May 5, 2015 3 min read

Drivers traveling through the construction zone on Route 19 at the Murtland Avenue interchange of Interstate 70 will be able to see concrete being installed at the new ramps to the highway in South Strabane Township.

“We had planned to start that work (Tuesday), but the rain changed our plans,” said Eric Klimas, project manager for Golden Triangle Construction of Imperial, the general contractor for the $54 million project scheduled for completion in November of 2017, at an update meeting Tuesday.

Work started last fall on the project to replace the conventional interchange with a diverging diamond interchange, believed to be the first of its design in Pennsylvania. Motorists will cross over and switch lanes on Route 19 with traffic signals controlling the flow of traffic. Drivers will have the option of passing through or getting on the highway.

Crews will also start asphalt paving on the recently excavated northbound lanes of Route 19 under the interstate.

Klimas said northbound traffic will then be switched to the newly paved northbound lanes. The southbound lanes will remain where they are for now.

“But I hate to say it, it does depend on the weather,” Klimas said. “Once the switch is made, we will start working in the middle. When that is done, the southbound traffic will be switched to those lanes. Then we will work on what had been the southbound lanes.”

The paving on Route 19 will be done in late summer or early fall.

Concrete work will also be done on a section of the interstate, but drivers will likely not notice because of the barriers.

“We have decided to do that work at night,” Klimas said. “It works best for us and it will keep our workers out of harm’s way, especially the truck drivers as they move in and out of the construction area.”

Traffic on the interstate will be switched to the westbound side in late June, although a firm date has not yet been set.

“It will be very confusing for drivers,” Klimas said.

The search continues for a driver who struck a Golden Triangle employee last month. The construction worker was trying to stop a wrong-way driver who apparently missed the first exit ramp from I-70 west and instead turned onto the on-ramp from Route 19 south to I-70 west in the early morning hours of April 18.

The driver of the brownish or bronze Saturn struck the construction worker and continued on with the worker hanging on the hood before he was able to get off. The worker told police the driver was black with dreadlocks. Klimas said the worker is still recovering from a concussion and ankle sprain. Anyone with information about the driver or vehicle is asked to call state police at 724-223-5200.