Route 50 road work set to begin in 2020

PennDOT expects construction to start in the summer of 2020 on a project in Bridgeville that will widen Route 50, replace a key bridge and improve access to Interstate 79.

Called the Route 50/ Chartiers Creek Bridge Widening and Intersection Improvement Project, PennDOT officials provided details about the scope of the work at a public meeting April 18 at the Bridgeville Volunteer Fire Department.

Cheryl Moon-Sirianni, PennDOT District 11 executive, said the project is ready to move forward after a number of meetings with the Route 50 Task Force comprised of representatives from the state, county, Bridgeville, South Fayette, Upper St. Clair, PennDOT, and local developers and businesses.

Preliminary design work is expected to be finished by late spring this year, with the final design work, right-of-way acquisition and utility line clearance scheduled for completion by early 2020. Construction will begin in the summer of 2020.

The plan calls for demolishing and replacing the present four-lane bridge over Chartiers Creek at the south end of Bridgeville that links Bridgeville with South Fayette, with a seven-lane structure. It will have turning lanes on Route 50 to create better access to Chartiers Street, add more lanes to Route 50, and create an express lane from Chartiers Street to the I-79 northbound ramp.

Traffic on Route 50 is expected to increase to 27,700 vehicles a day in 2040 from the current 24,725 vehicles a day, and traffic on Chartiers Street is expected to increase to 10,000 vehicles a day from the present 8,800 vehicles.

Officials said the goal of the project is to relieve congestion on Route 50 and address safety concerns with the current bridge and intersection. Most of the work will be done in off-peak hours.

The Chartiers Creek Bridge will be replaced using Accelerated Bridge Construction Techniques with one weekend devoted to demolishing the old bridge, another weekend to erecting the new bridge, and a third weekend to adding lanes to the new bridge.

Bob Podurgiel, freelance writer: suburbanliving@postgazette.com