Road construction to affect base traffic

Published May 26, 2010
By Master Sgt. Mark Winklosky
911 AW/PA

PITTSBURGH IAP ARS -- A recent article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette announced several road construction projects slated to begin late spring. The project that will affect everyone coming to the base is the project to reconstruct the highway from Ewing Road to Cargo Road.
If coming from Pittsburgh, this is the area of roadway that begins at the Interstate 376 split or what was previously referred to as the Business 60 loop, and continues past the Thorn Run exit for the base, all the way past the Cargo International Drive Interchange. The length of roadway is approximately four miles.

According to Erik Porter, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation project manager for design, some traffic delays of not more than 15-minutes should be expected. If delays become more significant, they [Penn DOT] will try to mitigate the problem.
"There will be long-term single lane closures, taking two lanes down to one lane," said Mr. Porter. "Nothing will be restricted, but there may be a few short detours due to some ramp work being done," he said.

"Most of the work will be done during off-peak times from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.," said Mr. Porter.

"The road construction is not expected to be completed until sometime in the fall of 2011, which caused a bit of concern here at the 911th," said Col. Gordon H. Elwell, Jr., 911th Airlift Wing commander.

"This is the major roadway in and out of the base and we have an air show in September," said the colonel.

According to Mr. Porter, "There will be no lane restrictions from Sept. 9-12 to accommodate the Wings Over Pittsburgh air show weekend."

Be sure to allot for the time delays and possible detours when making plans to attend unit training assemblies.