Completion of Ohiopyle PennDOT project delayed

A construction project in Ohiopyle will not be done by Memorial Day because of delays related to the coronavirus pandemic and CSX railroad, PennDOT officials said Friday.

Construction crews are now aiming for July 3 to wrap up work on the $12.4 million project designed to improve pedestrian safety in the small town surrounded by the state’s largest park.

Work has been ongoing since Labor Day 2018 when the first phase started. Plum Contracting of Salem halted construction during the summer and resumed the second phase after Labor Day 2019.

But they hit some snags recently. The second phase has involved re-routing one lane of Route 381 and building an underground pedestrian tunnel and new bridge over the Youghiogheny River.

The project was suspended from March 17 to April 7 as construction statewide was shut down because of the pandemic. That resulted in the loss of 21 days on the construction schedule, according to an update from PennDOT. Prior to the delay, the project’s completion date had been pushed back to June 12 because of a shutdown CSX imposed on the crew.

They are planning to have parts of the project near Ohiopyle State Park’s visitor’s center mostly complete by Memorial Day to reduce the impact on traffic, according to the update. Finishing touches after July 3 will happen with a small crew on weekdays in July and part of August. Everything should be wrapped up by Labor Day.

The park saw a small decrease in the number of visitors in 2019. It usually attracts millions to the town, which had a population of 57 people in 2018, according to census figures.

Last year, crews realigned Sugarloaf Road’s intersection with Route 381 and built a paved parking lot close to the park’s visitors center. The current work includes the pedestrian tunnel connecting the new parking lot to the visitors center on one side of town and revamping the bridge on the other.

PennDOT set out an aggressive work schedule for the project.