(3/16) The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) will soon begin the last phase of work on Main Street in the Borough of Fairfield. The project, in its entirety, includes repairing and resurfacing Route 116 from east of Iron Springs Road in Hamiltonban Township to the intersection with Carroll’s Tract Road.

The $793,196.03 Main Street contract was awarded to New Enterprise Stone and Lime, Inc., of New Enterprise, Bedford County, and includes curb cut work required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), drainage work, base repair, removal of the top layer of asphalt, resurfacing the existing roadway, and new signs and pavement markings on a one-mile section of Route 116 as well as a short section of Miller Street. Main Street in Fairfield is PA Route 116 and, as such, is a Penn DOT owned and maintained roadway. There is no cost to Fairfield Borough for the road repair or maintenance.

Last fall ADA compliant handicap ramps were installed at crosswalks where there is a crossing over a state-owned roadway. The remaining aspects of the job, which will be completed this spring, include minor drainage updates, milling, and resurfacing.

Work under this construction contract was originally slated for completion by July of last year but the project was delayed in order to allow Columbia Gas to complete gas line repairs. Now that Columbia Gas has completed all of their Main Street line repairs, the roadway is open and ready for PennDOT to begin milling and paving. Paving is expected to take place mid-April and could take up to two weeks to complete.

PennDOT advises travelers that the contractor has agreed not to restrict travel lanes between 6:00 AM and 8:00 AM, and on Fridays between 4:00 PM and 6:00 PM. There will be no two-lane closures during the paving project. Flaggers will be used to maintain traffic flowing through the Borough. However, as with all roadwork, delays are expected. This section of Route 116 averages more than 7,500 vehicles traveled daily. To avoid delays, travelers should allow for additional time in their plans or seek an alternate route. Travelers are reminded to be alert for these operations, to obey work zone signs, to use caution when driving or walking through work zones, not only for their safety, but for the safety of the road crews.

Motorists can check conditions on more than 40,000 roadway miles by visiting www.511PA.com. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information and access to more than 700 traffic cameras, 94 of which are in the Midstate.

Additional information can be accessed on the Fairfield Borough website www.fairfieldborough.com as the Borough is informed.