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Route 315 In Pittston Township Now Closed To Traffic

PITTSTON TOWNSHIP — Part of Route 315 is now completely closed in Luzerne County as road blocks were put around  an overpass on Interstate 81. PennDOT wor...

PITTSTON TOWNSHIP -- Part of Route 315 is now completely closed in Luzerne County as road blocks were put around  an overpass on Interstate 81.

PennDOT workers were on Route 315 Friday evening, directing drivers confused as to where to go.

For many, getting to the Walmart in Pittston Township was frustrating.

“It's just a hassle having to go around here. I mean, even coming off the highway, they have the exits closed, so trying to get here, it's going to take an extra 10, 15 minutes. That's a pretty big inconvenience,” said Cristian Hansen from Dupont.

“Well, I mean everybody's going up that way, going around the Walmart, just making a mess, so getting in and out of the parking lot's just a hassle,” said Jacob Boedeker from Dupont.

PennDOT shut down the small portion of Route 315 just under the Interstate 81 bridge in order to replace beams under it.

It's part of a larger $27 million project to replace a total of four bridges.

This part of Route 315 will be shut down through Monday morning.

That's not making the owner of Bobby O's Restaurant in Dupont very happy.

“It's annoying, it cuts our delivery area in half, we can't get to that around, we have to go around, the traffic is crazy,” said Eric Friedman.

Exit 175 off Interstate 81 leading to Route 315 will also be closed; that exit is one of the entrances to the Turnpike.

PennDOT says drivers can still access the Turnpike by going to Exit 170A, the Bear Creek exit.

According to PennDOT officials, closing Route 315 on a weekend was the most convenient to commuters.

It could have chosen to keep one lane open to traffic, but that would have extended work from just one weekend to one month.

“The way the road construction is around here, let the guys just be safe, do their job and go home, everybody has to start learning how to slow down,” said Marion Reap of Pittston.

The closed section of Route 315 is expected to reopen around 7 a.m. Monday.

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