PennDOT to begin 65 projects this year but nothing extra or unexpected

This year’s PennDOT district construction season is not only about projects the department will be starting and finishing but also about the work it won’t get to do.

Overall, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation officials in Allegheny, Beaver and Lawrence counties expect to spend about $327 million on new and continuing projects this year, including $65 million a year more in federal funds for each of the next four years. That’s up from about $319 million last year.

Acting District 11 Executive Doug Seeley and Jason Zang, assistant executive for construction, said that federal money is extremely beneficial, but it won’t help the district add unexpected projects to the schedule. That’s because inflation has been boosting project costs 10% to 20% and because the department made the decision a few years ago to dedicate more money to interstate highways to avoid the possibility of the federal government cutting its annual money for road work.

“[Additional federal money] has helped to fill a void,” Seeley said. “A number of projects weren’t funded to go ahead, but now they can.”

The federal infrastructure bill also included billions in discretionary grants, and PennDOT has submitted a series of projects for funding.

One project that won’t begin this summer is the major resurfacing of the Parkway East between the Squirrel Hill Tunnel and the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Monroeville. That work was set to go out for bids in August, but engineers discovered that one of the bridges in that area will need more extensive superstructure work than expected.

As a result, the project has been delayed for additional design work and won’t go out for bids until November. That will push major construction into next year.

“That’s all still in design,” Zang said. “That won’t get bid until later this year. It was the right thing to do for now.”

Another challenge, Zang said, is that the construction industry still has trouble finding employees, particularly those who will work at night. The department tries to schedule nighttime work on busy roads to reduce the inconvenience to the public, but Zang said some projects will have daytime hours because of staffing problems.

“The industry in general continues to struggle finding talent,” he said. “Some projects just have to be scheduled at night because of the traffic.”

Despite those limitations, the district has scheduled 65 projects to begin this year. Here are the highlights:

Allegheny County

New projects:

• Interstate 79: Work on this major north-south highway expanded last month from the Neville Island Bridge 5.5 miles south through Glenfield, Neville, Robinson and Kennedy. Work will include full reconstruction of the road surface and preservation of pairs of bridges over Clover Road and Route 51, as well as the Neville Island Bridge. Three ramps to Route 51 also will be paved, and there will be a southbound traffic crossover this summer. The $43.9 million project will last until fall 2025.
• New Kensington Bridge: A $24.5 million preservation project also began last month of the New Kensington/C.L. Schmitt Bridge that crosses the Allegheny River between East Deer and New Kensington. Work includes installing a latex overlay on the road surface, repairing steel structure and concrete substructure and painting the superstructure. In addition to lane restrictions, there will be a full six-week closure next year. The project should finish in fall 2024.
• Business Route 22: This resurfacing, curbing, sidewalk and drainage work through a major commercial district began last month between Rodi Road in Wilkins and Route 48 in Monroeville. Motorists will face single-lane closures, a crossover later this year between Rodi and the Hall Station Bridge, and next year a full closure of ramps to Monroeville Mall before the project is done in fall 2024.
• Lebanon Church Road: Work between Broughton Road in South Park and Ceco Drive in West Mifflin will include widening, milling and paving, concrete patching, drainage improvements and signal upgrades. The estimated $20 million-$22 million project will start in the fall and last until 2025.
• McKnight Road: The $19 million paving project between Venture Street in Pittsburgh and Perrymont Road will begin in the fall and include ramps to Babcock Boulevard. There will be lane restrictions and some overnight restrictions before work is done in fall 2024.
• Route 8: Work from Spencer Lane Extension in Shaler to the Butler County line begins this spring and will include milling and resurfacing, minor bridge preservation and drainage work, and traffic signal upgrades. This year, there will be lane restrictions and a long-term closure between Spencer Lane and Butler Plank Road. Next year, there will be a week of nighttime closures on the Bakerstown ramps before the $13.6 million project finishes in the summer.

Continuing projects:

• Route 28: Three projects from the Highland Park Bridge through the Westmoreland County line are nearing completion. There will be a continuing series of traffic restrictions around the interchange before the finish of the project that will add separate exit lanes. Paving from the bridge to the RIDC Park also should be finished by the end of July but paving from Harmarville to Russellton will continue into early 2024. When the work is done, there will be two lanes of free-flowing traffic from Pittsburgh’s North Side to Kittanning.
• Route 30/Ardmore Boulevard: Work to replace three culverts between the Wilkinsburg entrance to the Parkway East to Yost Boulevard in Forest Hills will include traffic restrictions until work is done in early summer.
• Interstate 79: Traffic restrictions will continue this summer for two other projects from the Neville Island Bridge north to Interstate 279, but the work is almost finished. Work in the bridge itself will be done in October while paving and upgrades to a series of bridges approaching I-279 should conclude in February.
• Boulevard of the Allies: Work continues of a series of ramps around the Boulevard of the Allies, Parkway East and the Liberty Bridge. The complicated project, which will last until late 2024, will involve a series of lane and overnight closures, including on Second Avenue and the parkway under the ramps.
• McKees Rocks Bridge: This bridge preservation project, which will last through fall 2025, will include one lane of traffic in each direction a restriction for oversized trucks through the end of the year. There also will be a full 60-day closure of the ramps to and from Helen Street this summer.

Beaver County

New Projects:

• Rochester-Monaca Bridge: Work that begins in August on an estimated $6 million-$7 million preservation project in Monaca will include a concrete deck overlay, expansion joint replacements, and steel and concrete replacement. Two full closures are scheduled next year, but PennDOT will work with the contractor to explore accelerated construction techniques to reduce the traffic impact. Work will be done in late 2024.
• Route 65: Crews began paving work last month between Route 19 in Monaca Route 588 in North Sewickley. Next year, there will be a full closure between Foster Road/Bologne Valley Road and Oakland Drive for replacement of a structure over Bennetts Run. The project will continue until 2025.

Continuing projects:

• Freedom Road: Traffic restrictions will continue during this major project will continue as crews relocate the roadbed to improve the flow of traffic. Work will continue through fall 2024.
• Brodhead Road: This repaving project from the Allegheny County line to just south of Route 18 in Center should finish by fall.

Lawrence County

New projects:

• Interstate 79: Work will begin in late May on this $11.6 million project to resurface the highway and improve rest areas from Butler County to Mercer County. Traffic restrictions will continue until the project is done in July 2024.
• Interstate 376: This $8.5 million project begins this summer to mill and pave the road, preserve a bridge upgrade signs between Route 224 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike and last through winter 2024.
• Route 422: Work began in mid-March to repave the highway from State Line Road in Pulaski to Harbor Village Drive in Mahoning. The $5.25 million project will finish by the end of the year.

Continuing projects:

• Route 65, Route 18: This $7.6 million project to repave roads and preserve bridges continues on Route 65 from Old Princeton Road in Shenango to South Croton Avenue in New Castle and on South Croton between Jefferson Street and East Washington Street. It should be finished in summer 2024.