x
Breaking News
More () »

Interstate 80 Paving Frustrates Fourth of July Travelers

MIFFLIN TOWNSHIP — At the start of one of the busiest travel times of the year, a paving project on Interstate 80 in Columbia County brought Fourth of Jul...

MIFFLIN TOWNSHIP -- At the start of one of the busiest travel times of the year, a paving project on Interstate 80 in Columbia County brought Fourth of July travelers to a halt on Thursday.

Backups near the Berwick exit stretched more than seven miles as people sat for more than an hour.

A lot of people think the day before Thanksgiving is the biggest travel day of the year. Experts say that's wrong. Summer weekends are the busiest, especially when Fourth of July falls on a weekend like this year.

That made Thursday a very busy day on the roads and construction in Columbia County made it a very slow day on Interstate 80.

This spot on Interstate 80 has become notorious for miles and miles of traffic. A project to replace a bridge near the Berwick exit has lasted five years.

Some Fourth of July travelers are just the latest traffic victims.

"Horrible, horrible! I had no idea. Nobody told me. There was nothing to indicate you're about to go into hell," said Monica Bauer.

Bauer is a weary driver from Connecticut, stopping for gas after sitting in traffic for an hour.

"You mean I've been through the worst of it?" Bauer asked. "Because I'm a whole year older."

"They should definitely work around it or at least avoid holiday weekends," added Ben Hayes of Rhode Island.

PennDOT says crews doing the paving are working around the holiday weekend itself. All lanes of I-80 west will be open Friday through Sunday.

But of course, many people are on the road on this day before the long weekend.

Ben Hayes of Rhode Island learned that.

"Holiday weekend isn't a good time to be on the road."

While it certainly doesn't help holiday travelers on the road now, PennDOT says after five years of construction and five years of on-and-off traffic nightmares, this project is coming to an end this summer.

"I go to Pittsburgh once a week, so every week I'm sitting in it. You'd think I'd find a way around it by now."

Nate Butler from Scranton got stuck in traffic again. PennDOT wants to reassure drivers like him that the bulk of the work should be done by mid-July with a couple more jobs that may tie up traffic later this summer.

An end is near.

"As soon as it gets done, going to Pittsburgh is going to be a lot easier," said Butler.

Get the latest traffic information at wnep.com/traffic

 

Before You Leave, Check This Out