Decades of planning for an upgrade of the Route 981 corridor south of Route 30 bore fruit Friday as PennDOT officials and local leaders kicked off the first phase of the Laurel Valley Transportation Improvement Project.

Dignitaries took part in a ceremonial groundbreaking at the Little League field in the Mt. Pleasant Township village of Norvelt, at the northern end of the project’s initial 4.5-mile segment.

Senate Majority Leader Kim Ward, R-Hempfield, said the Laurel Valley project is an example of the good things that can happen “when we all come together and work for the good of our communities. Areas all over the state are fighting for projects, and we have a really good one here.”

Speakers credited the efforts of past and present PennDOT officials, legislators, county commissioners and staff and local leaders in moving the Laurel Valley project forward.

“It’s a good recipe for success when everyone is pulling together,” said Mike Keiser, PennDOT’s acting deputy secretary of highway administration. “That’s really how things get done.”

The initial Laurel Valley project section, heading north from Route 819 to Norvelt in Mt. Pleasant Township, will veer west from the existing Route 981 alignment, beginning at a point north of the Pennsylvania Turnpike underpass. It will reunite with the existing road just south of the Waltons Lane intersection.

It’s part of an overall three-phase effort to improve curves and intersections over an 11.5-mile stretch between Route 819 and Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in neighboring Unity Township. The two-lane road will gain a uniform lane width of 12 feet with 8-foot shoulders that will be wide enough for use by pedestrians and bicyclists.

Together with a recently completed upgrade of Route 981 between Route 30 and the airport, the completed Laurel Valley project will represent an investment of more than $150 million, according to Bill Kovach, district executive for PennDOT District 12.

“It’s a big investment in the community and the region,” he said, adding that the project is meant to “support current residents and also support future community growth and economic development.”

Gabe Monzo, executive director of the Westmoreland County Airport Authority, which runs the airport, expressed full support for the Laurel Valley project. “That’s going to be the lifeblood of the airport moving forward,” he said. “It’s going to be the future of the southern connection for the airport. It will make it much easier for people to get there.”

According to PennDOT, Walsh Construction Co.’s work on the project’s first section will cost $55 million and is expected to wrap up by the fall of 2024. Troy Pritts, PennDOT’s design project manager for the Laurel Valley upgrade, said the contractor has been given notice to proceed and might begin with offline work that won’t impact current traffic.

“Next season, it will be full bore,” he said of the road construction.

Preliminary design is underway for the two remaining project sections. The central section, between Norvelt and Route 130 in Unity, includes a shift from Route 981 to follow a portion of Route 2023. It has an estimated cost of between $35 million and $40 million, with construction not expected to begin before 2026.

The northernmost section will extend from Route 130 to the area of the airport and the Westmoreland County Airpark. It has a projected cost of between $25 million and $30 million and could see work beginning in 2025.

There are six roundabout intersections planned along the corridor, including one already in use at the entrance to the airport.

Roundabouts are slated at three intersections in the first phase: routes 819 and 981; Hecla Road, State Street and 981; and Mt. Pleasant, Kecksburg and Hecla roads at 981, which all converge in Norvelt.

Kovach said PennDOT is partnering with Mt. Pleasant Area School District to develop landscaping at the Hecla Road-State Street roundabout, to serve as a gateway to the district’s administrative offices and high school.

Jack Rutkowski, chairman of the Mt. Pleasant Township supervisors, spoke favorably of the roundabout design for the Norvelt intersection — noting the surrounding location of youth recreational facilities, including the Little League field and a playground.

“We want it to be as safe as it can be for the kids,” he said. “That’s the main thing.”

In addition to the Laurel Valley project’s long-term boost to traffic safety and mobility and potential development, Keiser noted it will have an immediate economic impact during construction. “Of every dollar we spend at PennDOT, 76 cents goes back into the private sector,” he said.

Visit laurelvalleyproject.com for project maps and additional information.

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