Clearfield, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) announced the following schedule of maintenance activities in McKean County the week of September 21. PennDOT performs year-round maintenance in its mission to provide a safe, efficient transportation system, and the scope of work in McKean County for the coming week is as follows:

Bridge Maintenance & Cleaning

• Route 346 at a bridge spanning an unnamed tributary to Foster Brook in Foster Township. Monday, September 21, through Friday, September 25. Flaggers in the roadway will provide traffic control during daylight hours. 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.

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

Joint and Crack Seal & Hot Pour Mastic

• Route 59 starting at Route 4003 (Bingham Road) in Lafayette Township and continuing westbound approximately 18 miles to the McKean-Warren County line. Monday, September 21, through Friday, September 25. 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.

Crack sealing and hot pour mastic operations prevent water intrusion from seeping through cracks or joints in an asphalt road, which can lead to potholes and pavement breakup. They are proactive preventive maintenance strategies to prevent water from entering the roadways and accelerating the formation of potholes and other failures.

Patching

• All of Route 3009 (Roberts Road) in Lafayette Township. Monday, September 21. 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 3006 (Westline Road) starting at Route 219 and continuing westbound approximately a mile in Lafayette Township. Tuesday, September 22. 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 6 between Irons Hollow Road in Keating Township and Route 155 in Port Allegany Borough. Wednesday, September 23, through Friday, September 25. 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 Replacing & Cleaning

• Route 6 between Route 146 in Hamlin Township and Willow Street in Smethport Borough. Monday, September 21, and Tuesday, September 22. 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 46 between Lorana Avenue in the City of Bradford and Route 59 in Smethport Borough. Tuesday, September 22, through Friday, September 25. 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 46 starting at Route 6 in Keating Township and continuing southbound approximately 16 miles to the Cameron-McKean County line in Northwich Township. Tuesday, September 22, through Friday, September 25. 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 146. Friday, September 25. 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.

Side Dozing

• Route 219 between Lantz Corners in Hamlin Township and Owens Way in Bradford Township. Monday, September 21, through Friday, September 25. 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.

Side dozing removes excess material from beneath guide rail areas, which improves drainage and allows water to sheet flow off the roadway. Side dozing is a crucial highway maintenance operation because when drainage systems do not function properly, water collects on the road, weakens pavement, accelerates the formation of potholes, and creates the potential for icing conditions in the winter months.

Vegetation Management

• All of Route 219. Monday, September 21, through Friday, September 25. 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.

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