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Pocono News Section
Highway Improvement Increases Safety
Highway Improvement Increases Safety - Tuesday, November 17, 2009 at 5:02PM EST
Reported by: Jeremy Deebel
Tuesday, Nov 17, 2009 @ 05:02pm EST
Cogan House Township, Lycoming County-
A highway improvement project is drawing rave reviews for increasing safety along a busy stretch of road in central Pennsylvania.
The improvements to Route 15 from Trout Run to Buttonwood in northern Lycoming County have been decades in the making.
With the cutting of a ribbon, the highway’s two new southbound lanes reopened to traffic.
For the owners of the Fry Brothers Turkey Ranch Restaurant, that's welcome news. The old stretch of road was the site of some deadly accidents.
Dwight Fry said, "It should be a lot better than it was. The trucks should have a little better way of going down the mountain so it won't be so twisty. We hope that improves it a lot."
The $60 million project includes the rebuilding or replacing of eight and a half miles of roadway in the north and southbound lanes. There are also four new bridges and many other improvements.
It's the capstone of four decades of repairs to one of the state's primary north-south corridors.
Lycoming County Transportation Planner Mark Murawski explained, "We're talking about safety here. Certainly eliminating the deadly curves we've seen going down this mountain is going to make my family and your family a little bit safer in this world now."
Government officials also expect the Route 15 improvements will provide future economic benefits.
Susan Mathias, an aide to Congressman Chris Carney, noted, "Highway projects like this hold the promise of job creation that puts people back to work."
Cogan House Township Supervisor Howard Fry's home was directly in the path of the new highway. He spent six months living in a hotel while his house was moved. But he believes it was worth the inconvenience.
Fry added, "Overall, it's not been a bad deal. I realize it was for the good of the Route 15 coalition and it needed to be done to improve the highway safety here."
Renovations to Route 15's northbound lanes will continue for a while longer. PennDOT officials say some final paving will take place next year.
The entire project will wrap up in late 2010. | | |
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