Condition of Luzerne County-owned thoroughfares comes under scrutiny

Mountain Top resident Scott Bussinger appeared before Luzerne County Council last week to express his displeasure over the poor condition of county-owned Kirby Avenue in Fairview Township.

“The road is, to put it mildly, embarrassing,” Bussinger said.

He urged council to seek funds to fix the road, which he said is beyond patching and in need of rebuilding.

“I know there are a lot of roads in this area that are in poor shape. This one may be the poster child,” Bussinger said.

Residents have increasingly called on county officials to address road repairs.

The county has approximately 120 miles of roads and 300 bridges scattered within its boundaries, many inherited from municipalities during the Great Depression, officials said. It relies heavily on state funding and grants to pay for most reconstruction and repairs.

Councilman Brian Thornton told Bussinger he believes many expect their roads will be addressed with new federal infrastructure funding and asked County Acting Manager Romilda Crocamo if she has received any updates.

Crocamo said the infrastructure funding will be funneled through the state. The administration is compiling an updated list of roads that need work for council so it can determine which will be addressed when the state decides how much funding will be granted to the county, she said.

Ongoing maintenance of reburbished roads also must be part of the plan, she said. In recent years, the county has been pushing municipalities to take over roads after they are repaired.

“The roads that we are talking about, that condition did not happen overnight,” Crocamo said.

The administration plans to schedule a tour of all county-owned roads for council members in coming weeks and public town hall meetings in various parts of the county for residents to provide feedback on infrastructure concerns.

With complaints about road problems on the rise, county officials also said some more public education on county-owned roads is warranted because some complaints deal with roads that are owned by the state or municipalities not under the county’s control.

Council also voted last week to create a new infrastructure committee.

Crocamo said she inspected numerous county-owned roadways several months ago with county staff and agrees the current condition of many is “unacceptable.”

Main Road in Hunlock and Ross townships is ranked highest on the county’s most recent priority list, which was based on a 2020 assessment using road data and special software to come up with condition ratings, officials said. The total estimated cost to address that 7.7-mile stretch is $2.9 million.

Addressing Bussinger, county Councilman Chris Perry said he lives by Kirby Avenue and agrees it must be fixed.

“I know how bad it is,” Perry said.

But Perry noted Kirby Avenue is not in the top 10 worst roads based on the county’s ranking.

According to the 2020 assessment Crocamo had furnished to council last year, those top 10 roads, after Main Road, are: Sweet Valley and Bloomingdale in Ross Township; Broadway in Ross and Union townships; Lower Demunds in Dallas Township; Tunnel in Wright Township; Blytheburn in Rice, Dorrance and Slocum townships; Nuangola in Wright Township; the Huntsville Extension in Jackson and Lehman townships; and Ransom in Dallas and Franklin townships.

Crocamo has estimated $50 million would be needed to address all deteriorating county-owned roads.

“Believe me, we’re going to do everything we possibly can,” Perry told Bussinger.

Wright Township resident Greg Brannan has been actively participating in county meetings to push for road repairs.

Another resident told council last week the condition of the roadways “advertises that we’re a county in decay.”

A woman from Nescopeck who attended the meeting remotely complained that a county owned bridge in her area has been closed since 2015.

An Avoca woman said she and her partner have spent thousands of dollars on vehicle repairs due to potholes.

More information

A county road list and updates on projects underway are posted in the road and bridge department section at luzernecounty.org.

Council recently approved the administration’s request to seek a $950,000 statewide Local Share Account grant to reburbish Oak Hill Road in the Crestwood Industrial Park in Wright Township, which also is on the high priority list.

If awarded, the funding would address 1.5 miles of significantly deteriorated roadway to attract businesses and ensure public safety and the efficient movement of motorists and goods through the industrial park, Crocamo had said. Businesses in the park employ approximately 3,000 and generate more than $270,000 in real estate tax revenue to the county annually.