PENNDOT NEWS
PennDOT District 10 has named a new director for the Western Pennsylvania region.
Brian Allen will oversee all functions in PennDOT District 10, which serves Butler, Armstrong, Clarion, Indiana and Jefferson counties.
Allen, a Pennsylvania State University graduate, has held various positions within District 10 for 28 years.
He most recently served as assistant district executive for maintenance and assistant district executive for design.
Allen succeeds Joseph P. Dubovi III, of Johnstown, who retired this month after 35 years with PennDOT.
Eight PennDOT employees across the state were recognized at the annual IdeaLink Awards ceremony.The awards recognize employees' ideas for leaner and better ways of doing their jobs and were presented in November at the Keystone Building in Harrisburg.Among the honorees was Christopher Robinson of District 10-2 in Butler County. Robinson was recognized for streamlining training forms for flagger on-the-job performance evaluations.Tracy Schmucker, an administrative assistant in District 10's Indiana County, was awarded for her idea of sending thank you cards to employees for exemplary work.
PennDOT is asking motorists who live in or drive through District 10 to take a survey on road projects completed in 2019. The survey can be found at www.surveymonkey.com/r/D10Construction2019.The Butler County projects include:- Interstate 79 from Jackson Township north to the Mercer County border.- Route 38 from Route 422 north almost to Route 138.- Route 308 from northern Center Township to northern Cherry Township.- Route 58 from the Mercer County border to Route 308.- Route 108 from the Mercer County border to Branchton Road near Slippery Rock.- Route 422 from Bonniebrook Road west to the Lyndora exit.- Dick Road in Connoquenessing Township between Route 68 and Route 422 in Franklin Township.- The I-79 bridge over North Boundary Road and the Pennsylvania Turnpike bridge over Freedom Road, both in Cranberry Township.- The Pittsburgh Street intersection at Route 228 in Adams Township.- A section of Brownsdale Road off Route 68 in Forward Township.- A section of Georgetown Road in Marion Township.- The Route 68 bridge over Buffalo Creek in Chicora.
PennDOT and the State Police are partnering in a “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign this holiday season.Law enforcement will participate in the high-visibility national enforcement campaign now through New Year's Day.The program shows zero tolerance for drunk drivers and aims to drastically reduce drunken driving on the region's roads through messages about its dangers, enforcement and increased officers on the road.According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration:- An average of 10,000 people were killed each year from 2014 to 2018 in DUI crashes, with 10,511 people killed in 2018 alone.- One person was killed in a DUI crash every 15 minutes in 2018 — the same number as 20 fatal jumbo jet crashes each year.- 839 people died in traffic crashes involving a drunken driver just in December 2018.- There were 285 DUI-related fatalities during the 2018 holiday period, more than any other holiday period.Corporal Scott Kemling with the state police Butler barracks said local troopers will conduct roving patrols and/or a stationary sobriety checkpoint at a predetermined location the weekend between Christmas and New Year's Eve.Kemling advises motorists to wear their seat belts and have the driver's license, registration and insurance cards readily available, and to drive sober or arrange for a designated driver.Kemling said motorists should also abide by the Steer Clear Law, which requires drivers to slow down and move over to the lane farthest away from stopped emergency vehicles or reduce speed if moving over is impossible.
