PennDOT: Route 981 improvement project fully funded with injection of $30M

PennDOT has designated an additional $30 million for the Laurel Valley Transportation Improvement Project, completing the funding needed to construct Route 981 corridor upgrades and realignment between Norvelt in Mt. Pleasant Township and Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Unity.

Announcement of the funding this week follows a Nov. 12 groundbreaking ceremony for the first 4.5-mile section of the project, which stretches from the intersection of Routes 981 and 819 north to Norvelt.

The new project funding, from the federal Surface Transportation Program, will be designated for construction of the northernmost section of the corridor improvement, according to Jay Ofsanik, PennDOT District 12 acting press officer. That planned 2.5-mile segment would mostly follow alternate Route 2023, heading north from the intersection of Bingham Road — just south of Route 130 — and rejoining existing Route 981 near the Westmoreland Airpark.

Ofsanik said the injection of an additional $30 million will allow PennDOT to shift a similar amount of construction funding from the project’s northern section to the central 3.5-mile segment, between Norvelt and Bingham Road. The earlier $30 million allocation was approved through the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission and the state Transportation Improvement Plan.

“This now allows us to fully fund the entire project,” Ofsanik said. “It’s very good news. Now we know we can continue to move forward on the two remaining sections.”

The Laurel Valley project will “provide more direct access to the Arnold Palmer Regional Airport from the interstate transportation network provided by the Pennsylvania Turnpike and PennDOT,” said state Senate Majority Leader Kim Ward, R-Hempfield. “Tourism, commercial business expansion and greater air freight opportunities are among the areas that stand to benefit greatly from this project.”

In addition to economic benefits, the project is intended to improve traffic flow and safety by bypassing or softening curves in Route 981. Intersection improvements include several proposed roundabouts.

Walsh Construction Co.’s work on the project’s southern section will cost $55 million and is expected to wrap up by the fall of 2024. Roundabouts are slated at three intersections in that segment: Routes 819 and 981; Hecla Road, State Street and 981; and Mt. Pleasant, Kecksburg and Hecla roads at 981, all of which converge in Norvelt.

Preliminary design is underway for the two remaining project sections. The northernmost section has a projected cost of between $25 million and $30 million and could see work beginning in 2025. The central section has an estimated cost of between $35 million and $40 million, with construction not expected to begin before 2026.

Visit laurelvalleyproject.com for project maps and additional information.