No major traffic pattern changes planned at Murtland Avenue interchange on I-70
Drivers who travel Interstate 70 or Route 19 near the highway’s Murtland Avenue interchange in South Strabane Township should not expect to see any major changes in traffic patterns through the rest of this construction season.
Work is continuing on the $54 million project to construct a diverging diamond interchange at Murtland. The project started last September and is expected to be done in November 2017. The general contractor is Golden Triangle Construction of Imperial.
“On the main line of Interstate 70, that traffic pattern will remain in effect until November, with the exception of changes to the eastbound on and off ramps at Murtland,” said Scott Faieta, assistant construction engineer for the state Department of Transportation, who is overseeing the project. “We may have to make some adjustments at the ramps for concrete placement.
“On Route 19, we are still working on the southbound side,” he added. “That configuration also will continue through November.”
Work is still being done to remove the bridge that takes the eastbound lanes of the highway over Route 19.
Traffic does back up at times, particularly during the evening rush hour and on Fridays, from southbound Interstate 79 to I-70 eastbound.
“The backups seem to fluctuate,” Faieta said. “We are still promoting the use of the left eastbound lane for traffic going all the way through and not getting off at Murtland.”
Golden Triangle crews had to reset barriers knocked out of place by oversized trucks. Eric Klimas, project manager for Golden Triangle, said there were at least four times the barriers have had to be reset.
“Most of those were due to driver error when they did not follow the permitted route,” Faieta said. “We’ve added more signs to alert truck drivers.”
With the exception of the problems caused by the oversized loads, traffic has been moving smoothly through the construction zone, said Lt. Douglas Bartoe, patrol section supervisor for state police Troop B in Washington.
Faieta said PennDOT so far paid out $19 million to the contractor and expects to pay about $10 million by the end of the construction season in late November. The project is still on schedule.