it, the work will be carefully choreographed to keep drivers and businesses in mind. 

"It's a really tough corridor to work in," he said, so crews are going to try to stay out of the way of drivers. 

"The good news is a lot of the work is going to be done at night, the majority of it, but there's a lot of work that can't just be done at night," Zang explained. 

PennDOT says drivers who want to stay in the loop with the McKnight Road project can email ymanyisha@pa.gov with the subject line "Subscribe -- McKnight Road."