A few more months of bumps along the Morgan Highway
Aug. 23—Drivers crossing onto the Morgan Highway from side streets or vice versa in the Abingtons will have to put up with bumps a little while longer.
The need to install more drainage structures than originally thought has delayed the laying of the final new pavement on the highway for four months, said Jessica Ruddy, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Transportation.
"It was unforeseen drainage issues that prompted the need for additional materials," she said.
The project was supposed to wrap up in June, but October is the new tentative completion date, Ruddy said.
That means the drivers will need to deal with the 1- to 2-inch difference in the pavement of the highway, side streets and driveways in South Abington Twp. and Clarks Summit. Many motorists have complained for months on social media about the road condition.
Pennsy Supply Inc., of Jenkins Twp., has the contract to pave 2.9 miles of the highway from Lahey Family Fun Park to Winola Road. Once the drainage work is done the entire stretch will get a final coat of pavement, known as wearing course.
The original cost for design and construction was about $1.8 million, but that doesn't include the need for the additional drainage structures. Ruddy did not have the additional cost immediately available.
On average about 8,900 vehicles a day traveled the Morgan Highway in 2021, the most recent PennDOT data available.
Contact the writer: bkrawczeniuk@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9147; @BorysBlogTT on Twitter.
