Despite a harsh winter, the Cranberry Connector project is still on track to be completed in May 2004.
"We've been fortunate -- we haven't had any big delays and we've been able to keep working," said Gary Madey, the PennDOT project engineer overseeing the $44.3 million project to link Interstate 79 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
Madey said motorists will start noticing changing traffic patterns as new ramps open and old routes are closed.
In June, for example, motorists traveling west on the turnpike will start using a new ramp to reach Route 19.
The link between the turnpike and I-79, which will allow motorists to access one highway from the other without exiting onto Route 19, likely will not open until at least next year, he said.
As part of the connector project, crews also are replacing the Freeport Road Bridge in Marshall.
The bridge, which carries Freeport Road traffic over I-79, needed to be lengthened in order to allow a newly widened I-79 to run underneath it.
The bridge is to be opened by Memorial Day, Madey said.
During construction, PennDOT has been able to limit traffic delays by doing major portions of work -- such as putting steel bridge beams in place -- at night. Also, since much on the work has been on new lanes and bridges, existing roadways were not affected, Madey said.
As a result, Dan Santoro, Cranberry's assistant township manager, said there has been little to complain about.
Santoro said some residents did complain about noise when the project started, but he was not aware of any recent complaints.
"(PennDOT) has done an excellent job of managing the project and minimizing traffic delays," Santoro said. "We're pleased with how things have been going."
The connector project began three years ago with the replacement and widening of the Route 228 bridge. That work was completed in 2001.
The second phase, also completed in 2001, was the addition of ramps along Route 228 so motorists can access I-79 southbound from Route 228 and reach Route 228 from I-79 northbound.
The original connector project concept began taking shape in the late 1980s.
A funding shortage delayed the project until 1997, when engineers found ways to trim $16 million from the cost.
Madey said he has been surprised that despite the enormity of the connector project, there have been no major construction snags.
As part of the project, workers will complete a total of 14.5 miles of ramp and roadway construction, install 5.5 miles of drainage pipes and build four new bridges.
"Everything's been running real smoothly and there really have been no surprises in the project, so far," Madey said.
