Route 28 motorist Dean Yannacci wondered, "What happened to a project that was supposed to be completed in December?"

Another user, Mike Bartos, said the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation's $26.5 million, third-phase improvement of the highway at the Etna interchange "is great ... but it would be nice if they would finish it already."

Without fanfare, PennDOT wrapped up the lingering work yesterday, giving Route 28 southbound motorists two "thru" lanes for the first time since the section of highway, part of the Allegheny Valley Expressway, opened about 45 years ago.

Southbound traffic had been restricted to a single lane until now. The bridge was widened to provide two lanes as part of an earlier phase, but the piece of highway at the south end of the bridge had to be widened as well before both lanes of the bridge could be used.

The project was supposed to be done by Nov. 20. PennDOT's contract called for penalizing the contractor $30,000 a day for every day beyond then that traffic was not fully restored.

However, West Mifflin-based Trumbull Corp. won't have to pay because of developments deemed not its fault. A 50-inch, high-pressure water line that had to be relocated before construction got under way wasn't where PennDOT plans indicated. Other unforeseen conditions and delays occurred. Finally, winter weather was blamed.

The widened, rebuilt interchange ramp from Route 8 south to Route 28 south was reopened several months ago. The ramp from Sharpsburg to Route 28 south remains closed and likely won't be finished for another month or so.

The single-lane condition that "thru" motorists faced on Route 28 south was a bottleneck that 35,000 vehicles a day will no longer face. The traffic merge during construction meant months of line-jumping, fist-waving, near-misses and minor accidents.

Here is how PennDOT engineer Brad Miller explained the delay in reopening:

"Unfortunately, many of the construction operations to complete the second lane, such as placement of the concrete roadway, sawing and sealing of the joints, application of the concrete protective coating, placement of pavement markings, etc., required both dry and warm weather.

"There have been days this winter where the weather has been uncooperative and it has been counterproductive to perform work. [PennDOT] also shares the frustration that completing the second lane has taken so long."

PennDOT attributed the misinformation about the location of the water line and several sewer lines that were relocated to inaccurate century-old plans from local water and sewer authorities.

No work is scheduled on the Route 28-8 Etna interchange this construction season, but next year PennDOT plans to begin the first of two phases of improvements that will mean closing Route 28 in the area.