Luzerne County releases status report on road repairs

Luzerne County released a status report Wednesday on three county-owned road projects in Ross, Union, and Hunlock Townships.

Drainage work along Sweet Valley Road in Ross and Union townships has been completed, and crews are starting base repairs necessary to proceed with paving, the status report said.

County council had voted in July 2022 to repair and pave the deteriorated roadway, initially using $1.86 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funding. That earmark was not needed because the county learned the following year it had received a federal Highway Infrastructure Program Appropriation Act award to fund the project, secured through assistance from U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Dallas.

The county awarded a contract to Skippack, Pennsylvania-based H&K Group last September to complete the project, which will address the stretch from the Hunlock-Harveyville Road to Schoolhouse Road, records show.

Also in Ross Township, drainage work is underway to reduce water pooling on county-owned Broadway Road, the update said.

This project will also include roadway base repairs and paving, and the addition of bike lanes on both sides of the road.

It will be funded with a $776,500 Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Multimodal grant that requires a county match of $318,664, the update said.

Jackson Township-based American Asphalt Paving Co. received the contract to complete the project in November, records show.

County-owned Main Road in Hunlock and Ross townships is the remaining roadway cited in the update report.

This project is expected to be bid out this month and will include drainage enhancements and paving of at least two miles, it said.

Meuser had secured $2.5 million in federal funding through 2024 appropriations legislation to fund the project, saying he remains “an advocate for critical projects that benefit rural communities and enhance our roadways,” a past announcement said.

Main Road has been ranked high on the county’s priority repair list based on assessments using road data and special software to come up with condition ratings, county officials have said.

County council had earmarked American Rescue funding in July 2023 for the Main Road project due to the roadway’s poor condition, but the county was able to use those funds for other purposes after the federal allocation came through.

The county has approximately 120 miles of roads and 300 bridges and culverts scattered within its boundaries, many of which were inherited from municipalities during the Great Depression.

County Manager Romilda Crocamo said the administration looks forward to project completion because the work is “something that residents can see, can use, and benefit from.”

“A lot of time and planning has gone into this work, and residents will see roads that are bigger, more accommodating, and safer to use,” she said in the update.

Some other road and bridge updates elsewhere in the county were noted in recent reports:

• The Miller Road Bridge culvert in Exeter Township must be replaced. Funding has been secured, and Reilly Associates in Pittston — the county’s outside engineer — is working on a project scope and schedule.

• Plans are set for a project that will improve existing roadway drainage structures in the Crestwood Industrial Park in Wright Township, and the project is set to be bid out this month. All work must be completed before the end of this year because it is covered by American Rescue funding.

• Paving of Lower Demunds Road in Dallas Township is scheduled for completion by the end of this month. The project covered 1.97 miles and included stormwater improvements. Council had earmarked $2 million in American Rescue funds for the project at the end of 2024.