Delays expected along Route 40 during beam deliveries
Motorists who travel Route 40 between Brownsville and Searights crossroads can expect delays Monday and Wednesday. Concrete beams are being brought in for bridge construction as part of the Mon/Fayette Expressway project. According to the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, motorists can expect delays of about a half-hour as the 130-foot beams maneuver to make the turn at the intersection of Route 40 and Route 166 just east of Brownsville and again at the Searights crossroads, the same route taken when beams were delivered for another bridge in April.
“They are 20 feet shorter than the last set of beams delivered. It will be easier for them to make the turns with these beams,” said Joe Agnello of the Turnpike Commission.
Agnello said the current set of beams will be used to construct a bridge that will carry Upper Middletown Road over the expressway.
A total of five beams are being delivered, three on Monday and two on Wednesday. According to Turnpike officials, the deliveries are expected during the late morning and early and late afternoon hours. No deliveries will take place between 2 and 3:30 p.m., so school bus traffic will not be affected.
All of the deliveries will take place before 5 p.m.
Ten beams were delivered to the construction site in April so a bridge could be constructed that will carry Royal Road over the expressway. The road needed to be built up at the Searights crossroads to allow the beams to cross without getting stuck. Agnello said the shorter beams should not run into that problem and the crews, experienced now in getting the long concrete beams around the corners, should have fewer problems with the current job, Agnello said.