By Sam Bigham
The planned concrete patching of Washington Avenue in Carnegie was postponed indefinitely following complaints from community members over the short notice of the project.
On July 30, signs and equipment appeared alongside Washington Avenue (Route 50), implying an impending construction project.
Carnegie Borough was only officially informed of the project by letter the next day.
The letter from Gulisek Construction states work on the street was intended to last from “August 2, 2023, through the end of September.”
By Aug. 1, however, the project was delayed by PennDOT.
Carnegie Council President, Phil Boyd, made this statement regarding the postponement.
“Clearly, PennDOT realized errors were made by not involving local stakeholders in their plans to rehabilitate Washington Avenue. The borough of Carnegie, Carlynton Elementary School, the Boys & Girls Club and all the religious organizations on the avenue at a minimum should have been involved or at least informed well in advance. I am very grateful that County Council President Pat Catena, Representative Anita Kulik and Senator Wayne Fontana used their influence to cause PennDOT to take a second look at this project and delay its planned implementation.”
By Aug. 11, PennDOT announced that the project would resume Aug. 16, weather permitting. Crews will work between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. during weekdays.
On weekends, crews will work from 7 a.m. on Saturdays to 6 a.m. on Mondays with noise restrictions in place from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. each of the nights.
Additionally, during the weekends, traffic will be alternated through a single lane.
Work on this $1.2 million project will occur on Route 50 between Boden Avenue and East Main Street. Initial work will begin between Boden Avenue and Franklin Avenue.
To help keep motorists informed as work progresses, PennDOT has created an email distribution list for Route 50 including traffic advisories and construction updates. Enroll by sending email addresses to stcowan@pa.gov.
Write “Subscribe – Route 50” in the subject line.
PennDOT was unavailable for further comment.