After a Break for Blue-White Weekend, Here’s What Is Coming Next for the Atherton Street Project

Construction and utility work is continuing on the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s multi-year North Atherton Street improvement project, but it will pause for the upcoming Blue-White weekend.

Work will be suspended Friday through Sunday and will resume on Monday.

After that, drivers can expect a detour, lane closures and travel delays. Here’s what’s happening through the rest of the month and beyond:

– From Tuesday, April 24, through Thursday, April 26, a detour will be in place on Aaron Drive with traffic directed to Vairo Boulevard. The detour is needed for placement of sewer manholes and to tie a new sewer line into the existing sewer line at the intersection of Aaron Drive and North Atherton Street. 

– Water line installation will continue the week of April 23, with water service being transferred over to a new main.

– During the week of April 30, the contractor will pave water and sewer line crossings on Atherton Street and install a waterline crossing at North Hills Plaza.

– Work will be suspended again from Friday, May 4 through Sunday, May 6 for Penn State’s spring commencement weekend. Work will resume on Monday, May 7.

– Utility contractors will continue relocation work through June from Blue Course Drive to Park Avenue. Lane closures will be needed as the work progresses.

– Flaggers will be in the roadway directing traffic and traffic may be stopped for short periods of time. Drivers are reminded to use caution when traveling through the work zone and to not follow construction equipment into a closed lane.

The entire project will take place through 2019 and will be done in phases between Aaron Drive and Park Avenue. Utility relocation for the multi-year project began in 2017 and resumed earlier in March. 

Overall work on the project will include relocation of utility lines, sewer and water lines, drainage improvements, curbing, sidewalks, ADA ramps, traffic signal upgrades, new concrete median and paving.

After last year’s utility work cause frequent traffic backups in the summer and fall, PennDOT is working with local governments to provide regular updates on upcoming work and traffic impacts related to the project.