PennDOT sets open house for Route 981 improvements north of Mt. Pleasant

PennDOT officials hope to begin improving Route 981 north of Mt. Pleasant in spring 2021.

A final design for the project’s first, southernmost section will be unveiled from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday during an open house in the Mt. Pleasant Area High School cafeteria, 271 State St.

“We’ve pretty much held to what we were hoping to do with the preferred alignment,” PennDOT project manager Troy Pritts said of the initial 4.5-mile segment in the township.

The overall aim is to improve safety and traffic flow by smoothing out or bypassing severe curves, improving key intersections and widening the route’s two lanes to 12 feet each, bracketed by 8-foot shoulders.

Heading north from the intersection of routes 981 and 819, the alignment follows existing Route 981 past the Pennsylvania Turnpike. It veers to the west near Carpentertown Road before rejoining the existing road south of Norvelt’s five-way intersection — where Route 981 meets Hecla, Mt. Pleasant and Kecksburg roads.

Past that intersection, where a roundabout is planned, the alignment diverges once more, to the northwest, before coming back in line with Route 981 near Windy Hill Court.

According to Pritts, the project’s first section has environmental clearances, allowing PennDOT to proceed with obtaining needed rights-of-way. The department expects to displace about seven residential properties, but Pritts noted even more would be affected without the off-line segment to the west.

“We’re still coordinating and talking with property owners,” he said.

The Norvelt roundabout would replace a triangular intersection controlled by stop signs and should alleviate traffic backups, Pritts said.

“It’s going to be a huge improvement from a safety standpoint, getting rid of all those conflict points of a five-way intersection,” he added.

Though no sidewalks are planned at the roundabout, Pritts said improved lighting, a wider shoulder and island areas where the approaching roads connect should assist pedestrians in crossing the intersection.

Two other roundabouts are proposed — one at routes 981 and 819 and another where 981 meets Hecla Road and State Street, which provides access to the high school.

About $50 million is set aside for the first section, Pritts said. PennDOT hopes to seek bids this year and begin construction in spring 2021.

This year, engineering is set to begin on the two remaining sections of the Laurel Valley project — a middle segment that would follow Route 2023 north to Route 130, at Pleasant Unity, and a northern stretch that would reconnect with Route 981 south of the Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Unity Township.

Visit laurelvalleyproject.com for more information.