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Business Route 60 among PennDOT's largest projects

By Maggi Newhouse, TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, April 18, 2002
While the $84 million Fort Pitt Bridge and Tunnel project tops the list of Allegheny County roadwork this year, the orange barrels will make their way into the south and west suburbs as well.

This summer, PennDOT will pump more than $50 million into eight roadways in the south and west, including a $24 million reconstruction and new interchange project along Business Route 60 in Moon Township already under way.

That project is among the more than 60 that PennDOT will undertake this summer in Allegheny County. PennDOT plans more than $200 million worth of work in the county this summer — $82.4 million for reconstruction of the outbound Fort Pitt Bridge and Tunnel and $125 million of work throughout the rest of the county.

The reconstruction of Business Route 60 will include the construction of a new interchange between Beers School Road and Flaugherty Run Road and will provide access to Moon Clinton Road.

Work on the project began in January and is to be completed by December.

While the project means lane closures and a 40 mph speed limit on both sides of the highway, project manager John Villella said he hasn't seen too many traffic tie-ups, thanks in part to the Route 60 airport expressway.

"You can take Route 60 straight through, so unless you need to be here, you don't need to come through," he said. "(Traffic) has been relatively light. We have the single lane that's running really well."

Moon Township Manager Greg Smith said the project has had an added benefit — a renewed interest in the Moon Clinton Road commercial district.

Smith said he has been fielding phone calls from developers interested in the area once the project is completed.

A number of other major projects are taking place in and around the airport corridor, including a $15 million reconstruction project of Route 22 westbound in North Fayette and a $1.5 million bridge replacement project connecting Hookstown Grade Road in Findlay Township and Beaver County.

Findlay Township Manager Gary Klingman said that while the detour around the bridge replacement isn't easy, the problem is compounded by the work on Business Route 60.

"The fact that both of them are happening at the same time is kind of interesting," he said. "Hookstown Grade Road could have been another alternative detour. … It will lock people in a little to what their alternatives are."

In the South Hills, a $4.5 million road and bridge reconstruction project along Route 88 between McNeilly Road and Route 51 promises heavy traffic tie-ups, with the northbound lane closing and traffic being detoured more than six miles.

The project includes the replacement of the bridge over Sawmill Run Creek, along with the addition of retaining walls along the creek to help control flooding in the area.

"It's not going to eliminate it, but we should be able to contain it a little better," project manager Joe Smith said.

Work also will include widening the roadway, including the construction of a turning lane onto McNeilly Road.

The detour will have northbound motorists take Connor Road to Route 19 north, where they will catch Route 51 at the Liberty Tunnels.

Joe Smith said he anticipates detours will take effect April 24, and construction should last through the fall.

Washington County work


A number of projects are planned for Washington County this year, including the resurfacing of 103 miles of roadway and the sealing of 39 miles of roadway. The projects have not yet been put out to bid. Among the planned work:

  • State Route 136 from the Mon Fayette Expressway interchange to dead man's curve in Carroll Township will be restored at a cost of $1 million to $5 million.

  • The intersection of state routes 519, 1009 and 1007 will be improved in Houston Borough at a cost of $1 million to $5 million.

  • The Manifold Bridge on State Route 1047 in South Strabane Township will be replaced at a cost of $200,000 to $500,000.

  • The McConnells Mill Bridge in Chartiers Township will be restored at a cost of $200,000 to $500,000.


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