Jun 7, 2013 2 min read

The state Department of Transportation is working on preliminary plans to widen Route 519 near Canonsburg Hospital and reconfigure its intersection with Routes 19 and 980 in North Strabane.

Homeowners living in neighborhoods off Route 519 recently received letters from PennDOT informing them that workers or contractors might be conducting surveys in the area.

PennDOT spokeswoman Valerie Petersen said the department is just in the “planning stages” of the project that probably won’t begin until 2016 or 2017.

She said they hope to widen Route 519, possibly putting in a turning lane, and reconstruct the intersection with Route 980, although the eventual design has not been determined.

Any discussions about taking private land by eminent domain are premature, Petersen said. Homeowners will be “contacted personally” if workers will be entering their property.

“It’s just in the early stages,” Petersen said. “Nothing has been approved. The letter that went out said it is PennDOT’s responsibility to improve the road in that area. We may need to enter their land to do surveys or other testing.”

But that was news to North Strabane Township Manager Frank Siffrinn, who said he was unaware of those construction plans until a reporter notified him this week of the potential project.

He said the township is currently focused on a project to improve Route 519 at Brownlee Road.

Siffrinn said that project has been planned for years and construction of a series of roundabouts is expected to begin later this year and be completed by December 2014.

“It has always been bumped for some reason, and I guess they finally decided to go through with it,” Siffrinn said.