The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) is announcing high friction surface treatment (HFST) and pavement marking work on various roads in Lawrence County will begin Wednesday, September 23 weather permitting.
To accommodate high friction surface treatment (HFST) and pavement marking work, there will be short-term traffic stoppages and lane restrictions between 7:00 AM and 5:00 PM daily through late November in the following locations:
- West State Street (Route 224) between North Edinburg Road (Route 551) and Skyhill Road in Mahoning Township
- Ellwood Road (Route 65) between Gardner Center Road and Cherrywood Place in Shenango Township
- North Croton Avenue (Route 108) between East Washington Street (Route 65) and North Ray Street in the City of New Castle
- Butler Avenue (Business 422) between John Street and Frew Mill Road (Route 1012) in the City of New Castle
Crews from The Truesdell Corporation will conduct the work.
Impacts to the roads listed above will not occur simultaneously. When crews finish with each road they will move to the next location.
HFST is an innovative technique to improve the safety of drivers at high-priority crash locations throughout the commonwealth. Road surfaces become polished in areas where drivers brake often, like going around curves, down steep roads, or at an intersection. This makes vehicles skid more because there is less friction between the tires and the road surface. Wet road surfaces can also reduce pavement friction and cause skidding or hydroplaning.
HFST is added to the top of a road surface, using materials, such as bauxite, to create more friction on pavement. These materials, called aggregates, are high quality and are less likely to wear down than normal pavement. Having greater friction helps to keep vehicles in their lane on slippery pavement around curves and helps the driver to stop.
Please use caution if traveling on this roadway. Work zone safety is everyone’s responsibility.
Travelers can check conditions on major roads 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 1,200 traffic cameras. 511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and Android devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following regional X alerts.
Find PennDOT’s planned and active construction projects at www.pa.gov/DOTprojects. Subscribe to PennDOT news and find transportation results in Allegheny, Beaver, and Lawrence counties at www.pa.gov/DOTdistrict11.