With warm spring weather becoming more common, Pennsylvania's 2021 road and bridge construction is gathering increasing momentum each day.
That led Gov. Tom Wolf on April 22 to highlight the more than 40 Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) projects that will soon get ramped up across the six-county Hollidaysburg Region (District 9) during the new construction season.
District 9 is made up of Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Fulton, Huntingdon and Somerset counties in west-central Pennsylvania.
"I am pleased to announce the many improvements across our rural communities that will be made this year," Wolf said, according to a PennDOT press release. "These needed improvements on our rural networks are vital to our economy and our quality of life."
On the same day as Wolf's announcement, PennDOT's Annual Transportation Outreach sessions began virtually in Bedford and Fulton counties, with additional virtual sessions planned for the district's other four counties in the coming weeks. At these sessions, PennDOT personnel meet with area stakeholders during the outreach presentations to discuss improvements that will be made during the upcoming construction season and in future seasons.
In its news release, PennDOT noted that beginning in 2021, the state agency will oversee approximately 92 mi. of paving, while 41 bridges will be repaired or replaced, and seal coating will be applied to about 378 mi. of roadway across the district.
According to District 9 Executive Thomas Prestash, "This is the 22nd year that PennDOT's Engineering District 9 has conducted outreach meetings for legislators, municipal officials, planning and economic development agencies and community leaders in each of our six counties. This year we will see over $98 million worth of new construction projects on area roadways."
Through its press release, PennDOT listed the following ongoing projects that will continue in 2021:
- PA Routes 1001/4004 (Goods Lane) to PA 764 in Blair County will be resurfaced at a cost of $6.2 million,
- Improvements to U.S. Highway 219 in Carrolltown, Cambria County, $6 million,
- PA 403 from the Somerset County line to the PA 56 will need resurfacing, Cambria County, $4.2 million,
- Updates will be made on PA 2047/Brotherton Road to the Berlin/Somerset interchange, Somerset County, $10 million.
Notable projects that are expected to begin in 2021 include:
- Multiple bridge preservations over the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Bedford and Somerset counties, $6.3 million,
- Resurfacing Interstate 70 in Breezewood to the Fulton County line, a Bedford County project with a cost of $20 million to $25 million,
- Resurfacing of the I-99 Turnpike to Sproul/Claysburg, stretching from Bedford to Blair counties, $9.3 million,
- An intersection realignment and bridge rehabilitation at the intersection of U.S. 22 and North Juniata Street, Blair County, $3.2 million,
- A safety improvement of the PA 3016/Lulay Street to Demuth Street corridor in Cambria County, $7.7 million,
- Various U.S. 22 interchanges will get needed concrete rehabilitation, Cambria County, $7.4 million,
- A realignment of the PA 160 and PA 756 intersection, Cambria County, $1.8 million,
- Resurfacing PA 56 and Scalp Avenue in Johnstown from U.S. 219 to Kleban Drive, Cambria County, $1 million-$5 million,
- Improvements to PA 3011/Franklin Street, Cambria County, $1.3 million,
- A resurfacing of U.S. 22, from the Mifflin County line to PA 1010 in Huntingdon County, $7 million,
- A slide repair is needed along PA 26 in the Jackson Corner community of Huntingdon County, $1.8 million,
- The Meyersdale bypass on U.S. 219 requires resurfacing, Somerset County, $7.5 million, and
- The McNally Bridge along U.S. 219 will undergo preservation work, Somerset County, $2.2 million.
Information from the District 9's Transportation Outreach sessions will be available after each session by clicking "2021 Transportation Outreach" on the district web page at www.penndot.gov/District9.
Additional information about infrastructure in the district, including completed work and significant projects, is available at www.penndot.gov/D9Results. Each of PennDOT's planned and active construction projects are listed at www.projects.penndot.gov.
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