NORTHWESTERN PA — The Wolf administration announced yesterday that PennDOT’s northwestern region had a busy and successful year, with more than 90 projects worth over $200 million under construction or bid in 2017.

(Pictured above: Hunter Station Bridge replacement project.)

Bids for 73 contracts were let in 2017, at a value of about $81 million, for projects in the PennDOT District 1 service area of Crawford, Erie, Forest, Mercer, Venango and Warren counties.

In addition to those projects that were bid, construction was underway on some major multi-year projects and other work that was bid in 2016 for construction in 2017. Some of those projects include:

• The Hunter Station Bridge replacement project on Route 62 in Forest County, $23.7 million;
• The Interchange Road/Zimmerly 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;
• Rehabilitation of the Smock Bridge in Crawford County, $9 million; and
• Phase 3 of the Broadway Avenue Improvement Project on Route 718/760 in Mercer County, $4 million.

District 1 was also able to improve the health of interstate highways in the northwest counties with three interstate resurfacing projects. Those included work on Interstate 376 in Mercer County, Interstate 80 in Venango County, and a portion of Interstate 79 in the Edinboro area of Erie County.

“We are proud of what we have been able to accomplish this year,” said District 1 Executive William Petit. “We believe we had a very successful 2017, and look forward to another good year in 2018”

Act 89, the state transportation funding plan that was enacted in 2013, fueled much of what District 1 was able to accomplish in 2017.

“The additional resources provided in Act 89 have allowed us to deliver improvements to our state highway and bridge systems that otherwise would not have been possible,” Petit said. “Act 89 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 our responsibility to make wise decisions on the best use of the resources available to us to provide the traveling public with better roads and better bridges,” Petit said.

Projects bid in 2017 included 52 road projects and 21 bridge projects.

In 2017, District 1 paved approximately 180 miles of roads in the six-county northwest region and had about 40 bridge projects either bid or under construction.

County maintenance units in the six counties of District 1 used more than 83,122 tons of recycled asphalt to resurface about 50 miles of secondary roads.

Maintenance units in the counties also used more than 17,000 tons of material to patch potholes and sealed surface cracks on more than 843 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 2017.

Crawford County

• Rehabilitating the deck on the Swamp Bridges on Interstate 79 in Greenfield Township.
• Restoring and rehabilitating the Smock Bridge on Route 6 (French Creek Parkway) in Meadville and West Mead and Vernon townships.
• Construction of two single lane roundabouts and rehabilitate the Brookhouser Road Bridge on Route 198 in Saegertown Borough.
• Rehabilitation of the 404-foot-long Kennedy Hill Road Bridge over Interstate 79 in Vernon Township.
• Resurfacing 7.2 miles of Route 89 in Rome and Sparta townships from Route 77 to Harrison Road.

Erie County

• Interchange Road/Zimmerly Road Improvement Project. Reconstruction of 2.17 miles of Interchange Road/Zimmerly Road in Millcreek Township. The project includes replacing the existing Zimmerly Road Bridge over Walnut Creek and rehabilitating the Zimmerly Road Bridge over Interstate 79.
• Millfair Road Improvement Project. Construction of two new bridges over two sets of railroad tracks and approximately 500 feet of approach roadway, drainage, guide rail and adjustment of the existing Woodside Drive, along with roadway rehabilitation and signal upgrades on Route 4016 (Millfair Road) from Route 20 (Ridge Road) to Route 5 (West Lake Road) in Millcreek and Fairview townships. Construction of a roundabout at Millfair Road and Route 5.
• Restoration work on 3.5 miles of Interstate 79 near Edinboro in Franklin, McKean and Washington townships.
• Restoration and resurfacing 5.18 miles of East 38^th Street and signal improvements from Old French Road (Route 197) to Rice Avenue in the City of Erie.
• Route 20. Replace and upgrade traffic signals at three separate intersections along Route 20 in North East Borough.
• Resurfacing 6.55 miles of Route 89 in Venango and Greenfield Townships.

Forest County

• Replacement of the 1,051-foot-long Route 62 Hunter Station Bridge over the Allegheny River in Tionesta Township, Forest County.
• Resurfacing 2.73 miles of River Road from the Clarion County line to Greenwood Road in Barnett Township.
• Installation of approximately a quarter mile of ADA accessible sidewalks and curb ramps along Route 66 in the village of Marienville.

Mercer County

• Phase 3 of the Broadway Avenue Improvement Project — a multi-year improvement project designed to make Route 718/760 in Mercer County a safer, more efficient and more attractive travel corridor. Work in 2017 focused on an area of South Dock Street in the City of Sharon.
• Resurfacing 4.3 miles of Interstate 376 from the Lawrence County line to Interstate 80 in Shenango Township.
• Resurfacing portions of Routes 62, 418, 58 and 322 in the cities of Sharon, Hermitage, and Farrell, along with Wheatland and Jamestown boroughs.

Venango County

• Resurfacing eight miles of Interstate 80 in Clinton and Scrubgrass townships, Venango County.
• Resurfacing and restoration work on 4.27 miles of Route 322 from the Mercer County line to Utica Road in Canal Township.
• Resurfacing 4.29 miles of Route 427 in Jackson Township and Cooperstown and Sugarcreek boroughs.
• Resurfacing 2.5 miles of Center Street, Spring Street, Plummer Street and Grandview Road in Oil City and Cornplanter Township.

Warren County

• Resurfacing 8.06 miles of Oil Creek Road in Eldred and Spring Creek townships, and 1.84 miles of Sundback Road Eldred Township.
• Resurfacing 6.9 miles of Mickle Hill Road Route 27 in Eldred, Spring Creek, and Pittsfield townships; 4.87 miles of Ross Hill Road/Morrison Hill Road); in Deerfield and Pittsfield Townships; and 3.4 miles of Sanford Road in Eldred Township.
• Restoration/resurfacing 6.46 miles of Route 426 in Pittsfield and
  Spring Creek Townships, Warren County.
• Resurfacing 6.3 miles of Route 957 in Freehold and Sugar Grove Townships.
• Road base repairs and paving 4.08 miles of Route 127 in Triumph Township and Tidioute Borough.
• Restoration/resurfacing 4.6 miles of Route 69 (Jackson Run Road) in Farmington and Sugar Grove townships.
• Resurfacing about 13 miles of Davey Hill Road in Pittsfield and Deerfield townships and Tidioute Borough.