March 20, 2017
Construction for the Edella Road (State Route 4019) bridge, spanning I-81 in South Abington Township, is scheduled to be replaced as part of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s (PennDOT) Rapid Bridge Replacement Project. Replacement of this bridge will allow PennDOT to remove it from Lackawanna County’s structurally deficient list.
Construction is expected to begin during the week of April 3 and be complete in July. During this time, drivers will be directed to follow a detour along Venard Road (SR 4030) and South Abington Road (SR 407).
Short-term nighttime work will intermittently close northbound and southbound on I-81 between 8 PM to 6 AM during removal of the bridge superstructure, piers, and setting of beams.
During the nighttime closure of I-81 southbound, all motorists will be detoured on I-81 at exit 197 to SR 632 (Commerce Drive), SR 347 (Justus Blvd.) to Business Route 6 (Scranton Carbondale Highway) and will re-enter I-81 South at exit 191. During the nighttime closure of I-81 northbound, motor vehicles will detour I-81, with traffic detoured at exit 194 to Route 11/ Business Route 6 (Northern Blvd.), SR 407 (S. Abington Road), to SR 632 (Carbondale Road) and will re-enter I-81 North at exit 197. During this nighttime closure, trucks will detour I-81 north, but instead of using SR 632, trucks will continue north on SR 407 to SR 438 (Wellsville Road) and will re-enter I-81 at exit 201.
The exact dates of these short-term nighttime detours will be provided closer to construction.
In the event of unfavorable weather or unforeseen activities, this schedule may change.
This bridge is referred to as JV-139 and is one out of the 559 bridges being replaced under the Rapid Bridge Replacement Project. JV references the joint-venture partnership between Walsh/Granite, which is leading construction for the entire project.
Media contact: Plenary Walsh Keystone Partners: Rory McGlasson, 484-408-0284.