Leetsdale 'hump' along Washington Street to be removed by end of the year

Councilman James DeGori has lived along Washington Street in Leetsdale long enough to witness his share of near misses at an intersection colloquially called the hump.

It is at the intersection of the former Leet Street Bridge, which was closed to traffic in 2013 and removed in 2017.

The bridge side has been fenced off and there are stop signs on both sides of Washington Street.

DeGori said the hump provides a sight and safety problem.

“When the bridge was there, all the cars would stop at that stop sign loyally because of oncoming traffic,” DeGori said. “Now that the bridge is gone, a lot of people aren’t stopping at that stop sign and (are) just flying right over that hump. A lot of kids have been almost hit by cars.

“You can’t see (the road) when you’re coming up. They’re just rolling up over it and rolling right back down on the other side. We’re trying to get it fixed before something does happen.”

DeGori said there are about 20 children who live with their families along Washington Street and more that play in the park at the end of the road.

The borough was able to save up enough money through the years to finally be able to do something about the hump.

Council unanimously voted June 13 to award a $210,834 contract to Wampum-based Youngblood Paving for what borough engineer Dan Slagle called a realignment project.

“It’s time to realign that road and to cure a safety hazard,” Slagle said. “This will make it a much safer intersection while preserving the telephone poles and wires where the bridge used to be.”

Crews are expected to dig up the intersection and flatten the roadway starting in November. It is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

The original project design was authorized more than a year ago.

Slagle said it took time to negotiate and organize efforts with Columbia Gas, Duquesne Light, Verizon and Edgeworth Water Authority to minimize service disruptions. Relocating the lines is expected to start this month at no cost to the borough.

“This is a cooperative effort between utilities and the borough making our roadway safe,” he said. “The way that we’ve designed it, we’ll be able to backfeed all the utilities in the area thus eliminating any inconveniences to residents. When you get four different utility companies together, it takes a little while to get everyone on the same page.”

Youngblood was the lowest of three bidders for the realignment.

Slagle said he has worked with the company for about 35 years on numerous projects in multiple municipalities.

He is confident they will do a good job.

Traffic during construction is expected to be rerouted to Monroe Way, which runs parallel to Washington Street.