NEWS BRIEFS

PennDOT announced single-lane restrictions on Interstate 70 in both directions for Tuesday through Thursday from Exit 49 in Smithton to Exit 46B in Rostraver Township.

The restrictions will be in place over the three-day period from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

According to a PennDOT, single- lane restrictions are required to allow crews from Geronimo Painting to do containment work on the Matthew Smelser Memorial Bridge.

The I-70 work is part of the $120.6 million widening and reconstruction project, which includes transforming the Route 51 interchange into a diverging diamond interchange.

As part of the project, a segment of I-70 will be enlarged to improve its safety. The median on I-70 will be widened from 4 to 10 feet, and the outside shoulder will be widened from 10 to 12 feet.

Each of the four travel lanes will be 12 feet wide as well.

Indian Hill Road Bridge and Crawford Lane Bridge will both be replaced in order to provide adequate width and vertical clearance.

In March 2023, a truck struck the Crawford Lane Bridge while it was traveling on I-70.

PennDOT said the I-70 reconstruction project also includes one mile of reconstruction and widening on Route 51, and several intersecting roadways, including the relocation of Finley Road and Route 981.

The project is expected to be completed in October 2027.

To check road conditions, drivers can go to 511PA.com.

— Michael Richter

Pitt student on spring break in Dominican Republic missing since Thursday

The search for a University of Pittsburgh student continues after authorities say she went missing Thursday while on spring break in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.

Sudiksha Konanki, 20, was last seen on March 6 just before 5 a.m. at the Hotel Riu Republica. According to a social media post from Defensa Civil, a Dominican Republic search and rescue force, Konanki was last seen walking on a beach before her disappearance.

“The Orange Search and Rescue Unit, along with other institutions, worked from early Saturday hours, trying to find the whereabouts of the young woman, Sudiksha Konanki, without success,” Defensa Civil’s post said.

The post said crews will continue the search on Sunday morning.

Konanki, from Loudoun County in Northern Virginia, is described as 5 feet, 3 inches tall, with black hair and brown eyes.

The University of Pittsburgh released a statement: “University officials are in contact with Sudiksha Konanki’s family as well as authorities in Loudoun County, Virginia, and we have offered our full support in their efforts to find her and bring her home safely.”

Thomas Julia, director of media relations for the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, said the office was contacted Thursday night about Konanki’s disappearance.

Julia said the sheriff’s office confirmed that Konanki was one of six female Pitt students traveling in Punta Cana. At least two members of the group are residents of Loudoun County, he said.

Konanki is also a citizen of India, Julia said in an email.

“The embassy of India in the Dominican Republic has taken the lead working with our State Department and law enforcement on the ground. Our office is supporting those efforts and continuing to investigate locally,” Julia said in an email.

According to Konanki’s LinkedIn profile, she graduated in 2022 from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology where she earned a diploma in biological sciences. Thomas Jefferson was ranked the No. 1 high school in America in 2021 and 2022 by U.S. News & World Report.

Anyone with information about Konanki’s whereabouts is asked to call the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office at 703-777-1021.

— TribLive