Mar 4, 2013 2 min read

Drivers traveling North and South College streets between Highland Avenue and East Maiden Street (Route 40) in Washington will see major changes starting Monday.

The left lane of the one-way street will be closed as work starts to reconstruct the street as part of the Route 19 project near the Washington & Jefferson College campus. Lincoln Street was rebuilt in 2012.

Work will start later this year on Murtland Avenue from near the state police barracks to Ridge and Highland avenues.

Work on College is starting a few weeks early after the Washington County maintenance manager for the state Department of Transportation gave his approval.

Construction had been scheduled to be done on College last year while work was being done on Lincoln. The project was initially delayed while PennDOT waited for Pennsylvania-American Water Co. to review plans. The water company later decided to replace lines under College. That work was done this winter and is wrapping up as service line taps are being connected.

Crews from Donegal Construction will start ripping out the pavement so that work on installing new drainage can begin, said Scott Faieta, PennDOT’s assistant construction engineer overseeing the project.

Also gone for the duration of the College Street work will be the parking spaces on the left side of the street. Faieta said that when work on the left side is completed, the reconstructed portion will be used as a travel lane.

“I am hoping to avoid block closures on this project,” Faieta said. “But we will have to take it as it goes.”

Last year, Lincoln had to be closed a block at a time so equipment could be moved in and out of the area. Faieta expects work to be done on the College Street phase of the $5 million project in mid to late October.