Motorists who use a busy section of Steubenville Pike in Robinson Township will have to contend with some roadwork in the not-too-distant future.
The good news is, much of that work will take place at night.
The Municipal Authority of the Township of Robinson last week awarded a contract for the replacement of major water line along a 4,375-foot segment of Steubenville Pike that’s chock full of restaurants, auto repair shops, nail salons and spas and other businesses.
The new line, roughly nine-tenths of a mile long, will run directly down the middle of the existing southbound lane of the roadway, also known as Route 60.
On a map, Route 60 appears to run in an east-west fashion, but technically it is signed as a north-south route, said Nicole Haney of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT).
Douglas Evans, president of NIRA Consulting Engineers, said the water authority regularly replaces water lines as part of an ongoing capital improvement project but acknowledged that the upcoming Steubenville Pike project is “a little bigger than we typically do.”
Evans, who also serves as the water authority engineer, said water line replacement projects typically run in the $600,000 to $700,000 range, but this project will cost a little over $2.56 million. Casper Colosimo & Son was awarded the contract at last week’s authority board meeting.
Stan Celich, vice-chair of the MATR board of directors, said the stretch of line slated for replacement is a main distribution artery in the authority’s 108-mile system of water lines.
“It’s a big project,” Celich said.
The work will stretch from near Sunset Drive, which is just north of Holy Trinity Church, to Church Hill Road. The existing water line, which is located at the edge of southbound roadway lane, will not be removed but will be abandoned after the new 12-inch PVC line is installed and ready for use.
“Once the new line is pressure tested and disinfected, all the connections and services will be brought over to it,” said Evans, who estimated new line would last upward of 75 years, based on available information.
Because Steubenville Pike/Route 60 is a main thoroughfare in the township, work will take place at night – specifically from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. Monday through Friday.
Evans said that approach is being taken to avoid traffic problems “and for safety reasons.”
Evans said the goal is to start the work in May and finish in September, although he acknowledged that it could take longer to complete the work.
Evans said a similar night construction schedule was used three years ago when the authority replaced a section of line on Beaver Grade Road that started at Silver Lane and ran a bit beyond the Beaver Grade Road/Route 60 intersection.
“Doing something like that at night works better for the contractor,” Evans said.
Evans said when crews saw the condition of the water line on the stretch of Steubenville Pike that was included the Beaver Grade Road line replacement project, “we could tell we needed to go further.
“That line is about 60 years old – it’s about lived its lifetime,” he said. “The authority got good use out of that line.”
Evans said most of the project will be funded from bond proceeds the authority obtained in 2020 to tackle capital improvement projects. The authority also plans to use a $250,300 grant it obtained in 2024 from the Gaming Economic Development Tourism Fund.
Entities, including authorities, can tap into that fund to help pay for a variety of projects, including infrastructure upgrades, according to the Allegheny County website.
Evans said the new line must be placed directly under one of the lanes of traffic because there weren’t a lot of options due to the presence of other utility lines.
“We were kind of limited as to where we could put it,” he said.
Be First to Comment