Single-lane restrictions will be in place beginning Monday on Donohoe Road and Georges Station Road in Hempfield, as preparatory work begins for PennDOT’s plan to reconstruct those roads’ four-way-stop intersection as a roundabout.
The restrictions are expected to continue throughout December, with flaggers controlling traffic.
Traffic will be affected on all sides of the intersection: between Public Safety Road and Autumn Lane on Donohoe; from Industrial Park Road to a point just past the Coca-Cola plant on Georges Station.
Crews from DLZ American Drilling-Driller A.G.E.S. and The Markosky Engineering Group will make geotechnical test borings for the redesign of the intersection.
The planned work schedule will be weather-dependent.
PennDOT unveiled plans for the project in September. Construction is anticipated to start in the spring of 2028 and conclude in the fall of 2029.
PennDOT planners have said the roundabout is expected to increase capacity at the intersection, where peak traffic now can cause backups from 7 to 8 a.m. and from 3 to 5 p.m.
About 14,000 vehicles, on average, pass through the intersection each day. That is projected to increase to about 16,000 daily vehicles over the next two decades.
With trucks making up about 5% of the traffic there, the roundabout would include a raised truck-turning apron, to accommodate the trailer portion of rigs as well as oversize loads, according to PennDOT.
Though a public comment period has ended, information about the project can be viewed by visiting the PennDOT District 12 website, selecting the “Projects and Public Meetings” link under the Public Resources heading and then searching under Westmoreland County project listings.