CLEARFIELD — The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) announced the following schedule of maintenance activities in Elk County the week of Oct. 2. PennDOT performs year-round maintenance in its mission to provide a safe, efficient transportation system, and the scope of work in Elk County for the coming week is as follows.
Manual patching will take place today through Friday, on Route 1005 (Theresia Street), Route 1008 (Creek Road), and Route 4003 (Long Level Road), all in the City of St. Marys. Expect flaggers in the roadway to provide traffic control during daylight hours.
Most permanent pothole patching is completed in the spring/summer when temperatures stay consistently above freezing. If maintenance crews were not repairing potholes, the road surface would break up further and require more expensive corrective measures.
Pipe replacing and cleaning, today through Friday, along Route 4009 (Highland Road) in Highland Township. Flaggers are expected in the roadway to provide traffic control during daylight hours.
Pipe replacement and cleaning are essential in maintaining water flow around state roadways. Controlling water flow is one of the most important aspects of maintaining pavements. Uncontrolled water flow will damage both the pavement surface and the area under the pavement, which causes deterioration across the length of the pipe.
Shoulder maintenance on Route 1008 (Creek Road) in the City of St. Marys is scheduled for today through Friday, with flaggers in the roadway providing traffic control during daylight hours.
Shoulder cutting removes excess material and debris from unpaved shoulder areas. Shoulder grading involves the shaping and stabilizing of those same areas. Both operations improve drainage, allow water to leave the roadway, and eliminate shoulder drop-offs. These are crucial highway maintenance operations because when drainage systems do not function properly, water collects on the road, weakens pavement, accelerates the formation of potholes, and creates the potential for icing conditions in the winter months.
