CLARKS SUMMIT -- A big project got under way on Tuesday to redo a major connector road between Lackawanna and Wyoming Counties.
PennDOT crews started prep work for that project near Clarks Summit this week and officials say from now until the fall of 2017, you'll see workers out on Routes 6 and 11.
The road hasn't seen major renovations since the 1950s so PennDOT says it needs replacing.
People who live along it say it has needed work for a long time because of the increased traffic there.
The sunlight and temperatures inching toward 60 gave us a taste of summer and crews were out on Routes 6 and 11 near Clarks Summit getting a head start on what their summers are for.
Traffic was down to one lane in spots and the crews from PennDOT and Pennsylvania American Water were doing prep work for PennDOT's biggest summer project planned so far in Lackawanna County: spending $50 million to fix up Routes 6 and 11 from Clarks Summit to the Wyoming County line, the main artery between Lackawanna and Wyoming County.
It sees a lot more traffic than it used to.
"This road does have a lot of traffic, a lot of that is truck traffic. Because of that we wanted to make sure we were not able to have to post the bridges down," said PennDOT spokesperson James May.
PennDOT will be replacing eight bridges as part of the project along with replacing pavement and adjusting traffic patterns.
Business owners along Routes 6 and 11 say the last few years have been rough on this road that's more than 60 years old. The folks at the Dalton Do It Center say as the traffic has increased, so has the number of crashes.
"Particularly in this stretch right here in front of the store, we've had numerous accidents over the last couple of year. We're averaging about three or four a year and some of them are pretty vicious," said Len Peters of Dalton.
Peters says PennDOT is planning to put a turning lane outside of the hardware store and in a few other spots on Routes 6 and 11. Crews will also be putting two traffic lights including one at the main entrance to Keystone College, another place that's been seeing more traffic.
"We will experience a little bit of a backlog at times there, plus it's very difficult to make a left out of our main entrance right now against traffic, especially with the way the road is contoured," said Kevin Wilson at Keystone College.
PennDOT officials say crews will be out doing prep work this spring as weather allows but the project will officially start this summer and is scheduled to continue until fall of 2017.