Bridge replacement to affect I-70 traffic overnight in Speers, North Belle Vernon

Jeff Himler
Friday, June 3, 2022 3:14 p.m. | Friday, June 3, 2022 3:14 p.m.

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A section of Interstate 70 in Washington County will be closed overnight Monday in both directions, and eastbound traffic will be reduced to a single lane nearby, in North Belle Vernon.

Those traffic pattern changes, each related to a bridge replacement project, will be in place between 8 p.m. Monday and 6 a.m. Tuesday.

During the Washington County closure, crews will place beams for a new bridge carrying Maple Drive over the interstate in Speers Borough, west of the border with Westmoreland County.

Eastbound motorists on the interstate will detour by taking the Speers exit (Exit 39), crossing Maple Drive and using the I-70 entrance ramp to continue heading east.

Westbound traffic will take the Charleroi/Allenport exit (Exit 40). Those motorists then will make successive left turns onto northbound Route 88, First Street and Twilight Hollow Road before turning right onto the I-70 westbound entrance ramp.

According to PennDOT planners, the new bridge will have a clearance of 16.5 feet above the interstate. That’s an increase from the existing clearance of 14.3 feet, which resulted in taller vehicles on the interstate occasionally striking the old bridge’s bottom beams.

The new bridge will be wider, providing a left-turn lane for southbound traffic heading onto the eastbound I-70 on-ramp.

The project involves additional changes on Maple Drive and Guttman Avenue and minor improvements to the eastbound I-70 on- and off-ramps.

The lane restriction in North Belle Vernon, near Exit 42, will allow crews to work on the bridge that carries Fayette Street over I-70.

The new version of that bridge will have a clearance above the interstate of 16 feet, 6 inches, up from 14 feet, 7 inches. The new bridge also is designed to accommodate potential widening of lanes on I-70, an ongoing improvement along the interstate corridor in Westmoreland and Washington counties.

Penn Township detour

Meanwhile, another road closure is being extended until late July, in Penn Township, Westmoreland County.

Boquet Road has been closed since April 18 between Frye and Walton roads.

Crews are replacing a deteriorated metal cross-pipe with a new concrete pipe.

A posted detour is in place using Claridge-Export Road, Claridge-Elliot Road, Route 993 and Business Route 66.