WHITE HAVEN -- Part of Interstate 80 westbound in Luzerne County is under construction, and as part of the resurfacing project the White Haven ramp is closed for the next three weeks.
"That ramp being closed is going to cause such uproar because you have to understand a lot of people from white haven work in the industrial parks in Hazleton. That is the easiest commute for them. This is gonna add easy thirty to 45 minutes one way per commute,” said Conrad Shellock of White Haven.
Many had no idea the ramp was closing, including a man who runs a gas station in White Haven right off the now-closed ramp.
Just a few hours into the closure, he said business was unusually slow.
"Fridays are busy but this is slow today so it's already hurting. I was wondering what was going on today and now that you're telling me for three weeks, it's gonna be closed. I don't know,” he said.
PennDOT says as part of the project and in addition to that ramp closure, there will be lane closures on that section of the interstate. The left lane in one part and the right in another, which drivers say will make for even more headaches.
"It takes a while to get through there, it took me a good almost hour, it's going to one lane on one side so everyone is trying to merge over all at once, and then you're good for maybe a mile and a half and then the other lane's closed,” said Zachary Belisle of White Haven.
"For three weeks, people are probably gonna be ready to kill each other. Without a shadow of a doubt,” said Shellock.
State police plan to add extra patrols to that part of the interstate in the coming weeks to crack down on speeding and aggressive driving.
