Warmer weather means road construction can begin in full force across Pennsylvania.
PennDOT is making a push this season to improve rural roads using old road materials.
A huge pile of asphalt is home base for PennDOT's recycled asphalt paving program in the Honesdale area, part of a construction season that is shifting focus from the busy highways to the back roads.
PennDOT crews are taking the asphalt from ripped-up roads and putting it out on miles of rural stretches that sorely need it.
"It's going to help that's for sure. This road had so many potholes on it, we were probably on the wrong side more times than on the right side of the road," said Clarence Martin.
Martin has driven Egypt Road in Mount Pleasant Township for 20 years. Martin says it's about time the road gets paved. He's just a little skeptical of the recycled asphalt being used.
"It's going to be new. I mean, they're putting the old back over top of the road that's here, hopefully, it will stick. We'll wait and see."
This is day one of PennDOT's summer construction paving season in Wayne County. Machines are putting down old recycled asphalt on these roads to save PennDOT big bucks in its budget.
"There's lots of miles of rural roads, so it's going to take us a long time to catch up," said PennDOT Secretary Leslie Richards.
Richards made the trip to feature the recycled asphalt program as a major part of the 2018 construction season. There are projects lined up all over the district, but no major long-term projects along Interstate 81 for the first time in a while.
"This year, they'll be doing some maintenance work out there, pothole repair, some crack sealing, cleaning of the bridges," said PennDOT official James May.
The twin bridges along Interstate 84 near Dunmore are already seeing some work. A major project there is years off, but crews are repairing cracks in the aging bridges.
Another large project still underway is the total replacement of Interstate 84 in Pike County. That has traffic down to one lane already for miles in both directions.
PennDOT plans to improve more than 600 miles of roads and more than 80 bridges this season.
Click on a county to see a map of the PennDOT projects: