Construction is expected to begin next month on a four-year project to replace both bridges that carry Interstate 80 over the Lehigh River between Carbon and Luzerne counties.
Business owners and residents who work and live near the project still had plenty of concerns for PennDOT and contractors who met with several dozen citizens Thursday night at St. Patrick’s Church Recreation Center in White Haven.
They ranged from people living along River Road in East Side and Kidder Township, which will be barricaded during the construction, while others wanted to know how boaters and hikers could access Lehigh Gorge State Park and the river.
“There will be a lot of work going on,” said Dan Zeller from York-based Wagman Construction, the general contractor for the project.
The project will replace the eastbound and westbound spans of I-80, which were built in 1965 and are approaching the end of their serviceable lifespan. An average of 27,400 vehicles use them each day, about half of it truck traffic.
The new bridges will be wider and include longer on- and off-ramps from the interchange with Route 940 in White Haven.
Two lanes of traffic will remain open on I-80 during construction, though there will be evening work that will require one lane.
Scheduled to be completed in June 2028, the project is estimated to cost $99.5 million. It was originally going to be funded through tolls placed on I-80, however, tolls were eliminated in 2022 after objections from officials and the public. Instead, PennDOT said it will pay it through existing funds and make annual payments for the next 35 years.
Another bridge replacement, carrying Interstate 78 over Maiden Creek near Lenhartsville, Berks County, is also expected to begin shortly.
Six projects are in the current replacement program, including three more on I-80 farther west, and another on Interstate 81 near the New York border.
Quality of life
Several residents wondered how road closures would affect their way of life. That was especially the case for some who live on River Road in East Side. The portion of that road that goes under the bridges will be closed for the duration of construction.
A resident mentioned that his 87-year-old mother has a house about where the detour begins and there won’t be enough room for trucks delivering things such as heating oil to turn around. Another mentioned that the U.S. Postal Service may suspend delivery if carriers are forced to turn around, and a woman asked if school buses would be able to do the same.
At some stages of construction, traffic will be detoured along Route 940 through the boroughs when some on- and off-ramps from I-80 are temporarily closed. White Haven Borough Council Member Bob Lamson said traffic could become dangerous, especially where the road crosses the Lehigh and intersects with Main Street near the Reading & Northern Railroad tracks.
Besides an expected steady stream of concrete and other construction trucks going toward the worksite, there will be hikers and bikers using the Lehigh Gorge Trail and cars parking along the street in White Haven. There is a stop sign at the intersection with Main Street, and Lamson wondered if a temporary traffic light could be installed or workers could direct traffic.
“Concrete trucks and everything else are going to come out from underneath that bridge along Main Street,” Lamson said. “Do you have anything in the project that will be utilized for some type of traffic control on those two blocks of Main Street? We have a tremendous amount of bicycle and pedestrian traffic along there. If you come down Main Street, anytime during the week, you’ll see that there are cars parked on both sides of that roadway.
“I know that the plan says there’s plenty of room for both those lanes of traffic and also the parking. The reality of that is everybody has to stop and let the car come past when there’s two cars passing. So will you be controlling traffic from the intersection of 940 in Main Street down to the ramps into the parking lot? And how are you going to deal with that traffic that’s going to impact your construction as well as our quality of life?”
Zeller replied that as the contractor, they have to use routes laid out by PennDOT.
“That’s the route we were told to go,” he said. “The traffic control plan is what we follow. We don’t have the ability to go out and do anything above and beyond that, then we as a general contractor start to assume liability.”
Lamson said he hoped a solution could be found before there’s an accident.
“I guess then what the solution is, we’re going to wait till something tragic happens there and then we’ll deal with it,” he said.
Outdoor recreation
A few members of the public wondered about the boat ramps, and were told the ones under the I-80 bridges would be closed for the duration of the construction. Boaters would still be able to navigate the river under the construction and use boat ramps farther south and a commercial boat ramp used by outfitting companies.
Elliot Fink of Michael Baker International, the project design engineer, said he has been talking to the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, which runs the state park along both banks of the river.
He added that warning signs and buoys will guide boaters through the project site.
“I was down in the park yesterday or day before talking to a ranger,” Zeller said. “They’re aware of what you’re talking about. They have to figure out how you guys are going to shift usage between the public and the outfitters and how they’re going to sign it and communicate it. They’re aware of the issue. They’re working on it and it’s really going to be the park’s call on how those boat ramps get utilized.”
Liz Rosencrans, director of trails and conservation for the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor, pointed out that the Lehigh Gorge Trail becomes part of Main Street in White Haven and was worried about hikers and bikers along that stretch.
“It is probably not optimal, but it’s really more for the access of the project,” Fink replied. “That’s where all the construction people are going to come down. I think it’s just going to come down to everybody being aware of their situational awareness and what’s going on during construction. I’m not sure there’s much else we can do.”
Morning Call reporter Evan Jones can be reached at ejones@mcall.com.