Politics & Government

PennDOT Unveils Plans to Widen Washington Pike

Not everyone is happy about a traffic light being added to the widening project in South Fayette.

plans to widen Washington Pike at the intersection with, although the project and installation of a traffic light have some residents concerned.

The reconstruction project of the bridge that takes traffic over Coal Run in South Fayette is expected to begin next spring and will allow crews to also install turning lanes into and out of the office park near .

Jason Zang, who is PennDOT’s project manager for the bridge construction, said the span is a “safety concern” and needs to be replaced and widened to better accommodate traffic and pedestrians. , but traffic will still be able pass through the area.

Find out what's happening in Chartiers Valleywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Jeff Hans, who is the with the construction contractor CHA, said it’s also an opportunity to add turning lanes so traffic can get in and out of Bursca with greater ease. Officials said PennDOT will pay for the bridge, although Bursca will be picking up the tab for the rest of the widening project.

“This certainly alienates the concerns of rear-end collisions (turning from Washington Pike),” Hans said.

Find out what's happening in Chartiers Valleywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The officials discussed the plan Monday night at the Fairview Volunteer Fire Hall.

Neighbors and South Fayette residents issued their concerns about how the widening project will impact their front yards or traffic heading toward Bridgeville. The traffic light will only be triggered if multiple cars are coming out of Bursca or trying to turn left into the business park, officials said.

However, Hans said they have not conducted traffic studies to learn how motorists farther down Washington Pike might be impacted.

The construction, though, isn’t expected to be overly burdensome because traffic will continue in both directions while the bridge is being built.

All truck traffic coming out of Bursca will be forced to head south on Washington Pike toward the Shop’n Save and likely will detour onto Interstate 79 at the Southpointe exit.

“That is probably the biggest impact to traffic: the trucks,” Hans said.

Like the Chartiers Valley Patch Facebook page or sign up for our Daily E-mail Newsletter!


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Chartiers Valley