MOUNT COBB -- Construction crews will be putting in some extra hours this weekend to try to finish a bridge project before the morning rush hour begins on Monday.
The road in the Mount Cobb area will be closed all weekend for the work, but folks who live there say that won't be as bad as it sounds.
Folks who live along Route 348 in Jefferson Township say this weekend their road will be a lot like it used to be years ago with little to no traffic. But the reality is Route 348 is a very busy road now and PennDOT is working against the clock to finish replacing a culvert bridge before Monday morning.
Friday afternoon and it was far from quitting time for construction workers in the Mount Cobb area of Jefferson Township, buckling down for a weekend-long project to replace a bridge that carries Route 348 over a creek.
The road will be closed Saturday and Sunday and traffic diverted onto a three-mile detour.
Folks who live there say it won't feel like an island at all. It will feel like it did decades ago, when a car passing by was a rare sight.
"With the road closed of course, it's going to be quiet, which is welcome because it is a busy highway and sometimes you get the tractor-trailers," said Tony Summa of Mount Cobb.
Summa says he will make the best of it by getting some gardening done.
Kathy Strackbein plans to lay low, which after all is what the weekend is all about.
"Peace and quiet, well, I don't know, because the guys are going to be out here working all weekend so it's not going to be that quiet I guess."
Work crews will be there day and night to get the bridge replaced before traffic picks up again.
Since neighbors around here tend to see the bright side of things, they say if you have to deal with a road project, this is the best way to do it.
PennDOT officials say they hope to have all the work done by Monday morning, weather permitting.
"I just hope we have good weather so they can get this done and make it safe for everybody in the future," said Summa. "I can finish my gardening and the flowers will start to pop, and the allergies will start to act up again."
It seems there is a downside to every season even this construction season.
PennDOT says if the weather doesn't cooperate, work will have to go into Monday.
But these folks say they still won't mind.
PennDOT crews closed part of Route 348 in Mount Cobb late Friday afternoon. If everything goes as planned, it should be back open by Monday morning at 6 a.m.