Ohiopyle gateway project moving forward
Michael Palm/For the Observer-Reporterr
Construction has already begun on replacing a superstructure on the existing Route 381 bridge over the Youghiogheny River in Ohiopyle as part of the Ohiopyle Intermodal Gateway project.
Michael Palm/For the Observer-Reporter
Construction has already begun on replacing a superstructure on the existing Route 381 bridge over the Youghiogheny River in Ohiopyle as part of the Ohiopyle Intermodal Gateway project.
Michael Palm/For the Observer-Reporter
Construction is shown near the intersection of Sugarloaf Road and Route 381 in Ohiopyle. Sugarloaf Road will be redirected onto Negley Road as part of the Ohiopyle Intermodal Gateway project.
Michael Palm/For the Observer-Reporter
Construction is shown near the intersection of Sugarloaf Road and Route 381 in Ohiopyle.
Now that ground has been broken on it, the Ohiopyle Intermodal Gateway project is ready to move forward – though motorists shouldn’t expect work to interfere too heavily with their travels in the area.
Consisting of several planned realignments, the project is designed to reduce current conflicts between vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists, and boat renters traversing Route 381 and to create a safer connection between Ohiopyle borough and Ohiopyle State Park with improved parking, sidewalks and crosswalks, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
Valerie Petersen, community relations director for PennDOT District 12, said road work will be scheduled so as not to interfere with summertime recreation and tourism in the area. Work will continue until Memorial Day 2019 and recommence Labor Day 2019, and the project is expected to be completed before Memorial Day 2020.
Petersen said the project’s impact on motorists during the winter months will be minimal, adding PennDOT would continue to provide construction updates as work progresses on the project, whose contractor is Plum Contracting Inc.
PennDOT Secretary Leslie S. Richards and DCNR Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn joined PennDOT regional, park and local officials to break ground on the $12.4 million project last week.
“Transportation assets should meet community needs, and this is a great example of how we can support local economies and improve safety,” Richards said. “I’m very proud of the interagency and community collaboration that has gone into making this project a reality.”
Dunn said close cooperation with PennDOT has prompted other improvements at Ohiopyle State Park, noting Laurel Highlands Falls Area Visitor Center.
A $4 million grant from the Federal Highway Administration’s National Scenic Byways Program helped pave the way for much of that project, undertaken in close cooperation with PennDOT’s Byways and Recreational Trails Section.
“Just as that incredible new visitor center casts a spotlight on all that Ohiopyle offers the outdoors enthusiast, this groundbreaking highlights all the partnerships and cooperation among two state departments that help a great state park get even greater,” Dunn said.
Planned improvements include widening Route 381 to the west toward the Youghiogheny River and Ohiopyle State Park visitor’s area to allow installation of sidewalks on both sides of Route 381, reconstructing the existing parking area to the south of Ohiopyle borough and east of Route 381 to improve flow through the parking lot and increase parking spaces, constructing a new pedestrian underpass from the redesigned parking area to the park visitor’s center area and replacing a superstructure on the existing Route 381 bridge over the Youghiogheny River.
Also, Route 2012 (Sugarloaf Road) will be relocated slightly to the north so that it parallels Negley Road, which will no longer have an intersection with Route 381, but remain as a parking and staging area for use by businesses abutting Negley Road.