The West Hills’ newest highway project won’t look like anything else in the area by the time it’s completed in about three years.
In addition to including the area’s first Diverging Diamond Interchange (DDI), the project will feature an actual artist’s touch.
The $58 million overhaul of the existing I-376 Parkway West/Route 22/30 interchange in Robinson Township is the first in the area to implement an aesthetic component to the design with a theme of “Hidden Histories” serving as a guiding narrative to highlight often-overlooked layers of the region’s unique appeal.
Local artist Kim Beck has been selected to contribute her concept, “Appalachian Ecology: Nature’s Quilt,” to the project.
A panel that included Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) staff as well as art and design professionals selected Beck, whose design features simple shapes and silhouettes of local Appalachian plants and animal symbols like birds, deer and native Pennsylvania trees.
More information can be found online and renderings of Beck’s work can be seen here.
It’ll be some time before those elements will be seen by area motorists, though, as preliminary work on the project is just getting started.
PennDOT officials said that starting Wednesday, April 8, construction equipment will be unloaded in the median area requiring short-term shoulder closures as needed on Route 22/30/60 (Steubenville Pike/Lincoln Highway) between Montour Church Road and Campbells Run Road from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Wednesday, April 22, in preparation of future project work.
The $57.93 million project will result in the existing I-376 Parkway West/Route 22/30 interchange being reconfigured into District 11’s first Diverging Diamond Interchange (DDI) partial cloverleaf interchange.
Officials say the DDI will improve existing and future traffic flow, operations, queuing and safety on I-376, associated ramps and Route 60.
Work includes bridge replacement, roadway and ramp reconstruction, slope treatment, drainage improvements, traffic signals upgrades, signing and pavement markings installation, and highway lighting updates.
The Route 22/I-376 DDI will remove the existing partial cloverleaf loop ramps and provide access to all points of interest including access to Route 60 southbound toward Crafton, which is currently unavailable at the interchange.
Diverging diamond interchanges are relatively new in the U.S., with the first one constructed in Springfield, Mo., in 2009. There, total crashes were reduced by 46 percent after the first year in operation, according to the Federal Highway Administration.
Diverging diamond interchanges are becoming more common in Pennsylvania. Currently one exists in Washington County at the I-70/Route 19 interchange and another is in use but awaiting the finishing touches in Westmoreland County at the I-70/Route 51 interchange near Cedarbrook Golf Course.
The project in Robinson would be the first in PennDOT’s District 11 to feature the diverging diamond interchange. District 11 includes Allegheny, Beaver and Lawrence counties.
The project will also include the replacement of the Route 22/30 structure over I-376 with new dual structures, one located on each side of the existing structure. The proposed structures will be lengthened to accommodate possible future widening of I-376. The new structures will also increase the vertical clearance height to at least 16.5 feet over I-376.
Restrictions include long-term traffic shifts on I-376, closures and detours on interchange ramps, long-term single-lane restrictions on Route 22/30, and closures and detours on Route 22/30 for bridge demolition, and the erection of new bridges.
The overall project is expected to conclude in the fall of 2029. Golden Triangle is the prime contractor.
To help keep drivers informed as work progresses, PennDOT has created an email distribution list for Parkway West traffic advisories and construction updates. Enroll by sending email addresses to ymanyisha@pa.gov. Please write “Subscribe – Parkway West” in the subject line.
Updates can also be found on the Route 22/I-376 Interchange webpage, by following PennDOT’s regional X page @511PAPittsburgh or joining the Greater Pittsburgh Area PennDOT Facebook group.
We have something like that here, but it is an artfully designed bridge balustrade. Unfortunately, drivers approaching the merge can’t see cars on the bridge until they leave it.
Don’t put up anything that will block driver vision or distract drivers from watching the road.