The following roadwork is scheduled for this week on Interstate 81.
Baseball is back: Please note there will be traffic issues at Davis Street, I-81 and Montage Mountain Road, Moosic, at the beginning and end of the games.
There will home games on Friday, May 5 starting at 6:35 p.m.; Saturday May 6 starting at 4:05 p.m. and Sunday, May 7 at 1:05 p.m.
Short-Term Projects:
Lackawanna County- During the first three weeks in May, PennDOT will conduct extensive maintenance on Interstate 81 in Lackawanna County. In order to improve travel for motorists during the busy summer travel season between Memorial Day and Labor Day, the department will consolidate numerous projects into a condensed 3-week timeframe in May on this section of highway. While this will allow for much better travel over the summer months, it will create major delays on the interstate during the first three weeks of May, especially if motorists do not avoid the area.
During this condensed timeframe, dozens of workers will be along the road, with crews performing a host of activities each day. Two crews will perform pothole repairs while another two crews do crack sealing. Additional personnel will focus on brush cutting, drainage/ditching work, washing salt from bridge decks, bridge deck repairs and additional preventative maintenance. A single lane of the highway will be shut down for three miles each day during the work.
All work will take place between Exit 178A (Wilkes Barre/Scranton International Airport – Avoca) and Exit 186 (Dunmore-Drinker Street). During the first week (May 1-6), work will be completed in the southbound lanes. During the second two weeks (May 8-20) work will be completed in the northbound lanes. Motorists are strongly urged to avoid the area during this time and should consider using the I-476 Turnpike/toll between Clarks Summit and Pittston. Crews will work Monday thru Friday from 7:30 AM to 3 PM. Saturdays will serve as rain dates or makeup days for issues that may arise during the week. The department has decided to conduct this work in a condensed, comprehensive & consolidated manner this year in an attempt to ease travel for the motoring public.
PPL will be working on power lines on Exit 191 A in (Dickson City) from Monday, April 24 through May 12, 2017 from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. They may need to closed a lane during their work time.
Luzerne County- Monday, May 1 from 7:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. traffic will slowed for the sign placement for upcoming traffic switch. On Wednesday, May 3 a traffic switch will take place at 81 south at exit 175 from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. Starting on Thursday, May 4 a new traffic pattern will be in place. Starting on Friday, May 5 through Monday, May 8 SR 315 will be closed from I-81 N to the entrance of Walmart from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. for the final bridge removal.
Long Term Projects:
Lackawanna County- I-81 Southbound- Beginning at Exit 202 (Fleetville – Tompkinsville) to Exit 199 (Scott). A private contractor for PennDOT continues work on a $9,982,000 project to replace bridge decks on Interstate 81 South between Exit 199 (Scott) and Exit 202 (Fleetville – Tompkinsville). There will be single lane traffic from Exit 202 to 199 from April through November this year. The On Ramp to SR 81 Southbound from SR 107 at Fleetville/Tompkinsville will be Closed from April 17, 2017 through August 2017. A detour will take traffic onto I-81 Northbound to Exit 206 (Lenoxville) to turn around and come back Southbound.
The locations of the bridges to be replaced are as follows:
Spring 2017 – Southbound:
Two bridges at Exit 202 (Fleetville – Tompkinsville)
Bridge at Exit 201 (East Benton)
Bridge at Exit 199 (Scott)
In addition to the replacement of the bridge decks, there will be paving of the shoulders and bridge approach work.
I-81 Right and Left lane closures will be utilized to provide access for equipment and debris removal for the project site during excavation and mobilization activities. The project is starts at Exit 194 ( Clarks Summit) and 197 (Waverly). From 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. Detours of Northbound and Southbound are planned for April 18 through April 22. From 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.
Luzerne County – I-81, Jenkins – I-81 Bridges Jenkins/Pittston, Rehabilitation and improvement of 81 North and South between Exit 170 (Bear Creek/Wilkes-Barre) and Exit 178 (Avoca/Wilkes-Barre Scranton Airport), construction of four single span steel plate girder bridges, removal of existing bridges, milling, superpave asphalt wearing course, overhead sign structures, temporary cross overs, drainage, guiderail, temporary concrete barrier, erosion and sediment control measures, pavement markers, temporary traffic control, signing, temporary excavation and support, and other miscellaneous construction, Let January 2014, NTP March 2014, To Be Completed December 2017.
Starting mid-April I-81 Southbound Traffic pattern changes will include a split about 1,000 feet north of Exit 175 (Pittston). Crews use the split pattern so they can do work in the middle lane while still maintaining two lanes of traffic on I-81. Motorists will need to stay in their lanes as they travel through the construction area. This split will be in place until October 2017.
I-81, Exit 175 to SR 315 northbound at Oak Street-Armstrong Drive widening project will be completed by the end of June 2017. The will allow for three lanes of traffic to come off the exit ramp.