Input opportunities continue following in-person public meeting's conclusion.

Dunmore, PA - The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) on Monday hosted an in-person public open house for the I-81 Susquehanna Project to provide information, answer questions and solicit comments on the project being a candidate for bridge tolling through the PennDOT Pathways Major Bridge Public-Private Partnership Initiative.

The open house, held at the Blue Ridge School District High School in New Milford, was conducted as part of a 30-day comment period on the bridge that also includes an on-demand virtual public meeting that is available online at www.penndot.gov/i81Susquehanna until 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 8.

The PennDOT Pathways program seeks to identify potential alternative funding solutions for transportation in the state. Under the initiative, tolls collected would be used for the bridges' construction, maintenance and operation.

PennDOT is re-evaluating a Categorical Exclusion that was previously approved for the I-81 Susquehanna Project under the National Environmental Policy Act to examine how bridge tolling might affect local communities and how the alternate routes drivers could take to avoid the toll might impact local traffic and roadways. This is separate from the last re-evaluation and public meeting in July 2021, which related to slight design changes at four areas along the project corridor.

Today's open house and the virtual public meeting contain information about the project's design plans, environmental studies, tolling implementation and mitigation, and schedule. They include information on improvements PennDOT is proposing for nearby roads to accommodate the potential effects of drivers who divert off the highway to avoid tolls, as well as proposed steps to limit the potential impacts of tolls on low-income bridge users.

The I-81 Susquehanna Project is a nine-mile stretch of reconstruction and repair work along Interstate 81 from New Milford Borough to the New York border. In addition to the full repaving and replacement of guide rail and barrier systems, signage and drainage network, the work includes the replacement of one overpass structure, four dual bridges over local creeks, roads and a railroad, as well as the main dual bridge over the Susquehanna River between Hallstead Borough and Great Bend Borough, which were built in 1961 and rehabilitated in 1979, 1993 and 2006. The purpose of the project is to provide safe and reliable travel on the I-81 corridor, including the crossing over the Susquehanna River, and to address aging pavement and infrastructure. 

PennDOT encourages everyone to review the materials and provide input on the information presented in the virtual meeting. The project team will be accepting comments throughout the duration of the comment period, which ends at 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 8, 2021. Online comments can be submitted directly from the meeting website or via the below methods. All comments will receive equal consideration regardless of the method of submission.

• Email: i81Susquehanna@pa.gov
• Hotline: (570) 892-4004
• Mail: PennDOT District 4, Attn: 1-81 Susquehanna Project, 55 Keystone Industrial Park, Dunmore, PA 18512

For more information, see the project website at www.penndot.gov/i81Susquehanna.

Motorists can check conditions on major roadway miles by visiting www.511PA.com. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information, and access to more than 1,000 traffic cameras.

511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and Android devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following regional Twitter alerts accessible on the 511PA website.

Subscribe to PennDOT news and traffic alerts in Lackawanna, Luzerne, Pike, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming counties at www.penndot.gov/District4.

Information about infrastructure in District 4, including completed work and significant projects, is available at www.penndot.gov/D4Results.

Follow local PennDOT news on Twitter and like the department on Facebook and Instagram.

MEDIA CONTACT: Jessica Ruddy, (570) 963.4044

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