Roadwork to close block of Locust
Construction continues on the Route 19 corridor project along Ridge Avenue. A block of Locust Avenue between Highland and Gibson avenues will be closed for about three weeks, starting Monday.
Construction continues on the Route 19 corridor project along Ridge Avenue. Starting Monday, a block of Locust Avenue between Highland and Gibson avenues will be closed for about three weeks.
A block of Locust Avenue between Highland and Gibson avenues will close for about three weeks, beginning Monday, as work continues on a project to reconstruct the Route 19 corridor in the area of Murtland, Ridge, Highland and Locust avenues in Washington.
Crews will be digging a deep trench to work on natural gas and water lines, as well as other underground utilities, said Scott Faieta, assistant construction engineer for the state Department of Transportation.
“The work should last two to three weeks,” Faieta said. “We want to expedite the work so we can get in and out of there before winter.”
Residents in the area have been notified of the closure. Traffic on Locust will be detoured on East Hallam to North Main Street or Highland.
Traffic controls that have been in place while crews from Zottola Construction have been replacing sidewalks and curbs on Ridge from Erie to the state police barracks on Murtland should be removed in the second week of November, said Roxanne Rossi, project manager for PennDOT. Wheelchair-accessible ramps also are being installed, and new lines will be painted on the road.
“We have had some issues with people writing their names in the sidewalk or walking through the wet concrete,” Faieta said. “Walking through the concrete may be accidental, but writing their names is not. We want to address the problem quickly because it causes the contractor grief if they have to redo it.”
Fred and Karen Fleet of the Highland-Erie committee said they have been trying to get the word out to residents to warn people not to do it.
Faieta said PennDOT and the contractor are still waiting on the results of asbestos testing on the four buildings that are to be demolished as part of the project, including the old Highland Bar and Grill and a former gasoline station.
“The contractor will be following up and finding out what is causing the delay,” Faieta said. “We should have the results by now.
“Once the results are obtained, they can start the asbestos removal and do the demolition work in winter,” he added. “If the demolition is done, we can have a staging area when work starts in the spring.”
The asbestos work could take about a month, said Steve Zottola of Zottola Construction. The asbestos could be found in floor tile, shingles and caulking.
“But we could have the buildings knocked down in a day,” Zottola said.
Once the former bar is down and the road work is completed, the area will be filled in and seeded, Faieta said. While the state will technically still own the property, he said it would be up to the city to maintain it since the state’s responsibility is only from curb to curb.
Some utility work also may be done during the winter months. Faieta expects construction to resume in March, with the most extensive work to be done in summer months. Zottola said Locust likely will be closed for much of the summer. Work is scheduled to be completed by October 2014.
This is the final phase of the Route 19 corridor project. Work is expected to wrap up later this month on the initial phase with the reconstruction of College Street. Lincoln Street was rebuilt in 2012.