BRODHEADSVILLE - Motorists fumed in long traffic lines while construction crews began preliminary work on the planned traffic circle near the intersection of routes 115 and 209 in Brodheadsville Tuesday.
A truck mounted with a heavy duty auger drilled sample holes as water spilling out to cool the bit, at various points in the roadway by the intersection of routes 209 and 715, and west at the intersection of routes 209 and 115.
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation said the subsurface drilling operations will last through Friday.
“This is part of our design process for the US 209-PA 115 Intersection Improvement Project,” PennDOT spokesman Sean Brown said. “It is important to know what is going on under the ground-road when designing a project.”
In 2015, PennDOT announced its initial plan is to convert the three-way intersection of routes 209 and 115 into a roundabout with four entry/exit points: Route 115 west of the circle, Route 209 east and west of the circle, and Rodenbach Lane, which is south of the roundabout.
A second roundabout will replace the intersection of Route 115 and Pleasant Valley Lane, the roadway that takes motorists in and out of Pleasant Valley High School. The roundabout has four entry/exit points: Route 115 east and west of the roundabout and Pleasant Valley Lane north and south of the roundabout.
PennDOT has turned to roundabouts more frequently in recent years to deal with troublesome intersections that have high crash rates.
The average daily traffic on Route 209 just west of the Route 115 intersection was 28,492 in 2015.
The problem, according to PennDOT, are long waits at the existing intersections, resulting from a lack of turning lanes and difficult maneuvers necessary during school drop-off and pick-up times. There are also no pedestrian sidewalks at either of the intersections.
Local businesses said they were told the bore holes were part of a preliminary stage for the roundabouts, and the project would take up to 18 months once it begins. PennDOT did not respond to questions about the timing of the roundabout project.
John Jones, who owns an Italian Ices store next across from the construction, was unhappy with the affect the work will cause his store.
“They are ruining my business today,” he said.
Anvil Patel of Max’s Cigars and Cigarettes store is also right across from the boring operation, and traffic backed up in both directions. Patel was worried about his business.
“I hope they don’t kill it,” he said.
Business was slow Tuesday for Patel, as motorists no doubt found alternate routes to avoid the thoroughfare.
“Customers have complained that the traffic is terrible,” he said.
But Patel was philosophical about the project.
“It’s happening for a good reason,” he said. “You just have to go with the flow.”
