Route 981 lane restrictions ahead in Mt. Pleasant Township
Traffic will be restricted to a single lane on two sections of Route 981 in Mt. Pleasant Township beginning Friday.
The restrictions are related to work on the Laurel Valley Transportation Improvement Project and are expected to be in place through late August, according to PennDOT. Traffic will be controlled by temporary signals.
One of the affected segments of Route 981 stretches from the interchange with Route 819 north to the intersection of Hecla Road and State Street. Crews will complete construction on both the northbound and southbound lanes there in order to widen the existing roadway and flatten some sharp curves.
Lane restrictions also are planned along Route 981, from Boyer Road north to Kecksburg Road. Work there will include constructing a box culvert over Hurst Run.
Walsh Construction is the primary contractor for the first, southernmost section of the overall $55.2 million three-part Laurel Valley road project along the Route 981 corridor.
Work is underway on the first part, between Route 819 and a point just south of the village of Calumet, and is expected to be completed by September 2024.
Remaining parts of the project are planned to extend improvements — including some new road alignments — farther north, to Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Unity.
Jeff Himler is a TribLive reporter covering Greater Latrobe, Ligonier Valley, Mt. Pleasant Area and Derry Area school districts and their communities. He also reports on transportation issues. A journalist for more than three decades, he enjoys delving into local history. He can be reached at jhimler@triblive.com.
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