AVOCA -- People who live in a community in Luzerne County say a PennDOT project has left them feeling like they're living on an island.
Many construction projects have wrapped up for the winter, but contractors are still busy working on a bridge that carries Interstate 81 over Plane Street in Avoca.
Because of the work, PennDOT closed Plane Street leading to the Brown's Patch section of Avoca.
"The bottom line is it's going to be an improvement. That's what you got to look at for a little hardship, you know?"
PennDOT says the bridge work is all part of a $42 million project. Work started last July to reduce backups on Interstate 81 by the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport. Contractors are overhauling ramps and intersections with three new roundabouts to keep traffic moving.
But not everyone is happy with the detour that leaves residents of Brown's Patch with only one way in and out.
PennDOT says this detour is only two or three miles long and should only take drivers an extra five minutes, but people who live in this community tell us it often takes longer than that and they have safety concerns.
"If anything happens, like my sister is old, anything happens to her, it's going to take a long time for an ambulance to get here, even a fire truck if something breaks out," said Avoca resident Chris Rodgers,
Rodgers was fired up while stringing Christmas lights around her house. She says the neighborhood bordered by the highway and the airport runway now feels like an island.
"I don't care what PennDOT said. We live here. We know every day we're coming in and out of here."
PennDOT says potholes have been patched on the detour route and it's hoping to reopen Plane Street in the next few weeks.