Veronica PiscitelliThe Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) has revealed the details of its upcoming local construction season projects. This year, the agency expects to award contracts for 57 projects totaling about $537 million. The package includes work on 43 bridges and 551 miles of roadway in Allegheny, Beaver and Lawrence counties. Despite funding one less project than in 2024, which saw 58 new contracts, the projects’ total costs have increased about $54 million.
PennDOT District Executive for District 11 Jason Zang outlined the upcoming projects out for bid at a meeting on March 26. He placed emphasis on five new major projects, which together will total more than $200 million. No other project will cost more than $13 million. Per Zang, the planning for these major projects has been in the works for several years and all are fully funded. Additionally, they will have no risk of spending cutbacks by the current administration.
All five major projects are planned to move ahead at the same time, including two interchange projects. Zang said it was “unusual” for the district to have both projects occurring on local highways in the same year, but they are both scheduled to go ahead.
The five major projects to begin in the upcoming year are the McKeesport-Duquesne Bridge, the Route 20/30 Interchange at Parkway West (I-376) in Robinson, the Route 910 at I-79 project in Franklin Park and Marshall, the Parkway East bathtub and the Route 18 Franklin Road Bridge.
McKeesport-Duquesne Bridge
Work on this project is expected to begin late this year and last until late 2028. The projected $55 million to $65 million project is to preserve the bridge across the Monongahela
River between Route 837 in Duquesne and Bowman Avenue in McKeesport. The project will include painting the bridge, installing a latex modified concrete deck overlay, steel repairs, lighting and sign updates and replacing expansion joints, bearings, a barrier and sidewalk fencing. Two lanes of traffic will be maintained for most of the project, but there may be some single-lane and full closures.
Route 20/30 Interchange
This $50 million to $60 million project is expected to begin in the next few weeks with work continuing until spring 2028. It will install the district’s first diverging diamond interchange, a safety feature that allows traffic to turn right as usual, while traffic turning left crisscrosses after a light so drivers can merge left without crossing traffic. Additionally, it will include a bridge replacement on Route 60, roadway and ramp reconstruction, slope work, drainage improvements, and new traffic signals and lights. There will be a series of long-term traffic restrictions with this project.
Route 910 at I-79
The main goal of this project is to construct two new flyover ramps above I-79, creating a single-point interchange at Route 910 in Marshall and Franklin Park. The project is estimated to cost between $50 million and $60 million and be finished in late 2027. Preservation work on the existing bridge, new traffic lights and overhead lights and drainage improvements are also included. Traffic will be maintained for most of the project’s duration; however, there will be some interstate and ramp closures.
Parkway East bathtub
PennDOT will be seeking bids for the estimated $34 million project this year. It will address chronic flooding where the Parkway East passes through Downtown Pittsburgh adjacent to the Monongahela Wharf, between the Grant Street exit and the Fort Pitt Bridge. To accomplish this, the project will raise the height of a 1,150-foot flood wall, as well as install micropiles to strengthen the foundation under the highway, as it will need to withstand an increase in hydraulic pressure created by the higher wall. The project will also include improvements to the drainage system in the area.
Work will not begin on this project until after the NFL Draft in Pittsburgh, scheduled for April 23-25, 2026. Once underway, traffic will be limited to one lane in the area and parking on the wharf may be limited. Construction is expected to be finished by the end of 2026.
Route 18 Franklin Road Bridge
This $23 million project has already begun its mission of replacing the bridge over Raccoon Creek in Potter. Traffic will be maintained on the original bridge while the new bridge is being built beside it. Once completed, the road will be realigned to meet the new structure. New sidewalks and aesthetic architectural surface treatments are also part of the build, which is set to wrap up in spring 2027.
There are also 42 continuing projects in Allegheny County including:
- Route 8 ($9.1 million)
- Commercial Street Bridge ($95 million)
- Parkway East ($70.2 million)
- Route 51 ($25.8 million)
- Campbells Run Road ($15 million)
- Boulevard of the Allies ($44.9 million)
- McKees Rocks Bridge ($38 million)
- McKnight Road ($27 million)
- Charles Anderson Bridge ($56 million)
- Route 28 ($4.8 million)
Beaver County will see 12 new projects including those on Route 68 ($6.1 million) and the Vanport Bridge (estimated $6.5 million). In Lawrence County, there will be three new projects including one on Route 18 estimated to cost $5.7 million.
Specific project details, traffic pattern changes, road closures and project timelines can be found here.
Image by Bruce Emmerling from Pixabay
