It will be another busy year in McKean County as the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation plans to tackle about $10.3 million in construction projects.
This month, the betterment of U.S. Route 6 in Kane Borough is scheduled to be bid for about $5 million.
Meanwhile, the Route 66 eastern federal lands betterment from the Elk County line toward Kane is slated to be bid in mid-July 2018. Supporting the project will be a $1.24 million federal grant and $310,000 in state money.
Also on the agenda of projects for the new year is drainage, paving and tree cutting/removal from the intersection of routes 321 and 59 north to the Allegheny Reservoir.
“This project will be a partnership between PennDOT and Allegheny National Forest,” said PennDOT spokeswoman Marla Fannin. “Removal of the trees will allow sunlight to get onto the roadway and help with snow melt, which in turn helps decrease wear and tear on the roadway. Daylighting will also help enhance driver safety.”
There are also some projects that will be carried over into 2018: A bridge will be replaced over Blacksmith Run on Route 59 as part of a $2.6 million project, and full-depth reclamation is expected on Route 46 north to Route 6 part of $3 million work.
“We will also have maintenance work as usual but I do not have a detailed list of those projects at this time,” Fannin said.
Four Pennsylvania Rapid Bridge Replacement Projects are also scheduled for this year.
A bridge over Pennbrook Run, 1 mile north of the village of Gilmore in Foster Township, is scheduled for construction this summer. The work calls for a five-week detour for most vehicles, but a temporary crossing for emergency vehicles is under design review, Fannin said.
Elsewhere in Foster Township, a bridge is slated to be replaced over Foster Brook near the village of Derrick City from March through August.
Also, bridge replacements are planned over Seven Mile Run, 6 miles southwest of the village of Clermont in Sergeant Township, for spring/summer and over Haven Brook, 3 miles southeast of the village of Betula in Norwich Township, for June through September.
“We had a few projects bid in 2017 that will be constructed in 2018. The monies on these projects were counted in the 2017 total,” Fannin said.
For 2017, about $14 million in construction projects took place in McKean County, she said.
All told, the nine-county area in north central Pennsylvania, including McKean, Elk, Potter and Cameron counties, saw road and bridge improvements in 2017 worth more than $158 million. Improvements included road paving and resurfacing, safety enhancements, and bridge upgrades, repairs and replacements.
“Our staff works hard to set priorities and maximize our funding dollars, and the projects we’ve completed in 2017 are proof of that,” said PennDOT District 2 executive Karen Michael. “We’re joined in this effort by our planning partners in Centre County, SEDA-COG, and North Central Regional Planning with the common goal of bringing transportation improvements across each of our nine counties.”
PennDOT District 2 completed 41 major projects this year, including 20 bridge replacements, repair and preservation of more than 45 other bridges, and paving of 150 miles of state highway in Cameron, Centre, Clearfield, Clinton, Elk, Juniata, McKean, Mifflin and Potter counties.
In addition, District 2 also paved an additional 175 miles of road, lowered the number of structurally deficient bridges by replacing six box culverts and one bridge, and improved another 86 miles of road through micro-surfacing and seal-coating. Three of these 16 projects were made possible through ACT 89 funding.
District 2 provided plowing and road clearing services throughout the 2016-17 winter season, making use of 76,743 tons of salt, more than 103,000 tons of anti-skid material and more than 1.2 million gallons of brine across the nine counties.
The district also entered into partnerships to foster roadway improvements, PennDOT officials said.
In June, a partnership with JKLM Energy LLC brought forth funding to address upgrading weight restricted sections of routes 1001 and 4013 in Potter County. The project included road drainage improvements, full-depth reclamation, asphalt overlay/paving and guide rail updates for 9.2 miles of road.
In July, PennDOT partnered with Seneca Resources Corporation and Bencor Global Inc. to finance more than seven miles of rehabilitation on routes 1004 and 1001 in Elk County. The project lifted a 10-ton weight posting on those routes through drainage improvements, overlay and other work.
