Somerset County road construction projects completed

Madolin Edwards, The Daily American
·3 min read

HOLLIDAYSBURG ― Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Secretary Mike Carroll and PennDOT District 9 Acting District Executive Vince Greenland highlighted transportation progress done statewide and this year’s active and completed projects in Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Fulton, Huntingdon, and Somerset counties.

“The Shapiro Administration has improved nearly 5,000 state roadway miles and completed hundreds of bridge projects this year, supporting safety and our economy across the Commonwealth,” Carroll said. “Whether we’re investing in communities or responding to emergencies, we will continue delivering for Pennsylvanians.”

The U.S. 219 project south of Salisbury corrected a significant hazard with rockfalls.
The U.S. 219 project south of Salisbury corrected a significant hazard with rockfalls.

Brad Brumbaugh, the assistant district executive for construction, said 20 miles of resurfacing was done in Somerset County, including 14 bridges.

More: How two men with local ties are helping Somerset County get the money to finish Route 219

Notable projects in Somerset County completed in 2023 include: U.S. Route 219, Salisbury rockfall repair for $7.6 million; resurfacing U.S. Route 30 from Route 219 to Route 281, at $2.7 million; and Route 219, bridge preservation, for $1.2 million.

"The projects are completed and came in basically at budget," Brumbaugh said.

A crew continues paving work along Route 403 in Davidsville, near Carpenters Park Road. This work is part of a two-year project that will resurface Route 403 from Route 219 to the Somerset/Cambria county line in Benscreek, as well as replace several small bridges and install a retaining wall to fix a slide issue on a section of route 403 next to the Stonycreek River, near Benscreek.

He said the U.S. Route 219 project south of Salisbury corrected a significant hazard with rockfalls. Route 30 was 4 miles of resurfacing that included drainage. The 219 bridge rehabilitation was for the bridge over Quemahoning Creek. Brumbaugh said work was done on the deck joints, waterproofing and deck overlay.

An ongoing project continuing into 2024 is Route 403 north of Hooversville, for resurfacing, slide fixes and bridge work from 219 to Route 985, at a cost of $15.2 million.

Workers from Dixon Electric, in Claysburg, install new stop lights and crosswalk lights Tuesday at the intersection of Route 403 and Campus Ave. in Davidsville. The work is part of a two-year project that will resurface Route 403 from Route 219 to the Somerset/Cambria county line in Benscreek, as well as replace several small bridges and install a retaining wall to fix a slide issue on a section of route 403 next to the Stonycreek River, near Benscreek.

"It's pretty involved with resurfacing, drainage, box culverts and slope remediation for slide areas," Brumbaugh said. "They're about 50% complete with the project. It will go until October or November of next year."

He said PennDOT is planning to start working on another project in 2024.

"We haven't started a resurfacing project on Route 219 from Route 601 to U.S. 30 interchange – 17 miles," Brumbaugh said.

"Work we're completing now is supported by the Bipartisan Construction Bill passed in 2021," he said. "It is over a 45% increase in available funding total to what was projected prior to the passing of the bill."

Brumbaugh said PennDOT experienced an "inflationary impact over the last project," but that this funding is a positive.

Road work statewide

So far this year in the six-county region there were approximately 120 roadway miles paved and 344 bridges rehabilitated, repaired, or replaced by PennDOT and private-industry teams. Additionally, nearly 400 miles were seal-coated to preserve roadway surfaces and nearly 11,000 line miles were painted.

Statewide from January through September, 4,357 roadway miles were improved, including 1,322 miles of paving. In the same timeframe, 515 state and locally owned bridges were put out for bid to be repaired, replaced, or preserved by PennDOT or industry forces. Additionally, 291 construction contracts for highway, bridge, and other improvement projects were completed statewide through PennDOT's private-sector partners so far this year.

This article originally appeared on The Daily American: Road projects in Somerset County basically completed for 2023