I-70 Belle Vernon Bridge to Bentleyville

Design Underway

Preliminary Engineering for the project began on Sept. 16, 2020. The project will consider mainline improvements along Interstate 70 (I-70) in the project area that includes the Lover interchange (Exit 36). The purpose of this reconstruction project is to:

• Improve this section of I-70 in accordance with PennDOT District 12’s I-70 Modernization Plan that will provide a consistent typical section along the larger I-70 corridor, in Washington and Westmoreland counties.
• Address system linkage, structure, and pavement needs.

This project will:

• Reconstruct all pavement
• Provide two 12-foot lanes in each direction
• Widen the median to 10 feet
• Include 12-foot shoulders on each side of the roadway
• Provide a swale or buffer beside the shoulder

The Project Team selected the alternative that includes building a new full diamond interchange.

The project team developed an Alternatives Analysis report which evaluated each of the alternatives related to safety, traffic, environmental, and right-of-way impacts, costs, and public involvement. The report was approved by PennDOT and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) on June 22, 2022 and recommended a new full diamond interchange at the Lover Interchange (Exit 36).

Key features of the project:

• The Lover Interchange (Exit 36) will be reconstructed as a full access diamond interchange.
• The bridge that carries Twin Bridges Road over I-70 at the interchange will be raised approximately 4.5 feet to provide adequate clearance over I-70 and have three lanes with one lane in each direction and a center turn lane.
  • The existing bridge was built in 1958 and is in poor condition with substandard vertical and horizontal clearance.
• The existing bridge currently has a daily traffic volume of 2,000 vehicles and traffic data indicates that most drivers who use the bridge are accessing the interchange and I-70, and that most traffic comes from the south side of I-70.