Ohiopyle pedestrian tunnel to open; road work to continue

Visitors to Ohiopyle State Park over Memorial Day weekend will experience traffic delays caused by road repaving and work on the Route 381 bridge over the Youghiogheny River.

The state hoped the $12.4 million multimodal project in Ohiopyle would be finished by June 12, but the completion date was pushed back to July 3, said Jay Ofsanik, a PennDOT spokesman. The contractor, Plum Contracting of Salem, lost 21 days of work when construction was suspended March 17 as part of the state’s effort to stop the spread of covid-19. Work resumed April 7.

“It cost us about a full month,” Ofsanik said.

Visitors driving into Ohiopyle on Route 381 will experience traffic reduced to one lane on the bridge, a few hundred yards upstream of the scenic falls. As work on the northbound lane continues, a traffic signal will control the flow of the vehicles entering and leaving Ohiopyle.

Plum Contracting began the work in late 2018. It was to be spread over two construction seasons to avoid work during the peak tourist season, between Memorial Day and Labor Day. The 20,500-acre state park, which features the Ohiopyle Falls, attracts millions of visitors each year, state tourism figures show.

A pedestrian tunnel built underneath Route 381 at the south end of the business district will be open this weekend, Ofsanik said. The tunnel was created by digging up the highway and then installing pre-cast retaining walls, with the road being built atop the tunnel.

The state realigned the connection of Sugarloaf Road and Route 381 during the first phase of the project and created a new Upper Falls parking lot that will be the site of a new facility for boaters to change clothes. A crosswalk was created to connect the upper and lower lots.

Pedestrians will be able to control traffic with a push button at the crosswalk at the southern end of the bridge, allowing for safe passage from the lower parking lot along the river to businesses and the train station that serves as a visitors center for the Great Allegheny Passage.

“We don’t want them jaywalking,” Ofsanik said.

With repaving not complete on the southbound lane of Route 381, traffic will continue to be diverted through the lower parking lot, between the park visitor’s center and the bridge, Ofsanik said.

When major construction is complete, finishing work will be performed with small crews during weekdays in July and part of August. The goal is to complete all work, including extras and cleanup, by Sept. 1.