Route 18 7^th Avenue Improvements Continue Next Week in New Brighton and Beaver Falls

Pittsburgh, PA – PennDOT District 11 is announcing roadway improvement work on Route 18 (7^th Avenue, 7^th Street) in the City of Beaver Falls and New Brighton Borough, Beaver County, will continue Monday through Friday, June 1-5 weather permitting.

Beginning Monday, single-lane restrictions will occur on Route 18 in both directions between 5^th Street (Route 65) in New Brighton and 20^th Street in Beaver Falls from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays through Friday, June 5. Crews will conduct punch list asphalt paving activities.

6. Liberoni, Inc. is the prime contractor on the $6.05 million project. The overall project is anticipated to conclude in July of 2020 which also included milling and resurfacing, guide rail improvements, and signal updates. Additional traffic safety improvements include a “road diet” (from the existing four lanes down to three lanes), curb extensions, bicycle lanes, and revised street parking between 3rd Street and 20th Street in the City of Beaver Falls.

Please use caution if traveling in this area.

Work on this project will be in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and state Department of Health guidance as well as a project-specific COVID-19 safety plan, which will include protocols for social distancing, use of face coverings, personal and job-site cleaning protocols, management of entries to the jobsite, and relevant training.

Motorists can check conditions on major roadways 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 950 traffic cameras.

511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and Android devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following regional Twitte

Southbound Route 18 Ramp to Pleasant Street Long-term Closure Begins Monday in Beaver County

 

Pittsburgh, PA – PennDOT District 11 is announcing the closure of the southbound Route 18 ramp to Pleasant Street in Rochester Borough, Beaver County will begin Monday, June 1 weather permitting.

 

Beginning at 7 a.m. Monday, the ramp that carries traffic from southbound Route 18 to Pleasant Street will close to traffic around-the-clock through Tuesday, June 12 as crews conduct dam replacement. Traffic will be detoured.

 

Posted Detour

Southbound Route 18 Ramp to Pleasant Street

• Continue on southbound Route 18/65 past the closed ramp
• Take the left-hand ramp to southbound Route 51
• Turn right and cross the Monaca-East Rochester Bridge
• Turn right onto Pennsylvania Avenue (Route 4044)
• Turn right onto Route 18 (9^thStreet) and cross the Rochester-Monaca Bridge
• Follow to Pleasant Street
• End detour

 

Gulisek Construction, LLC is the prime contractor on this $10.07 million improvement project.

 

(Beaver, pa.) Beaver County Commissioner Jack Manning used the open comments period of the commissioners bye weekly regular meeting to make a statement  on his thoughts of the killing of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis, MN.

A copy of Manning’s statement is below:

When I took my oath of office a little over 150 days ago, I vowed that I would always try to make the best decisions I could with those things I can control and try to influence to the best of my ability those things I can’t. I also promised myself to continue speaking truth to power, and as someone now in power, however limited, to speak the truth from the platform I have been given. If you know the story of my parents and my two sisters and me, you’d know that we come from working class, devout and humble roots. We never thought we were privileged. But through the fate of having white parents, I was given privileges not born to my friends of color. I am white, they are not, and I will never know the true depths of their pain in a society where we continue demonstrate institutional and social racism.  There is zero chance that I, or either of my two sons, would ever be pinned to the pavement with a knee to my neck until I died, in front of white citizens compelling an officer to stop.

My late sister Susan, and my brother-in-law Reverend Rollin Kirk, lived the last 20 years or so of their lives in the Minneapolis / St. Paul area. They preached, served and fought for social justice their entire lives. Sue will be gone 15 year on June 14. She, as I am,  would be horrified and numbed by the continuing pain and suffering being inflicted discriminately on members of our society, especially our black community.  We started this meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance. Unfortunately, as we strive to form a more perfect democratic republic, we have failed to live up to the last six words of that pledge, “with liberty, and justice, for all”. I am hoping that in this latest case, that the family and friends of George Floyd, get the justice they deserve under the constitution.

I’ll close with my belief in free will and moral responsibility. For whatever reason that officer and those in uniform watching him, chose to ignore their moral responsibility and let a man be executed on the street. I also know that their actions do not represent character, and duty to protect and serve, of the 99.9% of law enforcement officers and people that I know, and who I appreciate every day for their service.

I ask everyone to please open your minds, your hearts, and set aside your prejudges to figure out how we can collectively stop this divisive insanity that plagues our great nation. I am willing to talk to anyone on this subject at any time. We must find “justice for all” and bring healing to so many who have suffered. I have seen way too much senseless death in my lifetime and it needs to stop.

Flood of mail-in ballots spurs fight to change deadlines
By MARC LEVY Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Some county and state officials are warning that a flood of mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania will create problems in Tuesday’s primary election that must be fixed before November’s presidential election. For one, they are warning that there will be no way to produce timely election results in November unless the law changes. Even in Tuesday’s relatively low turnout primary election, election-night results might be unlikely in closely contested races. Of more immediate concern is the question of whether voters can mail their ballots back to county election offices in time to be counted in Tuesday’s primary election.

Claims backlog persists; Pennsylvania park beaches to reopen
By MICHAEL RUBINKAM and MARK SCOLFORO Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania state officials say they’re making progress, but acknowledge more needs to be done to whittle down an unemployment compensation claims backlog that has persisted for more than two months. Jammed phone lines, balky computer systems and unreturned emails remain an issue despite a near doubling of staff at the agency that processes claims. More than 2.3 million people in Pennsylvania, including self-employed and gig workers, have filed for unemployment since mid-March. Meanwhile, state officials announced that all state park beaches and most pools will be open next month.

2 dead in house fire, cause under investigation

DUQUESNE, Pa. (AP) — Authorities in western Pennsylvania on Friday were trying to determine what sparked an early-morning house fire that claimed the lives of a man and a woman.
Firefighters found intense flames and heavy smoke when they arrived on the scene on Karl Avenue early Friday. Neighbors told them two people were trapped inside.
“Crews encountered heavy fire conditions and heavy fire load throughout,” said Fire Chief Frank Cobb. “So crews had to back out and then immediately through a transitional attack to get the fire knocked out and make entry to the house.”
Most of the damage was on the second floor, Cobb said, and that was where firefighters found the victims. One was at the top of the stairs and the other was in a bedroom.
Their names have not been released.
The Allegheny County fire marshal was investigating the cause.

Police across US speak out against Minneapolis custody death
By STEFANIE DAZIO Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The reaction from some law enforcement on the death of a handcuffed black man by a white Minneapolis officer stands in stark contrast to their responses to other in-custody fatalities. Sheriffs and police chiefs have strongly criticized Officer Derek Chauvin on social media and praised the city’s police chief for his quick dismissal of four officers. Authorities say George Floyd was detained Monday because he matched the description of someone who tried to pay with a counterfeit bill at the convenience store, and the 46-year-old resisted arrest. A bystander’s disturbing video shows Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck as Floyd begs for air.

Minneapolis police station torched amid George Floyd protest
By TIM SULLIVAN and AMY FORLITI Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Protesters angered by the death of a black man who died while pleading for air as a white police officer kneeled on his neck have torched a Minneapolis police station that the department abandoned. Thursday marked a third night of violent protests following the death of George Floyd, who died in a confrontation with officers outside a grocery store. Fires burned Friday morning in Minneapolis and nearby St. Paul. National Guard members were being stationed in locations to help stem looting. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey’s defended the city’s mostly hands-off approach with protesters. He said it was his decision to evacuate the police precinct because officers were at risk.