NORTHWESTERN PA — PennDOT’s northwestern region opened construction bids on 73 projects valued at more than $183 million in what proved to be a busy year in 2016.

The $183 million value of the projects represents the largest construction program in the history of PennDOT District 1, which serves Crawford, Erie, Forest, Mercer, Venango, and Warren counties.

“We believe we have had a very successful year in 2016,” said District 1 Executive William Petit. “We are proud of what we have been able to accomplish and look forward to another good year in 2017.”

Much of what District 1 was able to accomplish in 2016 was the result of Act 89, the state’s new transportation funding plan.

“The additional resources provided in Act 89 have allowed us to deliver improvements to our state highway and bridge systems, and have also provided significant revenue increases to our local government and multimodal partners,” Petit said.

Act 89 increased the distribution of liquid fuels funds to local governments by approximately 60 percent, Petit noted, and has provided for grants to promote other modes of transportation, such as public transit as well as pedestrian and cyclist access.

“It is incumbent upon us to make wise decisions on the best use of those resources to provide the traveling public with better roads and better bridges,” Petit said.

Major work on some of the largest projects that District 1 bid this year will be undertaken in 2017. Those include:

– The Hunter Station Bridge project on Route 62 in Forest County, $23.7 million;
– The Interchange Road Improvement Project in Erie County, $20.9 million;
– The Millfair Road Improvement Project in Erie County, $12.5 million;
– An $11 million rehabilitation of the Interstate 79 bridges over Conneaut Swamp in Crawford County;
– Phase 3 of the Broadway Avenue Improvement Project on Route 718/760 in Mercer County, $4 million; and
– The State Street Streetscape Project in Mercer County, $5.2 million.

Projects bid in 2016 included 47 road projects and 26 bridge replacement or rehabilitation projects.

In 2016, District 1 paved approximately 215 miles of roads in the six-county northwest region.

County maintenance units in the six counties of District 1 used more than 70,000 tons of recycled asphalt to resurface about 38 miles of secondary roads.

Maintenance units in the counties also used more than 14,000 tons of material to patch potholes and sealed surface cracks on more than 745 miles of road.

Below is a list of some of the major projects in each of the six counties that were under construction in the northwestern region in 2016.

Crawford County

– Resurface Interstate 79 from Exit 141 (Geneva/Cochranton, Route 285) to Exit 154 (Conneaut/Saegertown, Route 198). The project included preservation work on eight bridges.
– Rehabilitate the Smock Bridge on Route 6 over the Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad tracks and French Creek in West Mead and Vernon townships and the City of Meadville.
– Construction of a roundabout and rehabilitation of the Brookhouser Road Bridge at the northern intersection of Route 198 and Route 6 in Saegertown Borough.
– Construction of a roundabout at the southern intersection of Route 198 and Route 6 in Saegertown Borough and radius improvements at the intersection of Route 198 and Route 77 in Blooming Valley Borough.
– Replacement of the Mead Avenue Bridge over French Creek in the City of Meadville.

Erie County

– Resurface 12.5 miles of Interstate 90 in Summit, Greene, Harborcreek and Millcreek townships.
– Restoration of 5.13 miles of the Bayfront Connector in Harborcreek Township and the City of Erie.
– Improvements to the traffic signal at the Bayfront Parkway and State Street in Erie.
– Improvements include the addition of a left-turn phase to the Bayfront Parkway.
– Preservation work to waterproof the decks on the Wintergreen Gorge Bridge on Route 290 over Four Mile Creek in Harborcreek Township; the bridge on the Bayfront Connector over the CSX railroad tracks in the City of Erie; the Powell Avenue Bridge over the CSX and Norfolk Southern railroad tracks in Millcreek Township; and the Sterrettania Road bridge over Walnut Creek in Millcreek Township.

Forest County

– Resurface 2.63 miles of Route 948 in Howe Township.
– Resurface 5.22 miles of Route 66 in Howe and Jenks townships.
– Resurface 5.13 miles of Little Hickory Road in Hickory and Green townships.
– Resurface 9.66 miles of Route 899 in Jenks and Barnett townships.

Mercer County

– Phase 2 of the Broadway Avenue Improvement Project: restoration work and intersection improvements on 1.54 miles of Route 718 (Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard/Dock Street) in Farrell and Sharon.
– Restoration work on 15 miles of Interstate 80 from the Pennsylvania/Ohio state line to Route 19 in Shenango, East Lackawannock and Lackawannock townships.
– Resurface 5.2 miles of Routes 62, 18, and State Street in the City of Hermitage.
– Resurface 3.51 miles of Route 18 in Shenango Township, West Middlesex, and the City of Hermitage.
– Resurface 5.83 miles of Route 58 in Greene, Hempfield and West Salem townships and Greenville and Jamestown boroughs.
– Replace the Race Street Bridge in Greenville Borough.
– Resurface Mercer Avenue and Forker Boulevard in Sharon, Hermitage and Sharpsville Borough.

Venango County

– Resurface 5.67 miles of Route 27 from the Warren County line to the Crawford County line; and resurfacing 3.6 miles of Pone Lane Sandy Creek Township and the City of Franklin.
– Repair the retaining fencing that catches falling rock on Route 8 in Oil City.
– Rehabilitate the 596-foot-long Wyattville Bridge on Route 322 over Sugar Creek in Sugarcreek Borough.
– Rehabilitate the Center Street Bridge in Oil City and pave Center Street.

Warren County

– Resurface 8.63 miles of Swede Hill Road, Conewango Avenue, Liberty Street, and Scandia Road in Pine Grove, Glade and Elk townships.
– Resurface 11.5 miles of Minister Road/Cherry Grove Road in Mead and Cherry Grove townships, and resurface 10 miles of Hearts Content Road in Watson and Cherry Grove townships.
– Resurface Mickle Hill Road in Eldred, Spring Creek and Pittsfield townships (6.94 miles); Ross Hill Road/Morrison Hill Road in Deerfield and Pittsfield townships (4.74 miles); and Sanford Road in Eldred Township (3.43 miles).
– Resurface Sundback Road in Eldred Township (1.84 miles); Oil Creek Road in Eldred and Spring Creek townships (8.08 miles); Buels Corners Road in Eldred Township (1.41 miles); and Selkirk Road in Eldred and Southwest townships (5.41 miles).