Cameron Suhadolnik, one of the owners of Tailspin Hobbies off Route 66 in Washington Township, has grown accustomed to the sound of cars crashing outside his window.
The business is near an intersection that has been the site of more than 20 incidents in the past five years.
“I’ve called 911 probably once every couple months, at least,” Suhadolnik said.
The shop is situated at the intersection of Route 66 and Route 356, where a multi-million dollar project is set to begin this summer, courtesy of PennDOT.
PennDOT plans to realign the intersection into a “T” design that will be controlled by a traffic light.
In addition, Route 66 will be repaved south to Delmont, where new sidewalk lighting and landscaping will be completed on the western side of the road between Stotler Road and Pittsburgh Street.
New traffic signals and sidewalk access ramps will be installed where Route 66 intersects Manor Road and Pittsburgh Street in Delmont.
Finally, the northbound lanes of Route 66 will be reconstructed between Zubal and Beaver Run roads in Washington Township, where it crosses Route 380.
Intersection change
The primary safety upgrade will be the realignment of the 66/356 intersection. PennDOT plans to replace the stop sign that controls southbound Route 66 traffic and eliminate all continuous traffic, whether it’s northbound on Route 66 or southbound from Route 356 onto 66.
That’s a little peace of mind for Suhadolnik, whose store has been the site of two crashes in the past six years. In 2019, a woman was injured when two cars crashed, sending one into the side of Tailspin. Another crash forced the shop to close briefly just before holiday shopping season in 2022.
Today, the hobby shop is fortified with several concrete bollard blocks to prevent damage from such instances.
There have been 22 crashes at the intersection since 2020, according to PennDOT data. Thirteen have resulted in injuries, though none was fatal.
“It’s tough for people to get in and out of our parking lot,” Suhadolnik said. “I’m hoping this will be a little safer.”
PennDOT spokesperson Andrew Stacy said all of the work will be completed within state-owned rights of way.
The project is set to begin this summer.
It will take an estimated 12 to 15 months, at an expected cost of $10 million to $12.7 million.
A virtual display of the plans can be viewed at PA.gov/agencies/penndot/projects-near-you/district-12-projects/route-66-pavement-preservation.
The department is accepting public input, questions and concerns about the plan until March 3.
