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Redstone Way under construction

By Christine Haines 3 min read

REDSTONE TWP. – By the end of November 2007, there will be a four-lane road going out of Brownsville toward Uniontown instead of the truncated four-lane road that is there now. The new road, which will be known as Redstone Way, is being built by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission and will then be turned over to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. It is all part of the Mon-Fayette Expressway construction project.

A public meeting on the construction phase that includes Redstone Way was held Thursday at the Redstone Township Building by the turnpike commission. That phase, known as 51E1, will include a section of the Mon-Fayette Expressway, Redstone Way, the Colvin Run Road Connector, and reconstruction of a small section of Route 40 near Route 166 east of Brownsville. All of the work except for the expressway is to be completed by the end of 2007. The expressway construction is to be completed by the end of 2008, according to Jamie Ickes, the project manager for New Enterprise Stone and Lime Co., the contractor for the work.

“We’re going to be working 24 hours a day starting in October. It’s going to take a lot to have Redstone open by the end of next year,” Ickes said.

One area resident had concerns about the noise level from the 24-hour project.

“We try to keep our noise levels down as much as possible,” Ickes said. “If it’s too loud to sleep, call us and we’ll try to do what we can.”

Ickes said generally over-night work is done in an area with natural sound buffers such as embankments. In addition, he said the back-up warning beepers are turned off on the trucks and the vehicles don’t have tailgates to rattle.

There will be considerable earth moving involved with the project, including blasting. Mike Houser, the project manager for the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, said letters will be going out to property owners along the construction zone within the next two months seeking permission to conduct property surveys and well surveys for those residents with well water. Houser said the surveys are free and of benefit to the property owners in the event of any damage caused by blasting done for the highway construction.

Houser said funding is still being sought for section 51E2, which will take the toll road from Brownsville across the Monongahela River to Low Hill.

“The idea behind dividing into two phases was to take advantage of the funding we do have and to give the public a usable section of highway that actually goes somewhere,” Houser said.

Houser said the expressway should be completed from Colvin Run to Route 51 by November 2008.

Redstone Township Supervisor Larry Williams said the construction of Redstone Way and the section of the expressway in the township should be good for the township.

“I think it’s great for Redstone Township. We’ve been contacted by numerous developers who are trying to negotiate land deals within a mile radius of this construction,” Williams said.

Frank Ricco, owner of Brownsville Bus Lines, said the construction should have minimal impact on his school bus routes. As president of the Greater Brownsville Area Chamber of Commerce, he has also been a strong supporter of completion of a four-lane road between Brownsville and Uniontown, which Redstone Way and the expressway main line will provide by 2008.

“I’m very pleased with it,” Ricco said.

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