Craters, Concrete
and Construction
An update on area roads, courtesy of PennDOT
This year, April will be the start of an
extremely busy construction season for
PennDOT. With 2018 being the wettest
year on record for many counties in
our region, numerous areas have seen
washouts and slides. As the weather
finally gets warmer, crews will begin to
repair the damage that was caused by
all that water.
Water is also the cause of the most
notorious and annoying of road conditions
– potholes! A pothole is created when
water seeps into the roadway, and then
begins to expand and contract with
temperature fluctuations. This past
winter was filled with numerous days that
were fluctuating between temperatures
8 • The Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce
above 32 degrees and below 32 degrees.
Combine that with one of the wettest
years on record, and we’ve got the perfect
recipe for creating a pothole.
Motorists will not only see PennDOT
crews hard at work this year, they will
also see a lot of work done by private
contractors who work for PennDOT.
Most of the time, many of the larger,
long-term projects are completed
by private contractors. The most
noticeable of these in 2019 will be along
Interstate 81.
This year, three different construction
projects will begin, starting in Dunmore
and going to Nuangola. The good
news is that PennDOT is requiring
the contractor to maintain two lanes
of traffic during the day. With few
exceptions, work that requires a lane
closure will occur at night.
Projects will not only take place on
major highways, like Interstate 81, but
will also happen on many lesser-traveled
roads in rural areas. You may see crews
doing “oil and chip” on rural roads that
don’t appear to be in poor condition.
Oil and chip works like a driveway
sealant – it helps preserve and protect a
road that is in good condition, giving it
longer life moving forward.
With all the work taking place on our
roads this year, it is critically important to
remember to use extreme caution when
driving. Put down the phone and focus
on the task at hand so that we can all
make it home at the end of the day. This
year will be one of the busiest years ever
on our roads here in NEPA. Let’s also
work together to make it the safest.