PennDOT officials unveil $250 million infrastructure investment plan in Southwestern Pa.
A diverging diamond interchange, restoration of bridges and road widening are among the projects that the state Department of Transportation will work on this summer in Southwestern Pennsylvania.
“This ($250 million) investment includes the rehabilitation, reconstruction and resurfacing of 88 miles of highways as well as the improvement of 92 bridges,” said Rachel Duda, executive for District 12. “Our hard working maintenance crew will undertake over 696 miles of seal coating and crack sealing this summer along with 20 critical slide repairs.”
Details and updates were announced on Wednesday at Cedarbrook Golf Course in Rostraver Township, which is located across from one of PennDOT’s most expensive projects: replacing the Route 51 interchange on Interstate 70 with a diverging diamond interchange (DDI). The exit takes drivers toward Pittsburgh or toward Uniontown.
The $120 million project, which began in 2022, includes the widening and reconstruction of I-70 in Rostraver Township, relocating Finley Road to create an intersection with Route 981, and constructing a new overpass.
Bill Beaumariage, assistant district executive for construction, said the entire project will likely be finished by 2028, but officials hope to have the work “substantially complete(d)” by the end of the year.
“That means opening traffic to the final configuration that will be permanent. We will still have touch up work in the next year, but we will be opening up to full traffic this year,” Beaumariage said.
Another standout project mentioned was the over $50 million Route 119 McClure/Kingview Interchange project in Upper Tyrone and Bullskin townships, which Beaumariage described as a “very exciting safety project.”
“We typically don’t get to add new interchanges,” he said.
Beaumariage said the decision to take on the project was prompted by multiple fatalities occurring at the intersections of Kingview and McClure roads. To address the safety concerns while preserving the community’s character, a public advisory committee was formed to explore potential improvements.
“What we came up with as a group is an interchange that will eliminate the angular movements at the intersections and help improve safety,” he said.
The project will also include the construction of turn lanes, a roundabout, a new bridge as well as installing acceleration and deceleration lanes on Route 119. Construction is expected to begin in August with an estimated cost between $55 to $65 million.
In Greene County, Beaumariage discussed the widening of the Route 88 bridge over Whiteley Creek in Monongahela Township.
“This appears to be a typical small bridge placement project, but it’s definitely not that,” he said.
The project will replace the 1930’s deck arch to increase the width of the roadway by half-a-foot while also increasing both shoulders by 2 feet.
“We have to maintain traffic so we have multiple phases…That’s why this project, even though it is started now, will not be complete until 2027,” Beaumariage said.
Additionally, he hightled the $4.07 million reconstruction of the intersection of Bebout and East McMurray roads in Peters Township, Washington County. That project is set to be complete by the end of the year.
Along with widening East McMurray Road, the safety project includes adding northbound and southbound turn lanes and new traffic signals.
District 12 oversees 3,627 miles of roadway, 2,340 bridges and 65 miles of bicycle routes in Washington, Fayette, Greene and Westmoreland counties.