The Realignment of SR 0288 and SR 1010, in Franklin Township, Beaver County has been selected as the Beaver County Chapter of PSPE Project of the Year for 2021. The Project involved realignment of 1,740 ft of SR 0288 and eliminated a reverse curve including lowering the road vertically by 50 feet. 1,247 ft of SR 1010 was realigned and the road was widened and vertically lowered by 30 feet. Sight distance was improved at the intersection.
This project was part of a larger plan invovling The Zelienople Airport located adjacent to ÐR 0288. The horizontal adjustments to SR 0288 and SR 1010 improved the travel on the highway but the vertical adjustments removed obstructions that were preventing the airport from night time operations.
The project had multiple aspects and benefits tied to the highway project to the airport project. Fill material from the highway job was used to build an improved runway at the airport and was also used to remediate a strip mine high-wall. The project reflected the positive results of sound engineering in conjunction with input from the community and other agencies such as PennDOT.
The overall airport and highway projects required excavating 1,500,000 cubic yards of material. The ability to reuse the excavated material from the highway project to the Zelienople airport by trucking a distance of less than one mile provided a major economical savings, reduced the detour time by reducing the construction time needed and as a result reduced the pollution to the environment.
The contractor was able to utilize the design files for grading operation with success which helped provide the desired results. The Zelienople airport was closed during work hours due to the proximity of the highway project and the need to place fill material on the airport.
The project was funded via Multi-Modal funds. The low bid was below the estimated cost. Due to the availability of extra funds, additional excavation was performed to eliminate additional obstructions to the airport. The original bid was $1,589,317.27 with additional work change orders of $157,724. The contractor was granted 8 calendar days extension.
The lead design firm was Widmer Engineering with Tony Sadaka, P.E. as the project Manager. The contractor for the project was Independence Excavating.
Congratulations to PennDOT District 11-0, Widmer Engineering, Independence Excavating, and the entire project team. Since we did not have an Engineers Week dinner this year, the project will be recognized at our Engineer of the Year dinner in May or June.
