PD Opinion

September 27, 2009

Fix this, before it’s too late

Before we find ourselves sending reporters and photographers to cover a major pile-up at the intersection of Oak Street and Route 315 in Pittston Township, we believe it is our duty to call attention to this dangerous situation.

This has always been a treacherous spot.

Across from Oak Street is the entrance to a busy industrial park which got even busier in the past year with the addition of Center Point East. Add in a bank on one corner, an automobile dealership on the other and a heavily used parking lot servicing dozens of Tobyhanna employees on a third and you start to get the picture.

Plus, the intersection is in close proximity to entrances and exits for Interstate 81 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

Major work on the intersection last year improved the spot quite a bit but then came the re-routing of traffic from Suscon Road which has been temporarily closed for a bridge repair project.

That seems to be the tipping point.

The rush of traffic out of the industrial park at certain times of the day can seem like the start of the Indianapolis 500, if you can picture tractor trailers and passenger cars on the same starting line.

And the number of drivers who “shave the yellow” to get through the intersection is sometimes so great that vehicles with a green light cannot move at all.

Can anyone say “road rage”?

It gets worse.

Many motorists exiting Route 81 North onto Route 315 North use the intersection for U-turns in order to access the southbound lanes of 315.

We’re not kidding. Right in the midst of passenger cars and semis racing each other through the intersection, someone whips through a U-turn!

A study needs to be done and a new traffic plan implemented before we are writing about a tragedy.

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