A project to put in two roundabouts on Route 209 in Brodheadsville is set to open bids for contractors next July.

In September 2015, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation unveiled plans to build a large roundabout at the intersection of Routes 209 and 115 and a smaller one at the entrance to Pleasant Valley High School. These traffic circles are designed to speed up congested traffic on Route 209, making the road safer and the air cleaner.

PennDOT originally hoped to begin construction in the fall of 2017. But two years later, Brodheadsville residents still don’t see any changes along Route 209.

PennDOT is currently going through the right of way process to buy the necessary land along the road, said PennDOT spokesman Sean Brown.

Brown said he won’t be able to disclose the names of the properties or how many are being affected until PennDOT completes the right of way acquirements.

The Brodheadsville Rite Aid sits in the path of the realignment of Routes 209 and 115 where the larger roundabout will be built.

“Rite Aid is working to relocate the store nearby but does not have a definitive timeline at this point,” Director of Public Relations Christopher Savarese wrote in an email.

Rite Aid will move to where John’s Automart is now located at the corner of Route 115 and Marion Lane, according to a Dec. 19, 2018, Times News article.

Marble & Granite Fabricators leases a building beside Pleasant Valley Motors at the intersection of Routes 209 and 115. Lidia Lyhauskaya, who co-owns the business with her husband, said that the landlord told her PennDOT will buy about a third of the parking lots.

During construction, access to the business will be blocked, Lyhauskaya said. The business will meet with a Penn­DOT representative to discuss compensation.

The right of way issues must be resolved before the estimated date to open contractor bidding in July, Brown said.

PennDOT will award the contract approximately a month after the bidding opens, Brown said. After that, the contractor will receive a notice to proceed and can begin construction.

PennDOT is still estimating that construction will take two and a half years, Brown said. The start date and final cost won’t be determined until after the contractor is hired. The current cost estimate for the project is $18.5 million.

Brown didn’t give specific reasons for the delays but said they are typical for this type of project. Anything could change, from the design itself to the permits and right of way acquirements needed.

“We have to make sure that … our t’s are crossed and i’s are dotted before we go into construction,” Brown said.

Chestnuthill Township Manager David Albright said the township has been in communication with PennDOT about the project but PennDOT hasn’t made any decisions yet.

The discussions include who will be responsible to maintain the roundabouts and any landscaping on the inside, and planning of the sidewalks and street lighting.

“We had hoped they might do something a little nicer, (more) decorative,” Albright said of the streetlights.

The township is working to come to an acceptable arrangement with Penn­DOT that would be voted on by the board of supervisors, Albright said.