PennDOT Showing Off Another Expressway
Jeff Kitsko
Local residents will have opportunity to tour the new roadway
Armstrong, PA (October 19) PENNDOT Engineering District 10 is inviting its
customers in Armstrong County to spend an afternoon on the A-15 as Saturday,
November 3, 2001, has been designated "Community Day on the Kittanning
Bypass."
Through a cooperative effort with PENNDOT, the Dick Corporation, the A-15
Community Advisory Committee (CAC) and the Armstrong County Fire Police, the
new 2.2-mile limited access highway will be open to the public for walking
and bicycling from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
"We are thrilled that this project is nearing completion and we wanted to
give the public an opportunity to visit this new roadway before we open it
to traffic in December," said Richard H. Hogg, District Engineer. "This
project has had a major impact on the lives of residents and travelers in
the area. Most of the work, however, has occurred out of the public's view.
As an expression of gratitude for their support and patience during the
construction of this project, we are inviting the community to spend an
afternoon on the A-15. Once we open it in December, people won't be able to
walk or bike on it"
Parking for Community Day will be provided in a designated area under the
new bridge that carries Route 422 over the bypass east of Kittanning. The
Armstrong County Fire police will be on hand to direct motorists to and from
the parking areas.
In addition to walking or biking on the new bypass, PENNDOT, in cooperation
with Manor Township and the Mid-County Transit Authority, will be offering
guided trolley tours of the bypass. The tours will occur throughout the day
so residents can stop by at anytime between 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for a ride on
the trolley. The trolley will be stopping under the Route 422 bridge near
the parking area for passengers.
Residents and bypass visitors, children and adults alike, will also have the
opportunity to sign their names on a massive poster commemorating the event.
Refreshments will be available at booths under the new Route 422 bridge.
PENNDOT representatives and CAC members will be available during the day to
answer questions about the project.
The $39 million Kittanning Bypass is a four-lane, 2.2 mile limited-access
highway designed to improve safety and alleviate traffic congestion at the
Edgewood intersection at the bottom of Indiana Pike Hill near Kittanning.
The project's prime contractor is the Dick Corporation of Pittsburgh.
The Kittanning Bypass will connect U.S. Route 422 from the end of the Graff
Bridge on the east side of the Allegheny River in Manor Township to the
intersection of State Routes 66/28 and State Route 85 in Rayburn Township.
The bypass will allow motorists to access U.S Route 422 east of Kittanning
near the Indian Hills area in Manor Township.
The bypass, the largest project ever let to date in District 10, will be
completed in December 2001.
For more information about Community Day, contact Jim Struzzi, District 10's
Community Relations Coordinator, at (724) 357-2829, or Mary Piluso, CAC
member, at (724) 543-1443. More information is also available by accessing
the project's website at www.kittanningbypass.com/.
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Jeff Kitsko
Pennsylvania Highways: http://www.pahighways.com/
Pittsburgh Highways: http://www.pahighways.com/pghhwys/
Philadelphia Highways: http://www.pahighways.com/phlhwys/