JOHNSTOWN — The state Department of Transportation’s multi-million dollar project to widen the business section of Route 30A in the city from three to five lanes is on schedule and winding down.
About a month of work is left on the project, which started last spring, the state says.
The project was first announced in spring 2018.
The DOT “safety improvement” project, as it is being called, lies on Route 30A between Briggs Street and Townsend Avenue, and it has about one month to go. Motorists have been patient all summer while construction crews have widened what is sometimes referred to as the business “miracle mile” of Johnstown.
The area being widened is dotted with various businesses and restaurants, as well as the Johnstown Mall and the Johnstown Shopping Center.
Last Dec. 24, DOT awarded a contract for the project to Hanson Aggregates New York LLC of Albany with a low bid of $3.15 million for construction.
Sharon Heyboer, assistant to the regional director of DOT’s Region 2 office in Utica, told The Leader-Herald on Monday that it won’t be long before completion is at hand.
“The project is on schedule for completion in late October,” Heyboer said.
She said that over the remaining few weeks, work on the state project will include paving and construction of some concrete islands.
The project began in early April, and will have spanned three seasons by the time it is completed.
DOT says the project is making several safety improvements along Route 30A (North Comrie Avenue) from Route 29 (Briggs Street) to Townsend Avenue in the city of Johnstown. The 0.7-mile-long project was developed in response to congested traffic conditions within the corridor, DOT officials say. The Route 30A project involves the expansion of a commercial stretch of the Arterial Highway from three to five lanes.
According to DOT, about 18,000 vehicles per day use Route 30A.
Project objectives include: Reducing vehicle conflicts and accident rates; improving operational conditions; improving pedestrian and bicycle safety/access/mobility; providing Americans with Disability Act, or ADA-compliant facilities; and supporting economic activity in the project area.
Proposed design improvements include: Additional new travel lanes in both the northbound and southbound directions within the commercial corridor; new sidewalks from existing facilities north to Townsend Avenue; new curbing, closed drainage, lighting, and highway signage along the corridor; replacement of existing signal at the Townsend Avenue intersection with addition of a signalized pedestrian crossing; and a new signalized pedestrian crossing at mall entrances.
Michael Anich covers Johnstown and Fulton County news. He can be reached at [email protected]
