ORWIGSBURG - It has been a long summer for people commuting through Schuylkill County.
With three major construction projects going on within 10 miles on Route 61, some drivers are thinking about the end result as they wait in traffic.
"It's an inconvenience, but when it's finished it's going to be great," Lisa Renninger, Auburn, said Friday.
Renninger said she makes sure to leave between 10 to 15 minutes earlier than normal as she travels between Hamburg and Pottsville for work.
A local mechanic, Dan Werner, Pottsville, said he has had to replace many suspensions on vehicles over the last few years because of damage from potholes.
"I'm just happy something is being done," Werner said.
Heading from Pottsville to Orwigsburg, the first project on Route 61 that may cause delays is the replacement of the structurally deficient "Mady's Bridges" in Pottsville and Palo Alto. There is a temporary traffic signal at Route 61 and Bacon Street and long-term lane restrictions on southbound lanes. Traffic on both northbound and southbound lanes are restricted from making left turns onto Mauch Chunk Street.
The $10.5 million project is expected to be completed in August 2017.
Drivers also have to deal with traffic from the lane-widening project on Route 61 in Schuylkill Haven. Until the $8 million project's projected completion date of December 2015, there will be single lanes for both northbound and southbound traffic.
A new traffic signal went live Thursday with the goal of alleviating some traffic through the road-widening and safety improvement project on Route 61 that stretches 4.5 miles from Orwigsburg to Deer Lake. The new light is at Route 61 and Brick Hill Road in Orwigsburg.
Another light also started flashing Thursday at routes 895 and 61, coming out of Auburn. It will flash for about a week before going into full operation.
A third light will start flashing on Municipal Road within the next month and go into full operation after a week.
The $38 million project is estimated to be completed in September 2015. Work began last September.
"I talked to people who travel up and down there, and they said that lately it seemed Route 61 is better than Route 183 because a lot of people are running over there instead," Bob Wachter, executive director of AAA Schuylkill County, said Friday.
Wachter said people have complained about the traffic lights near the Red Church in Orwigsburg.
"I heard that's confusing," he said.
Schuylkill Transportation System runs 14 fixed-route buses throughout the county. Mike Micko, executive director at STS, said the bus drivers have been able to keep close to the schedule despite all the roadwork.
"To my knowledge, it seems like the buses have been coming in on time most of the time," Micko said Thursday.
He said there are sometimes delays later in the afternoon when traffic backs up in Schuylkill Haven.
"Sometimes it is especially difficult on Market Street in Pottsville," Micko said. "We do experience delays there every once in a while."
There has been pothole patching and other utility work being done on Market Street for about a month.