PennDOT puts final touches on Route 28 construction

Commuters sitting in traffic on Route 28 in Pittsburgh at least will have a nice view.

Though major construction on the main artery between the city and the Alle-Kiski Valley finished in early winter, smaller parts are just being completed.

“We have a few finishing touches we want to finish in the next few weeks,” said Dan Cessna, PennDOT's district 11 supervisor. “But other than that, we're just about done, it feels good to say.”

The smaller touches Cessna described are the addition of sidewalks and landscaping in the city alongside the southbound lanes, and the addition of a special Pennsylvania State Historical Society marker to commemorate the spot of the former St. Nicholas Roman Catholic Church.

The church was the first Croatian parish in the United States, according to the Pittsburgh-based Preserve Croatian Heritage Fund. Demolished in 2013 to enable the widening of Route 28 on its approach to the city, the church is commemorated on one of six murals painted on retaining walls along the road.

The historical marker is to be formally unveiled during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on June 20.

The five-year reconstruction project cost $120 million. PennDOT continues to explore ways to improve the road that carries about 60,000 commuters a day.

According to Cessna, frequent congestion that motorists endure entering the Highland Park Bridge corridor soon might be relieved.

The road shifts to one lane in both directions in that area to allow motorists onto the bridge.

Drivers frequently switching lanes and slowing down to enter one lane has led to traffic jams and a few wrecks.

“We're in the very early stages of exploring engineering options,” Cessna said of the section of the roadway that clogs daily. “The project isn't funded, so we're still years away from any planning.”

PennDOT has estimated that the expansion would cost around $80 million.

Another problematic area of the road, by the Shaler Waterworks, won't get an update anytime soon, according to Cessna. “There's really nothing we can do there,” he said. “We're just going to monitor traffic and see what the problem is.”

R.A. Monti is a freelance reporter for Trib Total Media.