PennDOT to unveil plans for proposed Donohoe Road roundabout in Hempfield

Traffic at a key Donohoe Road intersection in Hempfield could go with the flow, instead of backing up twice a day, if the four-way stop there is transformed into a proposed roundabout.

PennDOT will hold a public meeting on Wednesday to unveil its plans for a roundabout at Donohoe and Georges Station roads.

There will be no formal presentation during the open house session, set for 5 to 6:30 p.m. at the Hempfield Township building, 1132 Woodward Drive. Project representatives will be on hand to answer questions and accept comments.

Increasing the intersection’s capacity to handle traffic is the driving force behind the roundabout project, according to James Sisul, project manager for PennDOT.

“We do experience backups there,” he said.

While an average of about 14,000 vehicles pass through the intersection each day, traffic tends to peak from 7 to 8 a.m. and again between 3 and 5 p.m. — making the crossroads a bottleneck for drivers.

The roundabout is proposed to better handle current traffic volume while preparing for a projected increase to about 16,000 daily vehicles over the next two decades.

“We do expect to reduce the delays at the intersection,” said Jeremy Hughes, assistant district executive for design with PennDOT District 12.

Roundabouts “handle traffic very efficiently without a traffic signal,” said Bryan Walker, district plans engineer for PennDOT.

While crashes aren’t a major concern at the Donohoe Road site, PennDOT has touted roundabouts as a way to reduce collisions at intersections.

“The crashes that are still there tend to be low-speed fender-benders,” Walker said.

The design, the estimated cost and the timeline for the proposed project haven’t been finalized. But PennDOT planners indicated the roundabout could be up to 180 feet wide, with a single travel lane of about 18 feet wide.

With trucks making up about 5% of the traffic there, the roundabout also would include a raised truck-turning apron, to accommodate the trailer portion of rigs as well as oversize loads, Sisul said.

He said the roundabout would include some sidewalks as well as graded grassy areas for potential sidewalk extensions, depending on future development.

Same alignment

According to PennDOT, the roundabout likely would be centered on the same alignment as the existing intersection, to minimize the impact on the properties at its four corners.

Three of those corners are occupied by the Greensburg Masonic Center, Independence Health’s Laurel Surgical Center and the Beer Arena distributor.

“It’s fair to say there will be some detours at some point during the construction,” Hughes said, indicating some of the four legs of the intersecting roads may be open to drivers while others could be closed. “There will be multiple phases. We are attempting to leave this open to the degree it’s possible.”

Construction start: 2028

If all goes as planned with the project engineering, design and right-of-way acquisition, construction could begin in 2028.

For those who can’t attend the Sept. 24 meeting, project materials and a comment form will be available online beginning the same day.

Visit the PennDOT District 12 website, select the “Projects and Public Meetings” link under the Public Resources heading and then search under Westmoreland County project listings.

Comments on the project will be accepted through Oct. 8.