Tired of ads? Subscribers enjoy a distraction-free reading experience.
Click here to subscribe today or Login.

For the curious, the Luzerne County Flood Protection Authority has issued a release decoding new letter and numerical markings painted on the popular road atop the Wyoming Valley Levee.

Added as part of a repair project, these “station identification markings” serve as reference points for trained levee patrol volunteers to report possible problem areas during Susquehanna River flooding, said authority Executive Director Christopher Belleman.

The markings match those in plans and maps in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ operation and maintenance manual for the flood-control system, he said.

According to Belleman’s release:

The first abbreviation — “STA” — refers to a station.

Each station is 100 feet, which is a measurement unit dating back to 100-foot chains that surveyors once used to mark distances.

A plus sign with another number logs the span of feet beyond the station.

Each of the levee reaches also contains a letter abbreviation to identify the municipality — Wilkes-Barre (WB) to Hanover Township (HAN); Plymouth (PLY); Kingston (KNG) to Edwardsville (EDW); and Forty Fort (FF) to Wyoming (WYG).

For the Wilkes-Barre/Hanover reach, the markings start at STA 97+00 near Riverside Drive in Wilkes-Barre and continue downstream to STA 255+00 near the Solomon Creek Pump Station in Hanover Township.

On the Plymouth reach, markings start at STA 96+00 near Beade Street and proceed downstream to 185+00 near Flat Road.

The markings on the Kingston/Edwardsville stretch begin at STA 273+00 near Rutter Avenue in Kingston and run to STA 444+00 by the Woodward Pump Station in Edwardsville.

The Forty Fort/Wyoming reach markings start at STA 107+00 near River Street in Forty Fort and continue upstream to STA 239+00 near Wyoming Avenue in Wyoming.

The markers are part of a $213,100 project to sealcoat the road and repair asphalt cracks, bumps and shoulders.

The scope of the project also has been expanded to include mile markers every quarter-mile for enthusiasts to easily track their walking, jogging and biking distances, the authority said.

Completion of all 12 miles is expected in a few weeks, weather dependent.

While heavily used for recreation, the road was added more than 20 years ago as part of the levee-raising project for vehicles to access the flood control system for maintenance and flood monitoring without causing ruts and other damage.

Station markings have been added to the road atop the Wyoming Valley Levee, prompting officials to decode their meaning.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/web1_leveeroad.jpeg.jpg.optimal.jpgStation markings have been added to the road atop the Wyoming Valley Levee, prompting officials to decode their meaning. Submitted photo

By Jennifer Learn-Andes

[email protected]

Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.