SHAMOKIN - The addition of a turning lane along Route 61 at Weigh Scales is among the summer construction projects planned or under way.
More than $279 million in construction contracts will be awarded this year for PennDOT District 3-0, which includes Northumberland County. It's the most ever spent in the district for a single year, in large part due to $176 million planned toward the $669 million Central Susquehanna Valley Thruway Project in Snyder, Union and Northumberland counties.
The remaining funds will be used for paving, seal-coating, patching, bridge repair and other maintenance. There are 560 miles of state roadway in Northumberland County, and PennDOT estimates 76 miles are bumpy and in poor condition.
The 2.25 mile stretch of Route 61 between Weigh Scales and Paxinos will be milled and paved, and work has already begun. A left-turn lane from northbound Route 61 will be added for safer travel onto Bridge Street, adjacent to the Wayside Inn. At least 11 crashes occurred there since 2009, one of which was a fatality and another last summer that nearly killed Cory Thompson, of Shamokin.
The left-turn-only lane will transition into a two-way turning lane for about a half-mile north of the Wayside Inn, tying into the existing turning lane at Irish Valley Road. A portion of the northbound passing lane will be eliminated to create the turning lane. Estimated cost is $2.2 million.
The Veterans Memorial Bridge spanning the Susquehanna River between Sunbury and Shamokin Dam is among several county bridges undergoing $1.9 million in preservation work. Work includes an epoxy deck overlay, expansion joint replacement and installation of centerline delineators (plastic reflective posts) separating the northbound and southbound lanes. Work is expected to begin in August and last about three months.
The bridge on Route 147 spanning the north branch of the Susquehana River, between Packers Island and Sunbury, will undergo bearing repair and expansion joint replacement. An epoxy deck overlay and barrier painting is scheduled for the bridge on Route 61 near Atlas, spanning Shamokin Creek, just east of Route 54.
Deck replacement is under way on a bridge along Brush Valley Road in Rockefeller Township, and the same work will occur in August on a bridge along Route 125 near the Schuylkill County border. An epoxy overlay will be applied to bridges on Route 2022 in Rush Township, Route 3004 in Little Mahanoy Township and Route 1007 in Delaware Township.
Route 54 from Locust Summit to Locustdale will be paved in July, and Schoolhouse Road in Shamokin Township will also be paved. Another 49 miles of lesser driven state roads in Northumberland County will get the oil-and-chip treatment.