JACKSON TOWNSHIP -- Signs along Route 118 warn drivers of a detour ahead. What the signs don't say is that the detour is 13 miles long.
PennDOT is replacing a pipe underneath this stretch of road near the line between Columbia and Lycoming counties.
The Red Rock Corner Store has already noticed a drop in customers since the work started on Monday.
“We have lost some, but everything coming east we are fine, but the west traffic they have to go around us, so it’s hurt some there,” said Steve Bonham of the Red Rock Corner Store.
The detour takes drivers off of Route 118 and onto Routes 239 and 487. Drivers you can expect a 20-minute detour as the pipe is being replaced along Route 118.
“It's a real hardship for the truck drivers because the detour is right behind us and they have to go maybe 30 miles out of their way to go around it,” said Bill May of Dallas.
“Well, it is a pretty big detour and you get a lot of truck drivers who aren't used to our skinny little roads,” said Rodney Minier of Unityville.
PennDOT says the project is scheduled to be completed in a couple of weeks. They wanted to do it now, before a resurfacing project which is set for next summer.