Traffic delays are expected once again on Lloyd Avenue, one of the main entrances into downtown Latrobe, as crews begin preliminary work for replacing a small PennDOT bridge.
Daytime lane restrictions are set to begin April 16 as contractor C. H. & D. Enterprises installs drainage along a section of the road near where Lloyd Avenue (Route 981) crosses Unity Run — in the vicinity of Latrobe Volunteer Fire Department’s Hose House 6.
Traffic was tied up in the same area for several weeks, ending this year, as the Latrobe Municipal Authority replaced water and sewer lines in advance of the bridge project.
Most who drive on Lloyd Avenue aren’t aware they’re crossing a bridge because the stream flows inside grass-covered box culverts buried on either side of Route 981, according to Robert T. Elliott Jr., project manager for engineering consultant CDR Maguire.
Full closure of the affected section of Lloyd Avenue, and a resulting traffic detour, are to be limited to a single weekend this summer. The closure is required to replace the bridge’s aging superstructure with pre-cast concrete slabs, set atop existing abutments.
Planners hope to schedule the road closure for mid-July — after Latrobe’s Fourth of July celebration and before the town’s annual banana split festival, set for Aug. 23-25.
The project is slated to be completed in mid-August at a cost of $771,418.
