The clock is ticking on construction projects getting the needed asphalt paving done before the asphalt plants close for the winter.
If crews miss the deadline, your road could have to wait until the spring — and that’s just the concern for a project along Penn Avenue in Pittsburgh’s Lawrenceville and Garfield neighborhoods.
The stretch of Penn Avenue in question runs from the Doughboy statue at the meeting point of Penn Avenue and Butler Street to the Bloomfield line and right now, it’s not a drive for the faint of heart.
The ladies who work at Ineffable Cà Phê ought to know. A very torn up Penn Avenue is right outside their front door.
Jacob Williams, spokesperson for Pittsburgh Public Works, says the road is bumpy at the moment due to Pittsburgh Water and Peoples Gas replacing some aging utility infrastructure.
The clock is ticking on construction projects getting the needed asphalt paving done before the asphalt plants close for the winter.
John Shumway / KDKA
Replacing a utility main is messy.Â
“Digging up the roadway, temporarily covering it, in some cases, resurfacing it, but there is a horizon that work will hopefully be wrapping up soon,” Williams said.
When work does wrap up, the patchwork of repairs on the Garfield end of Penn Avenue will dramatically change.
“It will be a full depth reconstruction of the roadway with new concrete block paving,” Williams said. “We’re going to be doing some sidewalk beautification, bus shelters, traffic signals, lighting.”
That’s not the immediate plan on the Lawrenceville end.
“The utility company has a responsibility to restore the roadway to either equal or better condition within an amount of time once the project completes,” Williams said.
Now, here’s the catch. If the water and gas line work from UPMC Children’s Hospital to the Doughboy statue doesn’t finish soon, there may not be enough time to get the road restored before the asphalt plants close.Â
If that happens, restoration will have to wait until spring and the bumpy ride will continue until then.Â