New Salem Road work topic of meeting
Project officials involved with the widening and resurfacing of New Salem Road in South Union Township will meet with the public to discuss the future construction project. Barry Lyons, project manager with the state Department of Transportation (PennDOT), said he and other project team members will meet with the public from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the South Union Township municipal building, located at 151 Township Drive.
During the meeting, PennDOT officials will present the proposed project and answer any questions, Lyons said.
According to PennDOT officials, construction on New Salem Road is scheduled to begin in the fall of 2008.
Lyons said the project consists of widening New Salem Road, from the Matthew Drive intersection to Route 40, to provide room for two through lanes of travel in each direction.
Plans also call for the creation of turning lanes onto Matthew Drive. In addition, Lyons said crews will do drainage work while upgrading signs and traffic lights.
Construction is estimated to take about a year to complete, Lyons said.
“We’re going to be working on six-tenths of a mile of the road. It’s not a huge project, but it’s a challenging project,” Lyons said.
According to Lyons, the most challenging part of the project will be widening the road near the Fayette County Health Center and Goodwill.
He said construction also will get a bit tricky near the intersection of New Salem Road and Route 40.
“There are some things we’ll have to work out,” he said.
Throughout construction, one lane of traffic in each direction will be maintained, Lyons said, noting that access to businesses along the roadway will remain open.
PennDOT District 12 spokeswoman Valerie Petersen said PennDOT is working closely with the Federal Highway Administration (FHA) on the project.