The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) announced the following schedule of maintenance activities in McKean County the week of June 29. PennDOT performs year-round maintenance in its mission to provide a safe, efficient transportation system, and while crews will be off on Friday, July 3, in observation of the Fourth of July holiday, the scope of work in McKean County for the remainder of the week is as follows:

Bridge Maintenance & Cleaning

• Route 66 at a box culvert spanning West Run half a mile South of Kane Borough in Wetmore Township. Monday, June 29, and Tuesday, June 30. Flaggers in the roadway will provide traffic control during daylight hours and may deploy a pilot vehicle. When encountering a pilot vehicle with a “Pilot Car Follow Me” sign mounted on the rear and a revolving yellow light, drivers must remain behind it until it has left the roadway. Do not pass.
• Route 346 at a box culvert spanning Foster Brook, a Tributary of North Creek, between McFadden Road and Hillwood Avenue in Norwich Township. Wednesday, July 1, and Thursday, July 2. PennDOT will implement single-lane closures while this work is completed.

Pennsylvania has some of the oldest bridges in the country, with an with an average age of more than 50 years. Preventive maintenance is vital in extending the life of the structures. As such, PennDOT maintenance crews perform some bridge deck patching and structural repairs.

Patching

• Route 546 between Route 346 and the Pennsylvania-New York State line in Otto Township. Monday, June 29, through Thursday, July 2. Flaggers in the roadway will provide traffic control during daylight hours and may deploy a pilot vehicle. When encountering a pilot vehicle with a “Pilot Car Follow Me” sign mounted on the rear and a revolving yellow light, drivers must remain behind it until it has left the roadway. Do not pass.
• All of Route 1011 (Barnum Road) in Eldred Township. Monday, June 29, through Thursday, July 2. Flaggers in the roadway will provide traffic control during daylight hours and may deploy a pilot vehicle. When encountering a pilot vehicle with a “Pilot Car Follow Me” sign mounted on the rear and a revolving yellow light, drivers must remain behind it until it has left the roadway. Do not pass.
• All of Route 1015 (Columbia Hill Road) between Route 46 in Keating Township and Route 246 in Otto Township. Monday, June 29, through Thursday, July 2. Flaggers in the roadway will provide traffic control during daylight hours and may deploy a pilot vehicle. When encountering a pilot vehicle with a “Pilot Car Follow Me” sign mounted on the rear and a revolving yellow light, drivers must remain behind it until it has left the roadway. Do not pass.
• All of Route 1017 (RL Sweitzer Road) in Otto Township. Monday, June 29, through Thursday, July 2. Flaggers in the roadway will provide traffic control during daylight hours and may deploy a pilot vehicle. When encountering a pilot vehicle with a “Pilot Car Follow Me” sign mounted on the rear and a revolving yellow light, drivers must remain behind it until it has left the roadway. Do not pass.

Most permanent pothole patching is completed in spring or summer when temperatures stay consistently above freezing. Manual patching consists of filling potholes with warm mix asphalt using a shovel. It is then leveled and compacted. Mechanized patching consists of milling paving notches, cleaning the surface, applying tack to all edges to act as a glue. A paver then places warm mix into the milled paving notches, and a roller compacts the material. If patching was not performed, the damaged road surface would deteriorate further, and PennDOT would need to completely rebuild the road or perform more costly corrective measures.

Pipe Replacement & Cleaning

• Route 46 starting at Route 6 in Keating Township and continuing southbound approximately 16 miles to the Cameron-McKean County line in Norwich Township. Monday, June 29, through Thursday, July 2. Flaggers in the roadway will provide traffic control during daylight hours and may deploy a pilot vehicle. When encountering a pilot vehicle with a “Pilot Car Follow Me” sign mounted on the rear and a revolving yellow light, drivers must remain behind it until it has left the roadway. Do not pass.

Pipe replacement and cleaning are essential in maintaining water flow around state roadways. Controlling water flow is one of the most important aspects of maintaining pavements. Uncontrolled water flow will damage both the pavement surface and the area under the pavement, which causes deterioration across the length of the pipe.

Vegetation Management

• Route 46 starting at Route 6 in Keating Township and continuing southbound approximately 16 miles to the Cameron-McKean County line in Norwich Township. Monday, June 29, through Wednesday, July 1. This work takes place on the shoulder with minor roadway encroachment and has minimal, if any traffic impact, however PennDOT urges drivers to exercise caution in all work zones.
• All of Route 646. Wednesday, July 1, and Thursday, July 2. This work takes place on the shoulder with minor roadway encroachment and has minimal, if any traffic impact, however PennDOT urges drivers to exercise caution in all work zones.

Mowing, herbicide spraying, and selected tree thinning help maintain a safe roadway free of obstructing vegetation, improving visibility to spot signage, traffic control devices, and other motorists, bicyclists, pedestrians, and animals approaching the road. Additionally, a well-maintained roadside can improve drainage and prolong the life of the roadway.

This schedule is subject to change due to weather conditions, emergencies, or other unforeseen interruptions.

Customers can report road concerns by calling 1-800-FIX-ROAD. If you call after hours, please leave a name and phone number.

For more information on PennDOT’s maintenance activities, visit https://www.pa.gov/agencies/penndot/about-penndot/strategic-planning-and-operations/penndot-maintenance-activities