Nov 11, 2004 By Angie Santello 6 min read

Irene Krokus of Masontown leans across the table as her son, Patrick (left), looks on while questioning Glenn D. Stickel, project manager of SAI Consulting Engineers Inc., and William L. Beaumariage (right), civil engineer manager of PennDOT Engineering District 12 in Uniontown, about the proposed bridge at Masontown. MASONTOWN – About 80 property and business owners interested in plans to rebuild a new Masontown bridge came to see the plans on display at the American Legion Post 423 Wednesday night.

It will cost $75 to $80 million for construction, right-of-way acquisition and utilities to make the new bridge a reality.

Fayette County Commissioner Vince Vicites said that “it’s going to be a major challenge” to complete the project and secure necessary funding.

While Vicites said the western part of the state usually gets their “fair share” of biannual transportation dollars distributed by the federal government to the state, it is likely that this year’s bout will decrease.

“I’ve been working diligently to try to find funding for the bridge,” said Vicites, noting he is working on securing funds from a new source.

While the design work has been fully funded, money for the remainder of the project is still up in the air. Officials are counting on federal highway bill money, hoping it will clear with a large dollar amount in the House and Senate.

The three-mile project will begin at the Route 88 intersection in Paisley, Greene County, and will proceed east over the Monongahela River ending one-quarter of a mile west of the Route 166 interchange in Fayette County.

Plans include 12-foot wide travel lanes, two in each direction, a 10-foot shoulder on the right side and an 18-foot median.

Besides a new bridge, the project also includes reconstruction of Route 21 into four lanes of traffic. The existing bridge will be kept open to traffic while the new one is built nearby.

First, one lane of the bridge will be constructed, the old one will then be torn down, and then the second lane of the new 2,000-foot bridge will be built.

The state Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and SAI Consulting Engineers of Pittsburgh are designing plans for the project.

SAI Project Manager Glenn Stickel said the final designs would be complete in late 2005 or early 2006 when bidding out the construction is the next step. Officials hope to bid out the entire project, rather than in sections. Construction could begin in 2007 and the bridge will probably take about two and a half years to build, marking completion in 2009 or 2010, Stickel added.

Stickel noted that the new project would improve safety along Route 21, an area known for its high accident rate, and on the bridge, where a steep grade exists.

The new bridge will be raised 45-foot higher than the old one in order to close steep grades on either side. This will, in turn, lessen the chance of accidents, Stickel said.

Right now, the preliminary design phase, now going on its third year, is still yet to be complete. The Wednesday meeting was the second round of public input in the last two years. Affected property and business owners were plentiful Wednesday night.

While no property displacement will occur in Greene County, Fayette County, especially in the area of Masontown borough, will experience 10 total takes, including three vacant properties.

David Jordan, owner of Jordan’s Auto Parts, recently refurbished the former Classic Car Clinic on Route 21, turning it into site number six for his auto parts business.

Although officials are telling him that his property will not be affected, Jordan said with the widening of Route 21, traffic will be barricaded from entering his business lot.

Tractor-trailers may not be able to wedge into his lot, while travelers on the Route 21 roadway will more than likely whiz pass, Jordan said.

“With the Jersey barrier, they’re cutting me in half without me being able to get fully-fledged open,” Jordan said.

Another resident said the project will affect nearly 200 employees of Stahl’s Hotronix, who normally eat at the Subway across from their workplace on Route 21.

With the Jersey barrier, employees will not be able to travel straight across the road for lunch. Instead, they will have to travel down Route 21, around a jughandle and back down to their place for a quick lunch, the resident said.

Frank Revak lives along Route 21. His 150-year-old log cabin will be a full-take during the property acquisition phase. Both he and Jordan said they did not receive any advance notice that their properties would be affected.

“I would like to have known sooner,” Revak said. “I waited four or five years when the rumors started. No one seemed to know. All of a sudden on Nov. 10, they know.”

In three or four months, the appraisal process will begin, Revak said.

When that begins, there will be a lot of arguing and haggling, he added.

“There’s not a nail or a screw driven that my father or I did not do,” he said.

“There’s a lot of blood, sweat and tears over that.”

Vicites agreed that the plans on display were a concept and a concept can be changed.

“The property owner has to be treated fairly in the acquisition process,” Vicites said.

He said his main reason for coming to the meeting was to listen to the people and gain insight into how the plans will affect them.

“This impacts people’s lives and you have to be here for that,” Vicites said.

Vicites said he works closely with the engineers designing the project and can make suggestions regarding their situations.

Vicites called the bridge the “gateway to Greene County” and said it needs to be replaced.

The bridge is nearly 80 years old and last repaired in 1992.

The Fayette County side of Route 21 was built in 1953 and last upgraded in 2001.

The Greene County side of Route 21 was built in 1968. The traffic signals at Route 88 were upgraded in 2001.

For more information, call Stickel at 412-392-8771, e-mail gstickel@saiengr.com, call PennDOT Project Manager William Beaumariage at 724-439-5517, or e-mail at wbeaumaria@state.pa.us.