Harvison Road bridge in Penn Township slated for summer removal
A bridge carrying Harvison Road over the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Westmoreland County’s Penn Township will be removed this summer, according to the turnpike commission.
The commission announced in 2021 that it would remove the bridge as part of a $300 million-plus project to widen the toll highway between the Monroeville and Irwin interchanges. The project includes expanding the highway from four to six lanes in the 10-mile stretch and reconstructing the Irwin interchange.
The Turnpike Commission decided it would not be feasible to replace the bridge, spokesperson Crispin Havener said.
“A replacement for the Harvison Road bridge presented engineering complications and high expenses relative to its daily traffic count to warrant replacement,” Havener said.
A new fire hydrant must be installed on Harvison Road before the bridge can be torn down, said township engineer Dan Schmitt.
“Currently, right now, if there is a fire on the Harvison Road side of the turnpike, the firemen lay waterlines from Pleasant Valley Road across the bridge and take care of anything there,” Schmitt said. “As part of that bridge removal, we requested that water service be brought over to the Harvison Road side.”
The Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County will oversee the waterline project. Bids will open Feb. 27. The project is expected to be completed by June, Havener said.
It is projected to cost $670,000, said MAWC spokesperson Matthew Junker, and the majority of the cost for placement of the water line will be picked up by PennDOT.
To install the new waterline, the contractor will bore under the turnpike for a distance of 1,000 feet, Junker said. A steel casing will be inserted to ensure the road does not collapse while installing the waterline.
There will be “minimal disruption to turnpike traffic” during the installation, said Bill Roberts, the township’s director of community development.
“At this point, it is coming,” Roberts said. “It’s going to happen sooner than later. It just goes back to once the waterline segment of this is complete, I think that is the last restricting factor for the turnpike to start moving forward (with the widening project).”
A separate contractor will be hired to remove the bridge and build a cul-de-sac at the end of Harvison Road, Havener said. Bids will be advertised in late April and awarded in June. Bridge removal could begin as early as this summer, and the project is estimated to be completed by spring of 2025, he said.
The turnpike widening project is in the final design phase, Havener said, which includes right-of-way acquisition, environmental permitting and design for structures, traffic control, utility relocations, roadway, drainage and stormwater management.
The project will be completed in two phases. The first phase, spanning from Penn Township to Irwin, will begin in fall 2028, Havener said. The second phase, from Penn Township to Monroeville, will be determined based on the schedule of the first phase and funding availability.
Quincey Reese is a TribLive reporter covering the Greensburg and Hempfield areas. She also does reporting for the Penn-Trafford Star. A Penn Township native, she joined the Trib in 2023 after working as a Jim Borden Scholarship intern at the company for two summers. She can be reached at qreese@triblive.com.
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