Many of Scranton's main roads to be repaved using stimulus money
Published: July 3, 2009
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butch comegys / staff photographer Traffic flows on Green Ridge Street on Thursday. The street is one of several main roadways in the region slated for paving this year.
Driving through Scranton later this summer could take a little patience, and some skill navigating side streets.
Some of the city's most heavily traveled state roads - including Green Ridge Street, Mulberry Street and Pittston Avenue - will be repaved starting in August or September.
The work should cost around $3 million from federal stimulus funds and also includes a 1.3-mile stretch of Route 347 from Dunmore into Throop, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation spokeswoman Karen Dussinger said.
PennDOT will do its best to ease the inconvenience of several main roads under construction possibly all at once, Ms. Dussinger said, but the traffic logistics and work schedule won't be settled until contracts are awarded in a few weeks. Contract bids were opened Thursday for all but Green Ridge Street.
Ms. Dussinger said all the resurfacing should be done around October, when paving material production stops for the season. The roads picked aren't necessarily the city's worst, but the idea is to have these state roads "on a cycle of resurfacing so we don't allow them to deteriorate all the way down," she said.
The longest stretch slated for new blacktop is Route 11, beginning on Birney Avenue in the city's Minooka section and picking up into downtown Scranton.
More than a mile of Pittston Avenue will also be repaved.
The paving was welcome news to Wayne Evans, head of the South Side Residents Association, who said he has faith in PennDOT to keep the traffic from becoming too snarled. The hassle will be worth it, he said.
"There are some stretches that could certainly use some attention," Mr. Evans said.
Crews will also tear up Mulberry Street, a little less than a mile from Jefferson Avenue to Schultz Court. Jim Zaydon, an attorney whose firm has been on Mulberry Street for decades, said he certainly won't say no to the paving.
"Any kind of progress is an inconvenience for a short time," he said.
That part of Mulberry Street sees almost 12,000 cars daily, while the section of Route 11 chosen averages almost 17,000, according to PennDOT. Ms. Dussinger said paving crews likely would stagger the work and move from one road to the next. She said PennDOT would provide ample signs and notification to residents, though the department also expects drivers will adjust.
"They'll have less of a chance being lost and not knowing where to go because these are local streets," she said.
Mayor Chris Doherty said he was "thrilled" to see more stimulus money benefiting Scranton, and the state work could influence the city's efforts to pave around those main thoroughfares. The resurfacing of Mulberry Street aptly coincides with new developments at Mifflin Avenue and a beautification initiative by the University of Scranton, he said.
Contact the writer: jburton@timesshamrock.com
17 posted comments
As for the pave cuts, most of the streets in Scranton are a mess because of pave cuts. Is someone in the city getting a kick back for looking the other way?
For example; North Main Avenue was resurfaced a few years ago, which was a wonderful improvement. This past winter two pave cuts were required to make utility repairs at the intersection of North Main Ave and Parker Street by utility companies. The repair made to this intersection is a far from acceptable. The utility company(s) SHOULD be held accountable for making the proper repairs, which apparently is not occurring, as is the case for this intersection in particular. Travel most roads in this city and it becomes painfully apparent that all to often damage has occurred to the roadway from improperly repaired or maintained utility cuts.