Paving on I-70 expected to create delays

WEST ALEXANDER – Motorists traveling on Interstate 70 between West Alexander and Dallas Pike can expect to encounter delays through July 1, as construction crews began working this week to repave a stretch of the highway where longwall mining was performed earlier this year.
Motorists encountered traffic interruptions for nearly two months in that same area earlier this year, as Pennsylvania Department of Transportation crews had to monitor the highway and repair compression bumps and cracks as a result of the Tunnel Ridge mining company performing longwall mining operations hundreds of feet beneath the surface of the highway in January and February.
PennDOT spokeswoman Valerie Petersen said officials believe they are past the time where they will see any more subsidence issues that could damage the roadway in that area. She said they began paving the highway in that area earlier this week.
Crews with Lindy Paving Inc. of Pittsburgh have been working on both the eastbound and westbound sides of the interstate this week, as traffic backs up daily for several miles in both directions as work proceeds. In West Virginia, signs are posted nearly three miles before the actual construction site, causing traffic to back up to the Exit 11/Dallas Pike on-ramp at times. There is similar congestion in the westbound lanes in Pennsylvania, with traffic slowed beyond the West Alexander exit.
Petersen said motorists should expect some lane restrictions and delays to be in place throughout the remainder of the project, and motorists should proceed with caution as the speed limit has been lowered throughout the work zone.