Pike, Country Club Road intersection opens early in Chartiers
Drivers who routinely travel through the intersection of Pike Street and Country Club Road in the village of Meadow Lands in Chartiers Township got an unexpected gift from the state Department of Transportation when it opened more than two months ahead of schedule after extensive construction.
The tentative completion date for the $2.1 million project done by Frank Gavlik and Sons, Inc., was Sept. 25, said Jeff Corazzi, project manager for PennDOT. But the intersection opened to travel about 3:30 p.m. Thursday.
Work on Pike and Country Club became an odyssey, with delays waiting for utility companies to move lines and the discovery of contaminated material that required remediation. Work on the project actually started in late 2014 when a house was demolished as part of the project. Work was supposed to start in May 2015 but was delayed when the contamination was found.
“A few cubic yards of liquid contaminated the soil and had to be removed,” Corazzi said. “And we had to wait for the utilities to move their lines.”
Crews moved in this spring, closing the northbound lanes of Pike for work May 31, and detouring traffic off Locust Avenue onto Interstate 79 north to the Racetrack Road exit.
While the crews did a have a few rain days, nice weather this spring and summer helped advance the completion day, Corazzi added.
Work included widening both Pike and Country Club to provide turning lanes as well as widen the turning radius for large trucks that come from a trucking company on Country Club.
“I am sure the truck drivers are glad to be able to go north on Pike again,” Corazzi said.
Traffic signals were replaced. Ohio Central Railroad replaced the railroad crossing.
Township police Chief James Horvath said the early opening was also an early birthday present for him.
“For all the complaints I got when the road was closed, they did a nice job on it,” he said. “I don’t think people realize how much traffic comes through there.”
“Some people may have been inconvenienced, but this work was an absolute necessity,” he added.
Corazzi said the contractor will still be working in the area, finishing some minor items.