TimesLeader.com

I-81 bridge work set for spring

Times Leader staff

A $6.97 million bridge preservation and rehabilitation project gets under way later this month along an 18-mile stretch of Interstate-81 south in lower Luzerne County. The two-phase venture will run through the end of 2010.

Slusser Brothers, of West Hazleton, will perform the work, which includes pavement grinding and the rehabilitation of 10 structures between mile markers 163.1 near the Nanticoke exit and 144.1 near the West Hazleton exit.

Phase one begins by month’s end and concentrates on bridges between the Nuangola and Dorrance exits that run over:

• The Little Wapwallopen Creek

• Blytheburne Road

• Alberdeen Road

Phase two begins in spring 2010 and ends in December. It involves bridges between the Interstate-80 junction and West Hazleton exits that run over:

• Interstate 80

• St. John’s Road

• Nescopeck Creek

• Mountain Road

• Black Creek

• Route 3007

• A tributary of Wapwallopen Creek

Work will involve periodic daytime road closures and changing traffic patterns as the project progresses. In order to bypass the work zone or any possible delays, PennDOT recommends motorists use the Pennsylvania Turnpike or the Red Detour Route, which primarily utilizes Route 309 and I-80, as alternate routes.

The grinding work will be done using the Diamond Grinding method which is supposed to provide a significant improvement in the riding smoothness. A diamond-ground surface may be expected to last at least 8 to 10 years.