Kathy Liebler
                        Director of Public Information

C   O   M   M   I   S   S   I   O   N                N   E   W   S             R   E   L   E   A   S   E   

  Contact: Joe Agnello, (724) 755-5262, (724) 755-5142 fax
                 e-mail: jagnello@paturnpike.com

 August 30, 1999
 

TRAFFIC ADVISORY:
TRAFFIC STOPPAGES SCHEDULED FOR
OVERHEAD BRIDGE REPLACEMENT PROJECT AT MILEPOST 79

Eastbound and westbound traffic on the Pennsylvania Turnpike will be stopped periodically at Milepost 79 between 9 pm Tuesday, Aug. 31 and 7 am Wednesday, Sept. 1.

Intermittent stoppages of up to 30 minutes are necessary so that crews can finish erecting steel girders for a new overhead bridge carrying Pa. Route 819 over the Interstate 76/I-70 mainline.

The construction site is in Mount Pleasant Township, Westmoreland County, between the New Stanton (#8) and Donegal (#9) interchanges.

The overhead bridge has been closed at the construction site since March 8, 1999. It is scheduled to reopen by Thanksgiving.

Mobile message boards east and west of the construction site will alert motorists about the stoppages. Also, a Highway Advisory Radio (HAR) station at New Stanton will provide updates at 1640 AM.

Steel erection for the new overhead bridge is 60 percent complete. The $3.4 million bridge replacement is contracted to Becdir Construction of Youngstown, Ohio.

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 P.O. Box 67676, Harrisburg, PA 17106-7676         Phone: (717) 939-9551         Fax: (717) 986-9649