The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s (PennDOT) Public-Private Transportation Partnerships (P3) Board recently approved the reconstruction of a 4.5-mile section of I-81 near Wilkes-Barre in Luzerne County.
The project will eliminate a left-hand exit on I-81 northbound, replace eight bridges, widen the interstate to three lanes in both directions between Exit 164 to Exit 168, address a substandard weave distance between State Route 29 and State Route 309 on I-81 northbound, and realign 2.5 miles of I-81 southbound.
“There’s no denying that I-81 in Luzerne County is one of the most heavily-traveled corridors in the state,” Leslie S. Richards, PennDOT secretary, said. “The P3 approach will allow PennDOT greater flexibility in making these critical improvements to our transportation network.”
The 4.5-mile section is located in PennDOT District 4-0. The district contains 2,090 bridges, 3,932 miles of roadways, and Interstates 80 and 81.
Major corridors and bridges in the district are traveled by 25,000 to 50,000 vehicles daily, and the interstates have not been upgraded since the 1960s.
The project was originally approved in late 2018 as part of 15 bridge replacements along I-80 and I-81, but the PennDOT P3 Office reassessed the area’s needs and developed a proposal that considered the region as a whole.