Oakmont residents and drivers passing through the borough should budget extra time in their commutes later this summer.

PennDOT will be upgrading railroad crossings throughout the borough. Heavily traveled Hulton Road is included on the list of roads to be affected by the work.

Other Oakmont crossings at College, Pennsylvania and Washington avenues. The warning devices at each crossing also will be upgraded.

Work around College Avenue will begin in later this month or in early July, said PennDOT spokesperson Nicole Haney.

Work at the Hulton Road railroad crossing is still being coordinated but is expected to take place in August, she said.

The tentative timeframe to complete the project is between this fall and next spring, according to borough officials.

There will be detours and traffic delays when the project begins.

Railroad crossings will undergo work one at a time, Haney said.

“There’s a contractor (CR Construction Co.) that’s been upgrading crossings,” said Borough Manager Scot Fodi. “This project started in 2019, and it’s involved every railroad crossing from the city of Pittsburgh up to the city of New Kensington.”

Fodi said the project was delayed in Oakmont because of the U.S. Open last summer.

An official start date has not been released by PennDOT, Haney said.

“It will probably take about three or four weeks for the entire project,” Fodi said.

The initial plan suggested Hulton Road be closed for a week, Fodi said. It’s unclear whether that timeline will be followed.

“PennDOT is not warm to that idea,” Fodi said. “The construction of the Hulton Road crossing is extensive due to the volume of traffic and the weight levels.”

There will be a truck route detour while Hulton Road is closed, he said.

“Hulton Road will be closed to both vehicles and pedestrians at the rail crossing while the work is taking place,” Haney said.

According to PennDOT, an average of about 13,000 vehicles pass over the Hulton Road railroad crossing daily.

There will be a temporary detour in place when College Avenue is closed. That road sees about 15,000 vehicles each day.

“All vehicle traffic will at least get as far as Washington Avenue and cross back over to Allegheny Avenue,” Fodi said. “We are asking the contractor to provide flagging operations to keep that intersection smooth, especially with trucks with larger turning radiuses.”

PennDOT is expected to release more information as the project date approaches.

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