Line Painting On Freeport Road Causes Confusion

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Some drivers have been caught off-guard on Freeport Road, near the new Hulton Bridge. You can thank a PennDOT contractor who took advantage of the unseasonably mild weather for the confusion.

Drivers on Freeport Road near the Hulton Bridge in O'Hara and Harmar Townships were a bit confused today after a contractor for PennDOT did some line painting and put stripes down on the road before PennDOT had the necessary traffic controls in place.

PennDOT moved quickly and had workers put up cones and barrels to ease the confusion after it became clear that some drivers were befuddled.

"The contractor took advantage of the good weather and put the lines in place," said Dan Cessna, the PennDOT District 11 Executive.

Alexandra Konopasek of Blawnox, who drives a lot on that stretch of highway, said, "It's confusing, this road used to have four lanes, and now it's down to two lanes, and there's a bike lane, not in a good spot."

"The arrows tell you to go left, but they don't tell you there's traffic coming in your direction," Donald Andrews of Natrona Heights said.

By the end of the day Monday, workers had put up barrels along the mile-or-so section of the highway. Cessna said while the bike lane was planned and will remain, the real reason for widening the shoulder along the highway was to create "a catch area for stones and rocks that come off an adjacent hillside."

There was a rock slide in the area just a few weeks ago, and that debris should be removed by midweek.

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