PennDOT focusing on replacing deteriorating bridges
Roberto M. Esquivel | Herald-Standard
Joseph Szczur, state Department of Transportation District 12 executive, outlines projects in the works for Fayette County during a public outreach meeting Thursday morning at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus.
Roberto M. Esquivel | Herald-Standard
Joseph Szczur, state Department of Transportation District 12 executive, speaks about projects in the works for Fayette County during a public outreach meeting Thursday morning at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus.
Roberto M. Esquivel | Herald-Standard
Motorists travel along Route 40 in Menallen Township on Thursday afternoon. PennDOT said at a public outreach meeting Thursday that the intersection at Dearth and Canistra Roads near the Torchlight Inn will be relocated 800 feet west of the existing location. The project is estimated to cost $8.5 million and will be put out for bid by the end of July. Route 40 will also be widened to accommodate left turning lanes.
Faced with more than twice the number of structurally deteriorating bridges than the national average, the state Department of Transportation District 12 plans to focus its attention on replacing them as quickly as it can.
Officials of PennDOT District 12, which includes Fayette, Greene, Washington and Westmoreland counties, outlined several multimillion-dollar construction projects for Fayette County this year at a public outreach meeting Thursday at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus.
“The bridges and roads are deteriorating. A lot of them have seen their life,” said Joe Szczur, PennDOT District 12 executive.
“Our bridges on average are 60 years old. Some are upwards of 100,” Szczur said. “But they were only designed to last 50 years. We have a huge challenge ahead of us to replace deteriorating bridges as quickly as we can.”
The national average for structurally deteriorating bridges is 10 percent, whereas the average for District 12 is 23 percent, he said.
Szczur added that bridge replacements must be prioritized, with the most heavily traveled bridges being replaced first.
The bridge projects planned are as follows:
n Costing $49.6 million, the Masontown Bridge carrying Route 21 between Greene and Fayette counties is now open to traffic, and the project is expected to be complete by October 2015.
n The $1.2 million replacement of the Grindstone Bridge is slated to start on April 26, and is expected to be complete by the end of August. The bridge, located in Jefferson and Redstone townships, spans Redstone Creek.
n Coal Lick Run Bridge on Pittsburgh Street in Uniontown will be replaced at a cost of $1.3 million. Work is scheduled to begin May 12, with a completion date of Aug. 25.
n Mill Run Bridge II on Route 381 in Springfield Township will be replaced at a cost of $4.9 million. Construction began in 2010, and is slated to be complete by the end of August.
n Construction on the Cole Road Bridge in Elliottsville, Wharton Township, is set to begin in July and be complete by November at a cost of $1 million.
Other projects for this year include the construction of the Ohiopyle Visitors Center at a cost of $6.2 million. Construction began in 2012 and will be complete by May 15.
A $5 million road surfacing project will take place on Route 119 from Walnut Hill Road to the West Virginia state line. The majority of the project will be an asphalt overlay, said Bill Kovach, District 12 assistant district executive for construction.
Smaller projects to take place during the summer include: pothole patching and mechanized patching, which consists of paving 500-800 feet of road in sections; 113 miles of crack sealing to help prevent potholes; and 375 miles of shoulder cutting to remove water and debris, and to improve drainage.
Rachel Duda, District 12 assistant executive, also cited upcoming projects that will be put out for bid this year.
PennDOT plans a $31 million expansion project of Route 21 from Springdale Golf Course to Easy Street near Uniontown Hospital. The project is expected to be bid in June. The project consists of widening Route 21 from two lanes to five. There also will be additional left and right turning lanes installed at the intersections of Route 21 and Matthew Drive, Route 119 and Route 21 and Gabriel’s Drive and Work Parkway.
The intersection at Dearth and Canistra Roads near the Torchlight Inn in Menallen Township will be relocated 800 feet west of the existing location. The project is estimated to cost $8.5 million and will be put out for bid by the end of July. Route 40 also be widened to accommodate left turning lanes.
An intersection improvement project at Routes 40 and 381 is estimated to cost $4.5 million, and is expected to be bid by November. The project includes installing a traffic signal and turning lanes at the intersection.
In addition to road and bridge projects, PennDOT is also putting forth efforts to reduce accidents and fatalities by practicing prevention.
Jay Ofsanik, safety press officer, said that in 2012, there were 1,310 traffic fatalities in Pennsylvania. Of the 1,310, 120 of those occurred in the district.
“Our goal is to decrease fatalities by 50 percent over the next two decades,” Ofsanik said.
Fatalities did decrease slightly in 2013, with there being 1,208 fatalities across the state. Of those, 83 occurred in District 12. There were 17 fatalities in Fayette County, with eight of those being alcohol-related.
Ofansik said that out of the 83 fatalities that occurred in the district, 34 of the victims were not wearing a seat belt. Likewise, out of the 17 fatalities that occurred in the county, seven of those victims were not wearing seat belts.
“I can never understand why people go without wearing their seat belt,” Ofansik said. “It’s their first line of defense.”
PennDOT also is starting an initiative to target student drivers through programs such as “Survival 101”, “Back is Where It’s At” and “16 Minutes”, which preach safe driving with an emphasis on wearing seat belts.
PennDOT has also seen success with mock hearings, in which high school students are given mock citations that are followed by a hearing.
Ofansik said the point is to education students on the legal consequences of unsafe driving.
During the past year, PennDOT has also been enforcing aggressive driving, anti-texting and speed and safety initiatives.