DEER LAKE -- This construction project on Route 61 in Schuylkill County can be a headache for drivers.
Some residents in Deer Lake said when the $35 million project is done, it's still going to be an issue.
About 350 residents in the Pines in Deer Lake said when the new Route 61 is complete they won't be able to go north towards Pottsville.
A handful of residents from the community met with PennDOT, state, and local officials in Mahanoy City to talk about the issue on Thursday.
"Hopefully something good will come out of it," said Eugene Hugel of Deer Lake.
Hugel and other residents of the Pines said all of this confusion is adding extra time and miles to almost all their trips.
"It adds about 10 minutes into your trip every day."
People from the community have to travel about three miles in the opposite direction to get on Route 61 going north, so they're asking PennDOT for an access road.
"Whether it's north and southbound like they talked about or just making it northbound," said Hugel.
PennDOT officials said the whole reason for the construction project is safety.
During the 1990s and early 2000s the road had the most crashes in Schuylkill County.
This design project and plan was set more than 10 years ago, before the Pines even existed.
"In this case, people need to drive an extra three miles to get to where they'd like to be and it's a much safer situation," said Mike Rebert of PennDOT.
PennDOT officials said they will look into the cost of building an access road and a new bridge for the Pines residents.
Rebert estimates that idea could cost $8 million.
However, it's not just residents who want the new road. Business owners say the Route 61 expansion is hurting them, too.
"Since they've moved southbound traffic to the other side of the hill around Thanksgiving, it's dropped our sales around 30 percent," said Jeff Stumpf, the owner of It's Just Barbecue in Deer Lake.
For now, there's no set solution for the Deer Lake residents.
The Route 61 expansion project is expected to be finished in September.
