EXISTING CONDITIONS

Throughout the past few years, traffic volume, including large commercial vehicles, has increased beyond the system’s current capacity, contributing to system congestion and causing a marked increase in the rate of crashes. The corridor was designed to accommodate approximately 40,000 vehicles per day however, recent traffic surveys conducted by PennDOT show that certain sections of the corridor have vehicle volumes upwards of 70,000 vehicles per day (vpd). Future projections indicate that traffic volumes could exceed 86,000 vpd by 2010 and 104,000 vpd by 2023 in certain sections of this corridor.

The severe congestion coupled with extreme traffic volume and a high rate of reportable accidents has led local officials to explore options to address these issues. A preliminary Interstate 81 Rebuild/Expansion Study, developed by PennDOT consultant, Pennoni Associates was completed in August 2003, which identified the need for widening the corridor based upon future capacity, level of service, and safety concerns. This widening project proposes to increase the capacity of the existing 81 interstate system in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre corridor from four lanes to six lanes. The targeted section stretches from Exit 164 ( Nanticoke) in Luzerne County, north to Exit 197 (Waverly) in Lackawanna County, a span of approximately thirty-three miles. Project improvements will include any necessary interchange and bridge reconstruction required as a result of the widening. Targeted goals of this interstate widening project include: widening of corridor, accident reduction, congestion alleviation, reduced vehicle and business operation costs, enhanced safety of the corridor and positive impact on employment and earnings growth. Beyond travel safety and congestion issues, the proposed widening improvements are essential to sustaining the flow of regional interstate commerce, population movement and the overall economic vitality of the region.

This project has both national and regional significance because this section of Interstate 81 is used for both interstate and intrastate travel and it is a North-South alternate to I-95. This corridor includes major interchanges with Interstates 380 and 476, which also service extensions to Interstates 80 and 84, all major routes for the movement of goods and people in the northeast United States.