Motorists on Route 51 in the Jefferson Hills area could face periodic lane restrictions for the next 2½ years during the construction of the latest portion of the Mon-Fayette Expressway.
The restrictions will begin at 9 a.m. Monday, weather permitting, between the Worthington Avenue and Jefferson Boulevard intersections on Route 51. The restrictions, which extend just over half a mile, will be needed periodically while contractors reconstruct Jefferson Boulevard.
The Pennsylvania Turnpike, which is overseeing the extension of the toll road, said the lane restrictions will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays. There also could be work on weekends, which would take place from 6 p.m. on Fridays through 6 a.m. on Mondays.
The restrictions will take place periodically, not every day, until that part of the project is finished by late 2026.
Trumbull Corp. started work this spring on the second of a half-dozen contracts that will be needed to extend the highway from Route 51 at Jefferson Hills to Route 837 in Duquesne. This leg will build 2 miles of the road between Coal Valley Road in Jefferson Hills to north of Camp Hollow Road near Curry Hollow Road in West Mifflin at a cost of $165.6 million.
Trumbull will move 4 million cubic yards of dirt, build five bridges and construct a full intersection and two roundabouts at Camp Hollow Road. The entire southern section of the road should be finished in 2028, but segments will open as they are finished.
The northern end of the highway is expected to extend to the Parkway East in Monroeville. The design hasn’t started there yet because the turnpike is waiting for funds to be replenished in the agency’s share of the Motor License Fund that is used to pay for the construction.
Ed covers transportation at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at eblazina@unionprogress.com.