PennDOT plans overhaul at busy Connellsville intersection
CONNELLSVILLE – Traffic tie-ups, delays and detours will test the patience of drivers once again this summer as the state Department of Transportation (PennDOT) readies its plans for reconstruction of the Route 119/Crawford Avenue intersection. While the work will cause headaches to travelers, the local police department and others in the short term, it appears the completion of the project will allow for a New York firm to proceed with
the development of a nearby mini-mall.
PennDOT officials met with city leaders this week to alert them of the road project, which is anticipated to get under way in June.
“We’re getting ready to submit everything to Harrisburg now,” said Ron Murray, project design manager.
After receiving the design specifications, the department will solicit bids from contractors.
Murray said that a contract for the work should be awarded April 24. Contractors, in most cases, have 60 days to begin the work.
The maps show the project encompasses portions of the northbound lanes of Route 119, sections of the southbound lanes of the highway and Crawford Avenue.
Work crews also will improve the area where Route 201 intersects with Route 119 and Crawford Avenue.
Known as Five Corners, the intersection encounters the most vehicular traffic in the county, with nearly 12,800 cars and trucks passing through the city in the northbound lanes of Route 119 daily, according to Murray.
While figures were not available in connection with the southbound route, he speculated the numbers would be similar.
“It is a very congested area,” Murray said.
In the first phase of the project, the road surface along Route 119 northbound will be milled and repaved from the city limits to Schmitz Tire Service.
At the intersection of Route 119 and Crawford Avenue and proceeding through the area for about 500 feet, the road surface will be
removed and replaced with concrete.
“We want to resolve the rutting and movement of pavement that takes place at that intersection,” said Murray of the use of the concrete surfacing material.
New pavement will be placed along Crawford Avenue from the intersection to Seventh Street.
The roadway that connects the Route 119 north and southbound artery also will undergo extensive reconstruction.
The southbound route from the intersection to Green Street will be repaved during the second phase of the project.
Murray added that utility work, upgrading of traffic signals and signs will be completed as the roadwork is being done.
Designers are incorporating a related project into the plans that will include the removal of the train trestle that crosses over the southbound lanes of Route 119 and the construction of crossover lanes that would connect the northbound and southbound routes.
The new road and traffic signal would enable entrance to the mall complex being proposed by the Widewaters Group and ease traffic backup at the main intersection.
The project on the 11-acre site that adjoins the southbound lanes of routes 119 and 201 has been delayed while developers and the transportation department determine the effect of additional traffic in the area.
“The Widewaters plan has not yet been approved,” cautioned Brian Hart, PennDOT district traffic engineer. “This is a scheme that we have been working with Widewaters.
“Operationally, we agree that it can work and may have a benefit and help out some of the other intersections where they were having problems.”
The proposed complex is anticipated to include a grocery store, restaurant and several smaller retail stores.
Hart indicated that Widewaters is incorporating the new roadway and traffic signal into its overall traffic impact study that PennDOT will review when it is completed.
“We’re going to give it another cursory review to make sure all the intersections are working properly,” said Hart.
Although it was anticipated the road improvement project would include the installation of sidewalks along the southbound route, from the Crawford Avenue intersection to Green Street, Murray said PennDOT has no plans for such construction.
The city set aside $100,000 in its 2002 state Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program for the construction of sidewalks in the area but chose to put the project on hold until discussions were held with PennDOT to determine if it would include the work.
Ralph Wombacker, executive director of the city’s redevelopment authority, said the city has been advised of PennDOT’s decision, but neither the mayor nor city council has instructed him to proceed with the project.
“We are being told the sidewalks can be put in before or after the road work is completed,” he said.
The road reconstruction will involve several detours and involve participation by the local police department to maintain traffic flow.
Police Chief Stephen Cooper said Friday that he is working with
PennDOT to determine where officers will be needed during the project.