PennDOT work questioned at CAB meeting

BY STACI WILSON

The transportation funding package passed last year by the state legislature has enabled the state to do more work on the roads than previously planned.

At the Community Advisory Board meeting, held Thursday, July 24, in Nicholson, PennDOT’s manager for Susquehanna and Wyoming counties, Bob Thorne, reviewed the status of projects, and also heard the concerns of elected officials and area residents.

Rep. Sandra Major, R-111th, said her office has received concerns that PennDOT was “selectively fixing” road areas.

Thorne said pothole patching will continue in the area – with crews filling the largest potholes first.
He said the crew may not finish patching an entire road in one visit but would return when manpower and paving materials were available.

Some of the pothole crew workers are also staffing the “mill and fill” projects, Thorne explained. He said he didn’t have a large enough crew to stay on one road until it is finished. “We’re getting big potholes all over,” he said.

The number of potholes on Franklin Hill in Susquehanna County was highlighted. Thorne said the crew is scheduled to return to that road in August.

Signage and road markers were also brought to PennDOT’s attention.

One attendee requested that a portable sign be put in place at the intersection of SR 6 and SR 87 during the Kiwanis Wyoming County Fair in order to better direct traffic to the correct lane when leaving the fair.

Signs are already in place in the area, but it was noted they are difficult to see, especially at night when the road is congested.

Major also asked about PennDOT’s line painting program – an area that has been cut in an effort to save funds.

Major noted that drivers on the rural roads needed – at the very least – a center lane marker in order to navigate through fog or limited visibility conditions.

Thorne reviewed the budgets for each county. Susquehanna received an allocation of $23.15 million; while Wyoming County received $9.6 million.

Both counties exceeded their budgeted winter expenditures in 2013-14 for both materials and labor costs.
Projects for the 2014 summer construction season include:

*mill and fill projects in Susquehanna County on SR 3029 and SR 4007; in Wyoming County on SR 1009 and SR 1029;

*department force paving on SR 3029 and SR 4007, both in Susquehanna County;

*and chip and seal projects on SR 87 in Wyoming County; as well as on 12 sections of roads located in various sections of Susquehanna County.

Contracted surface treatment projects will take place in Wyoming County on SR 92, 6.78 miles from Tunkhannock to the county line; 3.11 miles on SR 29 from SR 415 to Butry Rd.; and SR 309 for 3.63 miles from the Luzerne County line to SR 2022.

In Susquehanna County surface treatment is contracted for SR 29 from Bailey Rd. to the slide area near the state line and then from the slide to the state line; SR 92 from the Wyoming County line to SR 2073.