LACKAWANNA COUNTY, Pa. — Flashing signs mark the countdown for the day residents like Tim Houghton along Parker Street in Scranton have been waiting on for years—getting a new bridge.
"It's kind of like an operation," said Houghton. "You know it's going to hurt, but you'll be healthy later, so I feel that's the situation here too."
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation announced its plans to begin an almost year-long project to replace the deteriorating Parker Street Bridge, a thoroughfare Houghton says hundreds of cars travel daily.
"During the day, mostly, it's a side street, but after that, it's a big street," said Houghton.
According to PennDOT, the Parker Street Bridge was built back in 1964 but has been restricted to one lane of travel due to its poor structural condition.
"There's also a lot of four-wheelers and dirt bikes that come roaring down here because there's some trails up on the other side. It gets pretty noisy," said resident Ky Betts.
The Parker Street bridge has been part of Betts' commute since moving onto the block five years ago.
"They've been talking about it for several years now, and I guess they are finally getting down to it," said Betts. "It's going to mean probably less traffic on this road for a while, but it'll be a little more difficult for us to get where we need to go."
Betts says he doesn't mind finding a new route to work for a while. He just hopes PennDOT sticks to its timeline.
"I hope that it's only that long. I can imagine it taking longer than they say," added Betts.
According to the city of Scranton, a detour is in place. Drivers will be rerouted about 1.7 miles coming from either direction to where Boulevard Avenue and North Main Avenue meet in Dickson City.