Meridian Road reconstruction to start April 22
PENN TWP —The Meridian Road reconstruction project in Penn Township is scheduled to begin on Monday, April 22, but if flooding would again impact the region, the road would reopen despite the ongoing repairs.
The $685,000 reconstruction of Meridian Road will address damage from a landslide in November 2022, which caused a section of the road to close for several months. When the road reopened in March 2023, it opened only to one lane of traffic.
At the Tuesday, April 9 meeting, Samuel Ward, chairman of Penn Township’s board of supervisors said the work is to be completed no later than the end of May by Allison Park Contractors, based out of Gibsonia.
A pre-construction meeting last week on April 2 hashed out an emergency management plan that would allow for the re-opening of Meridian Road in case of a major emergency, such as a flood.
“PennDOT’s contract with Allison Park requires them to, within one hour of an incident, remove the barricades so that residents can get in or out,” Ward said. “Otherwise, (Meridian Road) will be shut down so that they can do their work.”
Meanwhile, the planned overhaul of the nearby Meridian Road bridge — a separate project altogether — has been delayed and will now start in late 2025, with an estimated finish date of 2026. According to Ward, the intent is to replace the current bridge with a two-lane bridge.
“It hasn’t been funded, but they’re in the early stages of design for that,” Ward said.
