Construction on a long-awaited parking lot designed to alleviate traffic congestion in part of Oakmont’s business district is set to begin.
Oakmont Community Foundation president Ray Rogers said work should be underway at the lot along Allegheny Avenue by the end of April. Those passing through Oakmont along Allegheny Avenue on Tuesday, April 22 could see excavators in the lot.
The lot has sat vacant since the foundation purchased it in 2019 for $500,000 with plans to turn the land into a public parking lot.
The foundation then used money received in 2020 from a Multimodal Transportation Fund grant of just over $1 million to cover the purchase cost and provide money to help pay for the project itself. The grant came through the state Department of Community and Economic Development.
Project delays led to grant funding extensions. So far, the state granted three extensions of the grants, with the latest date for spending the money pushed to this year.
“It’s nice to see it get moving after five years,” Rogers said. “It’s nice to see the work get done.”
The lot will feature more than 40 spaces and landscaping.
Rogers said Advance Way would be tightened and turned into a one-way street in an attempt to calm traffic coming from the lot. The one-way designation will prevent people from exiting the lot and turning onto Allegheny Avenue from Advance Way.
The lot is the first phase in a proposed Allegheny Avenue realignment, Rogers said. The plan is an attempt to implement different features, including the parking lot along the avenue, to encourage traffic calming and make the road safer.
Rogers said the lot is scheduled to be finished May 31.
“We’ve been hoping for this for years, and we’ve continued to tell (the foundation) we’ll help in any way we can,” said council President Nancy Ride.