OLYPHANT -- Monday night, a driver damaged part of an ongoing PennDOT project. But, PennDOT officials are happy to see the mess on the Casey Highway in Olyphant.
"The project is still not technically done yet. It's still under contract. So, even these repairs here we need to work with the contractor," said PennDOT spokesperson James May.
That contractor has been busy, since the Monday crash was the third time it has happened in a month's time.
It was just a few months ago, when PennDOT started installing the new type of median barrier along Route 6, the Casey Highway. It's designed to prevent cars from flipping or crossing the median.
"What we're seeing right now is that they're working the way they were designed to work. So, if this is serving as a test case for us, it's working very very well," May added.
PennDOT already has plans to add miles more of the median barriers. Next, they will add them to the eastern part of the Casey Highway. Eventually the barriers will be added to Interstate 81 in both Luzerne and Susquehanna counties.
State police told Newswatch 16 the damage to the car in the most recent barrier collision was minimal. There is no word if the barriers themselves are to thank for that.
State police could not give a reason for why vehicles are ending up in the median, but folks who frequent the Casey are surprised to hear about how often it happens.
"It does surprise me, in the summertime. In the wintertime I would say no. But, in the summer it surprises me that they've been hit three times already," said Brian Propst of Propst Transportation.
Propst and his drivers use the Casey Highway several times a day. He's afraid the barriers will cause problems come winter.
"I'm not sure if it will make it safer, I think it will cost people more money. When they go into the median without the rails they just need a tow truck or whatever to pull them out and they might not have any damage to their cars. Now, when they slide off the road in the snow they're going to have damage to their cars," Propst added.
