PA TURNPIKE: Total Reconstruction Project Underway Near Ellwood City Exit

For many Ellwoodians who use the convenience of the nearby PA Turnpike for travel, there is an extensive project underway that may have drawn some driver’s attention.

According to Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission officials, construction is underway on a $270M total reconstruction and widening of two miles of the Turnpike’s east-west mainline (Interstate 76) between Milepost 12 and Milepost 14 in Beaver County that will include new interchange at the Exit 13 Beaver Valley (Beaver Falls/Ellwood City) exit.

Upon completion in late 2027, the existing four-lane roadway and bridge will be upgraded to include six 12′ travel lanes, three eastbound and three westbound, with 12′ shoulders and 10′ medians in each direction. This project, located in North Sewickley Township, Homewood Borough Big Beaver Borough, and less than ten miles from Ellwood City, involves the complete replacement of the mainline bridge about 200 feet over the Beaver River.

The mainline will be shifted to the north to realign with the new bridge structure and to avoid environmental and utility issues to the south. The existing interchange will be reconfigured into a conventional interchange with State Route 18 (Big Beaver Boulevard).

“This will involve two new structures being built over the Beaver River to replace the single bridge that’s there now,” said Josh Farley, Senior Engineer Project Manager for the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission.

Currently the project is in its early stages of construction which includes the reconstruction of the existing shoulders and median to accommodate future traffic stages, tree clearing, preliminary drainage, and excavation. The contractor is also building temporary access roads to access the new Beaver River Bridge foundations.

“We’re working on the initial phases of getting down to the river to be able to do all this construction, so we haven’t done anything from the standpoint of building a foundation for the bridge yet,” Farley said. “We are well underway with building access roads, retaining walls, drainage structures, ponds, in order to get ourselves access down to the river.”

There will be intermittent lane closures on the mainline turnpike and PA-18 (Big Beaver Boulevard) for construction activities during these initial stages. Later in the project, interchange movements will be closed for prolonged periods of time to allow for construction of the new interchange ramps and detours will be posted.

Those longer-term closures are not scheduled to begin until 2025. The eastbound and westbound ramp closures will not be concurrent.

Total cost of this project is $270 million.

Three other bridges, including two overhead railroad bridges, were replaced between 2013 and 2017 to allow for the current project to proceed.

More information on the project as it currently stands and the work being done as it happens can be found on the Turnpike’s dedicated website for the project.

To report an accident or other emergency on the PA Turnpike, dial *11 via mobile phone. To learn more about PA Turnpike conditions, use one of these resources:

ON THE TURNPIKE:

• 511PA Smartphone App: real-time, hands-free PA traffic advisories
• Digital Message Signs: more than 100 boards along the Turnpike

ON THE WEB:

• 511/511pa.com: live, interactive map
• Twitter: @PATurnpikeAlert

BY PHONE: 511: dial from any PA roadway for local travel information. Pennsylvania Turnpike Customer Assistance Center: 877-736-6727, Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.