SCHUYLKILL HAVEN - The drive through Schuylkill Haven could take a little bit longer in the near future.
A sign near the Penn State Schuylkill Campus says construction to widen 1.8 miles of Route 61 in the borough will start March 3.
The $8,646,692 construction project will add two additional lanes in an attempt to ease traffic congestion in the borough and relocate electric, water and sewer utilities.
Kinsley Construction, York County, was awarded the project Nov. 27, 2013. It is scheduled to start March 3 and be completed by Dec. 16, 2015, but could be delayed due to weather or other conditions, Sean Brown, spokesman for the state Department of Transportation District 5, Allentown, said Tuesday.
A call to Kinsley Construction was not returned Tuesday..
"There will be no long-term lane restrictions," Brown said.
Occasionally, there could be flaggers, he said, adding that traffic will move in both directions during the length of the project.
Brown said utility work will be one of the first parts of the project to be started.
Scott Graver, borough manager of Schuylkill Haven, said Tuesday that an exact date of the utility work has not been determined but could be March 10.
The planning and design for the project is at least three years in the making, Graver said.
The journey to get to a wider road has had its bumps.
It took some time for PennDOT and the borough to come to an agreement on relocation costs for the project.
An agreement called for PennDOT to pay a 75 percent reimbursement for all costs involving the relocation of electric, water and sewer utilities in the public right-of-way in the borough.
Cost to the borough could be $500,000, Graver said in December.
The borough was also awarded a $75,000 grant through the state's Commonwealth Financing Authority and its Penn Works Program, a program designed for safe water supply and wastewater infrastructure.
That money will be used to replace an 8-inch waterline with a 12-inch water line as part of the project.
Graver said previously the increased line in the sidewalk area will provide for more water and could possibly lead to increased development in the area south of the Penn State Campus and the commercial district.
In other infrastructure news, a gravity sewer line will run across all four lanes of the road, replacing the current siphon sewer, Graver said previously.
Borough council President Marlin Berger Jr. said Tuesday he wants no hiccups with the project.
"I just hope the project goes smoothly," he said.
He said the traffic situation could worsen as the project continues.
Roger Spotts, another council member, said the new infrastructure the borough is getting in the area is a bonus since the water lines in the area are at least 100 years old.
Though the project has a good destination, the way there will require a longer trip.
"It's going to take more patience" in driving on Route 61 in the area, he said.
Mayor Mike Devlin agreed traffic could be harder to navigate because of the construction.
"The sooner we get it over with, the better," he said of the road work.
The work on the Mady's Bridges in Pottsville and Palo Alto might also frustrate motorists, Spotts said.
PennDOT is replacing the two bridges in Pottsville and Palo Alto after they were deemed structurally deficit in 2001 due to abutment issues.
The $10,568,416 project awarded to Glenn O. Hawbaker Inc., State College, is slated for completion in August 2017.
The project will cause lane closures and other traffic restrictions, such as two temporary lights - one at Bacon Street in Palo Alto and Route 61 and another at Route 61 and Mauch Chunk Street.
Located in Palo Alto, "Mady's Big Bridge" is a 314-foot-long and 64-foot-wide four-span concrete encased steel I-beam bridge over the Reading, Blue Mountain & Northern Railroad.
It will be replaced with a two-span concrete bulb-tee beam bridge that measures 63 feet 10 inches wide.
"Mady's Small Bridge" in Pottsville over the Schuylkill River is 79 feet long and 62 feet wide. It is a single span steel I-beam bridge. The replacement will be 100 feet long and 62 feet 6 inches wide.
The length of the bridge will increase due to the abutments being moved 10 feet to provide for a wider channel.
Ron Young, press officer for PennDOT District 5, Allentown, said previously that emergency responders will be permitted to turn left at Route 61 and Mauch Chunk Street. All other motorists will be prohibited from turning left at the intersection.
The two temporary lights will have devices permitting emergency responders to go through the lights, Young said in an email previously. The contractor will provide 40 handheld devices to Schuylkill County EMA to distribute as needed prior to activation of the lights, Young said.
Lane restrictions of one lane southbound and two northbound could start weather permitting or until temperatures are 40 degrees or higher.
Until that happens, motorists could see daytime lane restrictions on north- and southbound lanes from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Young said.
Brown said he did not know when the lane restrictions would occur or when motorists would be prohibited from turning left at the intersection.