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Spring Road Construction Season Getting Underway, But 1 Project Being Delayed

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ELIZABETH, Pa. (KDKA) -- Spring doesn't arrive until Tuesday, but orange bloomed in West Elizabeth and Elizabeth today. Orange and white, more specifically, in the form of traffic channelers on Route 51.

PennDOT's Steve Cowan says, "It's going to be a single lane in each direction."

The restrictions will be around the clock, so Cowan says, "We're gonna see some delays running through there so give yourself extra time, especially in the morning when you're trying to get work."

KDKA's John Shumway's Report on the Elizabeth Bridge:

 

The Elizabeth Bridge needs more than $30 million worth of work, so the Swank Construction crews are going to do, "deck replacement, latex overlay, steel repairs, expansions dams - they are going to pull them out and put new ones in," says Cowan.

Once the center barrier is removed on the bridge, concrete barriers will replace the channelers to better protect the workers. About 25,000 drivers a day use the bridge in both directions, and will be dealing with the restricted lanes until Thanksgiving of this year and all next year as well.

Also getting underway tonight, the overnight closures for the final phase of the Liberty Tunnel rehabilitation. Cowan says there will be 96 outbound overnight closures.

"The tunnel closures will be weeknights Monday through Friday from 8-5, except on Saturdays when it could extend to noon," he said.

When there are events at the PPG Paints Arena, work will begin an hour after the event.

Look for overnight work to begin tonight in Oakland, too, as the upgrade of Forbes Avenue begins.

Cowan says, "What they are going to be doing is trenching to install conduit at various intersections. One intersection at a time, it's going to be one lane in the area where they are actually doing the work. However, they are planning later this week, Wednesday through Friday, depending on the weather, they could be working daylight, 9-3 as needed."

And, finally, Parkway North drivers are getting another temporary reprieve. The biggest project of the summer in the region was slated to detour northbound traffic into the HOV lane on Sunday.

Cowan says the prep work hasn't gone as planned.

"They are having trouble paving the emergency pull off areas, and there are paint issues because of the temps and precip," he said.

So the changeover will not come on Sunday as scheduled. Instead, Cowan says it "should be coming late this month or early in April."

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