ZELIENOPLE — A bridge replacement project on Route 68 in the borough will now include sidewalks, much to the pleasure of officials who have long hoped to expand foot traffic farther down Main Street.

The state Department of Transportation notified the borough recently that it plans to include sidewalks on both sides of the bridge. PennDOT is expected to begin the project in June.

Eager to increase foot traffic to and from Timberbrook, a housing development off Route 68, and to other destinations south of the bridge, borough officials petitioned PennDOT to include sidewalks in the plan.

Borough manager Don Pepe said the bridge replacement over Glade Run is the perfect opportunity to address the lack of sidewalks in that area.

“We have been envisioning running sidewalks along Route 68 to attach other destinations to the Main Street area,” Pepe said. “To do that we needed the sidewalks to extend through the bridge.”

To accommodate the sidewalks, which will be raised off the bridge surface, the width of the road will be reduced by a few feet on each side.

PennDOT already has bought the rights of way from adjoining property owners. Because the width of the road on the bridge will be reduced instead of expanded, no further rights of way will be purchased.

The bulk of construction will take place between the middle of June and September, said Dave Layman, the PennDOT District 10 design project manager.

To coincide with the construction, borough council on Monday approved a relocation agreement with PennDOT to move water and electrical utilities in the area of the bridge. The borough will be reimbursed up to $119,000 for water and up to $50,000 for electric work, which is 50 percent of the costs.

Work on the water utilities is finished, while contractors are looking at the electrical lines.

PennDOT officials will host a public meeting to discuss bridge projects throughout the county from 5 to 7 p.m. May 12 at the Days Inn Butler Conference Center, 139 Pittsburgh Road, in Butler Township. The Route 68 bridge replacement in Zelienople will be one of the projects discussed.

“This will also be an opportunity for us to gather some information from the public,” Layman said.