Turnpike Commission holding meeting on next Southern Beltway section

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission is moving ahead with the next phase of construction of the Southern Beltway’s Route 22 to Interstate 79 project and will hold a community meeting to detail the next section of work, which extends approximately one mile along I-79 in Cecil Township. The meeting will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Hilton Garden Inn, 1000 Corporate Drive, Canonsburg.

PTC representatives and contracted specialists will be available to discuss future detours, blasting zones and additional construction-related information about the section, which is anticipated to be completed in the summer of 2020.

The $23.6 million contract for this section was awarded to Independence Excavating out of Ohio. The work includes two bridges to be built; one over I-79 and the other over the Southern Beltway.

More details pertaining to the scope of work will be announced at the community meeting, which will be an open-house style format.

Independence Excavating is constructing the section of beltway in Robinson Township, which is slated to be completed in mid-2019.

CDR Maguire Inc. of Pittsburgh is managing the construction of this entire project, which includes nine construction sections at a total estimated cost of $800 million. The 13 miles of Southern Beltway currently being constructed will extend from the southern terminus of the existing, six-mile section called the Findlay Connector, which opened in 2006, to an interchange with I-79 near the Washington-Allegheny County line. The entire 19-mile Southern Beltway is expected to open to traffic in 2021 and will connect I-79 to I-376 at Pittsburgh International Airport. To learn more, visit https://www.patpconstruction.com/southern_beltway/.