A portion of New England Road in West Mifflin will close for about nine weeks beginning Monday as part of the latest round of construction for the Mon-Fayette Expressway.
The road will close between Camp Hollow Road and Route 837 so crews for Trumbull Corp. can install new drainage. Detour signs will direct traffic around the closure using Route 837, Route 885 and the upper portion of New England Road.
Local traffic will be permitted to enter the closed area.
The work is part of Trumbull’s $165.6 million contract for a 2-mile section of the new toll road started this spring from Coal Valley Road in Jefferson Hills and just north of Camp Hollow Road near Curry Hollow Road in West Mifflin. During this part of the project, crews will move 4 million cubic yards of dirt, build five bridges and construct a full intersection and two roundabouts at Camp Hollow Road.
This is the second of several contracts to build the southern section of the highway from Route 51 in Jefferson Hills to Route 837 in Duquesne with expected completion in 2028. The Pennsylvania Turnpike, which is overseeing construction of the toll road, plans to open sections of the new highway as they are completed.
Eventually, the highway is expected to join the Parkway East at Monroeville, but the agency hasn’t begun design of the northern section yet because it doesn’t have the funds for construction. The project is being built with a small share of the state Oil Franchise Tax, but that fund took a big financial hit when driving was reduced during the pandemic.
Ed covers transportation at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at eblazina@unionprogress.com.