CLARKS SUMMIT, Pa. — The second of two meetings was held Thursday evening by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission to discuss their Scranton Beltway Project, a project that seeks to make the connection between interstate 81 and I-476 easier to navigate. However, in order to connect the two interstates, some people will have to leave their homes.
"It was my grandparents home, my parents home and then became my home, and I'm an only child and so the history of the home, the magnitude of it, is unbelievable." said Daneen Reese of South Abington Township.
This is the reality for those along the routes of the proposed construction to connect I-81 and I-476 in Luzerne and Lackawanna counties. Residents had their chance to provide feedback on the project at public hearings this week.
"My home is on the chopping block, my husband and I built our home 33 years ago, we're both senior citizens, in fact he's almost 90." said Cheryl Radkiewicz of South Abington Township.
The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission is proposing to connect I-81 to I-476 in two places, one near the Wyoming Valley interchange and the other near the Clarks Summit interchange. The turnpike commission say they're proposing this project to try to alleviate traffic conditions on I-81 by encouraging drivers to travel on I-476.
"We're hoping that it increases safety on the turnpike in 81, reduces congestion on 81 and increases traffic which helps our revenue on the turnpike." said turnpike commission engineer Kevin Scheurich.
However, some in attendance at the meeting held at Abington Heights High School, say this project isn't worth it.
"The hallmark of a good engineer is a piece of paper and eraser, you make mistakes, this is a mistake, you could walk away from it and people's lives won't be changed forever." said John Kaminski of Dupont.
Some in the audience expressed that even though they don't live near where the new construction would take place, the increased traffic on the turnpike would impact them too.
"Even though, again, it's not directly being constructed by us, all of these changes are very very substantial, and are going to make a huge huge difference living near this road." said Michael Genello of Scranton.
If approved by the Federal Highway Administration, construction for the Scranton Beltway Project will start in 2030.