I-80 Widening Project

[Craziaskowboi]

Originally Posted by quiet life

How does a Illinois or a Minnesota(these are 2 states I have spent more than day or 2 in the winter)design better interstates and maintain their roads more efficiently than Pennsylvania?

Probably because a) Pennsylvania has the fifth-most miles of road to maintain of any state transportation agency in the U.S., versus the 11th-most for Illinois and the 18th-most for Minnesota, and b) it's cheaper to engineer and build roads on flat terrain than mountainous terrain, and Illinois and Minnesota are both much flatter than Pennsylvania.

[fisheye]

The fact is that PennDOT has no idea what they are doing! While PennDOT always has an excuse, like we are very hilly; what is the excuse for Route 611 between Scotrun and Swiftwater? In those two miles of highway the elevation only increases about 218 feet according to Google Earth; it is a pretty flat section of road and relatively straight compared to some of our roads. This is the third year of construction on that two mile stretch. You are not setting the world on fire and it looks like there is no planning or leadership (which is usually our biggest problem).

PA should lead the Nation in best road practices; not follow the worst. I know that there are challenges on that two mile section of highway like the utilities underneath the highway - but where is the panning and where is the activity to finally see this project through to completion? If this is an example of what you plan to do on the I-80 expansion we do not have a prayer! Personally I do not think our PennDOT has the skills to do the job anymore.

[Chefkey]

Originally Posted by fisheye

Personally I do not think our PennDOT has the skills to do the job anymore.

Take the insolvency of the PA Turnpike as a prime example of that!

[fisheye]

Originally Posted by Chefkey

Take the insolvency of the PA Turnpike as a prime example of that!

Watching the money is like watching the shell game on the street corner! While people want to defund the police; maybe we should talk about defunding PennDOT!

PennDOT was out working on the one bridge today. But that is only part of the problem. They could be working on all the work that has to be done; but they only work on one small piece at a time. They have the new intersection that has to be done for Brookdale Road and they still have not removed all of the concrete that has to be removed before they finally are ready to rebuild the old highway. Our planners and supervisors have no experience orchestrating any large project. It looks like nepotism rules the roost because it is hard to imagine that anybody could be so incompetent!

Maybe it is just me? But when I see a Gradall excavator at one of our construction websites I immediately think of pork. It is one of the slowest pieces of heavy equipment ever built and it fits right in with PennDOT.

When driving commercial truck I watched Ohio build a three lane bridge with a wide shoulder half a mile long. In the same time we rebuilt a two lane bridge only 200 feet long with a narrow shoulder. When it comes to construction speed saves lives. The longer you block or slow down traffic; the greater the risk to both highway workers and the motorist that pass through the area. The idea is that you get out there, get the job done efficiently, and get the heck out the way. Our roads are simply too dangerous for 'workfare'. Nine out of ten fatal accidents in work zones happen to our motorist and not to pedestrians.

[Chefkey]

Hapless lol. Now this wasn't PennDot but the county and it wasn't all their fault but I watched them pave a road completely new, gas company came and dug it up. They patched it, water company came and dug the entire thing up. Finally, they paved it over again a year later, now I am waiting for sewer to come.

[Chefkey]

By the way, that expansion on 80 is going to happen just as fast as the train to NYC. Pipe dreaming, and speaking of the Turnpike, didn't I hear they were thinking of placing tolls in that area of 80 if they do the work?

[fisheye]

Originally Posted by Chefkey

By the way, that expansion on 80 is going to happen just as fast as the train to NYC. Pipe dreaming, and speaking of the Turnpike, didn't I hear they were thinking of placing tolls in that area of 80 if they do the work?

Our Turnpike has been complaining about all the money it lost since the Corona virus outbreak. Since we never make anybody accountable for anything in government I would presume that PennDOT will fork over more funds for the Turnpike and, in doing so, will push for I-80 toll plazas to fund everything. Of course only time will tell.

I get upset when I hear PennDOT complaining about how our weather is so bad or our State is so hilly - like other states do not have problems. Too flat also has problems because the bedrock can be covered by lakes, stream, and swamps. They have to go a long way to reach the bedrock to anchor their bridges. Being low does not allow for the runoff and wet ground freezes and then heaves.

I just don't like excuses. They (our State) made the decision to build these roads - so they inherited the maintenance. If people do not get to work no taxes are paid to fund their department. I just want them to accept the responsibility they took on and get the job done or step aside and let somebody else do the job that they no longer know how to do!

[charmed hour]

Originally Posted by Chefkey

Hapless lol. Now this wasn't PennDot but the county and it wasn't all their fault but I watched them pave a road completely new, gas company came and dug it up. They patched it, water company came and dug the entire thing up. Finally, they paved it over again a year later, now I am waiting for sewer to come.

NYC does the same constantly. The street I grew up on was under constant construction for 12 years.

[fisheye]

Originally Posted by charmed hour

NYC does the same constantly. The street I grew up on was under constant construction for 12 years.

Several years ago I went to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's website and looked at the figures for work zone accidents. At the time we kept hearing about how they wanted to increase the fines to protect the workers in the work zones. It turned out that only one in ten fatal accidents in work zones involved pedestrians. Nine out of ten happen to motorist. Once you expectantly slow down motorist there could or will be a death. Of course that does not mean that highway work is not dangerous.

The idea is for the highway workers to get out there, get the job done so it will last a long time, and then get the heck out of the way. The quicker the work is done; the more lives it will save. It isn't just the faster, but many times it would or should be possible to do multiple work projects at the same time.

I have watched as PennDOT closed a lane of Route 80 coming down the hill from the I-380 split. That is one of the most dangerous places to shut down a lane because truck brakes will overheat. They would fix the guard rails one day and then close a lane for highway cleanup the next day - like they could not plan both projects for the same day! Heck; they could fix potholes at the same time! I blame all this on management. They should fine management for the safety violations in work zones!