Lane closures planned for Interstate 70 at Murtland Ave. exit
A rendering looking north toward the southern intersection at the planned reconstructed interchange at Murtland Avenue (Route 19) and Interstate 70
A diagram showing the layout of the planned diverging diamond interchange at Murtland Avenue (Route 19) and Interstate 70
Barry Lyons, state Department of Transportation District 12 senior project manager, explains the diverging diamond interchange to South Strabane resident Paul Dodworth during a public review earlier this year.
Motorists are being warned preparations to begin construction of the new diverging diamond interchange at Interstate 70’s Murtland Avenue exit will prompt night-time lane closures on that section of the highway and on nearby Route 19 over the next two months.
The single-lane closures on I-70 between the Beau Street exit and north junction with Interstate 79 will begin Sept. 22 and continue weekdays from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. until early November, state Department of Transportation officials said. There will be similar lane restrictions during that time on Route 19 between Trinity Point Drive and Oak Spring Road.
Crews are planning to widen that stretch of the interstate in South Strabane Township and temporarily widen Route 19 at the Murtland exit as they prepare to build the first diverging diamond interchange in the state.
”We’re in the baby steps right now,” PennDOT assistant construction engineer Scott Faieta said of the project.
The diverging diamond interchange design requires traffic to cross over and switch lanes on Route 19 with traffic signals directing the flow to allow motorists passage through the area or onto I-70 going in either direction. The total project, which will remove the outdated cloverleaf on-ramp design and expand I-70 to three lanes in each direction, is expected to cost about $57 million and will be completed in 2017.
Faieta said this work before this winter will allow PennDOT to improve the traffic flow when major portions of the construction project begin next year.
”A lot of this is preparation work when we flip traffic next year,” he said.
Golden Triangle Construction of Robinson Township is the general contractor for the project.
There are currently 34 diverging diamond interchanges in the country since the first was constructed in Missouri about five years ago.
A video of how the diverging diamond will function can be viewed on PennDOT’s YouTube page at www.youtube.com/user/PennsylvaniaDOT.