Clearfield, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) announced the following schedule of maintenance activities in McKean County the week of September 22. 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 in Bradford Township. Monday, September 25, through Friday, September 29. Flaggers in the roadway will provide traffic control during daylight hours.

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.

Manual Patching

• Route 6 in Hamlin and Wetmore township and Kane Borough. Monday, September 25, through Friday, September 29. Flaggers in the roadway will provide traffic control.
• Route 46 in Foster, Keating and Otto townships. Monday, September 25, through Friday, September 29. Flaggers in the roadway will provide traffic control.
• Route 546 in Otto Township. Wednesday, September 25, through Friday, September 29. Flaggers in the roadway will provide traffic control.

Most permanent pothole patching is completed in the spring/summer when temperatures stay consistently above freezing. If maintenance crews were not repairing potholes, the road surface would break up further and require more expensive corrective measures.

Pipe Replacing & Cleaning

• Route 770 in Bradford and Lafayette townships. Thursday, September 28, and Friday, September 29. Flaggers in the roadway will provide traffic control.

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.

Shoulder Maintenance

• Route 2004 (Christian Hollow Road) in Norwich Township. Monday, September 25, through Wednesday, September 27. Flaggers in the roadway will provide traffic control.

Shoulder cutting removes excess material and debris from unpaved shoulder areas. Shoulder grading involves the shaping and stabilizing of those same areas. Both operations improve drainage, allow water to leave the roadway, and eliminate shoulder drop-offs. These are crucial highway maintenance operations 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.

Side Dozing

• Route 6 in Liberty Township. Monday, September 25, through Thursday, September 28. Flaggers in the roadway will provide traffic control during daylight hours.

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.

PennDOT urges motorists to exercise caution in these and all work zones to ensure their safety and the safety of county maintenance staff.

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 calling after hours, please leave a name and phone number.

For more information on PennDOT’s maintenance activities, visit www.PennDOT.pa.gov/about-us/maintenanceactivities.