Motorists in the West Hills may have to suffer some short-term pain for long-term gain, as a half-dozen local transportation projects will be among the 57 expected to commence this year in Allegheny, Beaver and Lawrence counties.
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) District 11 officials recently unveiled the list of projects expected to be bid along with another 40 that already are underway and will continue this year. The 57 projects that will get underway will cost an estimated $537 million.
On the list of projects is a major one for area motorists – the Route 22/30/ Interstate 376 Parkway West interchange project in Robinson Township, which is expected to cost about $55 million. That project will reconfigure the existing I-376 Parkway West/Route 22/30 interchange into a new diverging diamond interchange (DDI).
Anthony Annett, the designer and project manager, said that the project is fully funded and that the goal is to put it out to bid for construction later this year.
“We don’t expect any physical work until the beginning of 2026,” Annett said last week.
Once it starts, it’ll be going for quite some time, as the project isn’t scheduled for completion until the spring of 2028.
The project will replace the existing partial cloverleaf interchange with District 11’s first DDI, which officials say will improve existing and future traffic flow, operations, queuing and safety on I-376, associated ramps and Route 60.
Annett said the DDI design is meant to reduce the number of so-called “conflict points” – the points where vehicles have to cross over a lane of opposing traffic to complete a movement. The new design also will improve traffic flow by phasing the signal lights in that area, and the new on and off ramps will increase capacity.
Annett said that educational materials will be provided to the public when the project is further along, but that likely won’t happen for some time.
Work on the Route 22/30/I-376 Parkway West interchange project will include bridge replacement, roadway and ramp reconstruction, geosynthetic reinforced soil slope, drainage improvements, traffic signals, signing and pavement markings, and highway lighting.
Several closures and detours on interchange ramps, long-term single lane restrictions on Route 22/30 and closures and detours on Route 22/30 for the demolition of the existing bridge and the erection of new bridges are all part of that project.
Another project slated to start sometime in 2025 involves the replacement of a culvert on Ewing Road over Meek Run between Beitsinger Road and Coraopolis Road in Moon Township. That project, estimated to cost $827,000, will start with prep work in May and is expected to be completed later this year.
Several other projects that affect West Hills motorists will continue this year:
- I-79: Campbells Run Road to Moon Run
- I-376 Parkway West: Boyce Road to I-79
- McKees Rocks Bridge Phase 2
The I-79 Campbells Run Road project, which started last April, was estimated to cost just under $15 million. The highway restoration project begins at the I-376 Airport/Pittsburgh (Exit 59 A/B) interchange and continues about a half mile north of the Route 60 Moon Run/Crafton (Exit 60 A/B) interchange.
The $12.6 million I-376 Parkway West Boyce Road project started last August and includes the long-term closure of Boyce Road for bridge rehabilitation work. Other restrictions associated with the project include ramp closures, overnight single-lane restrictions and four weekend-long single-lane closures. Most of the work on that project is scheduled to be completed late this year, although some work won’t be wrapped up until January 2026.
The second phase of the $38.6 million McKees Rocks Bridge project will include a multiweek closure of the bridge’s center lanes at the Route 65 intersection. In addition, motorists traveling north on Route 65 won’t be able to turn left onto the bridge, and motorists traveling east across the bridge will have to turn right onto Route 65 southbound.
Also, traffic from Brighton Heights Boulevard will not be able to access the bridge during this project, which is expected to conclude sometime during the summer.
Altogether, PennDOT officials said that 42 projects in Allegheny County will start sometime in 2025 with a net worth of $473 million.
Several signal improvement projects that will impact West Hills motorists also are on the books, including a portion of Route 50 in Carnegie Borough.
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