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Judge pleads with Dallas School District, union to return to negotiations

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Report: China, Russia and Iran ramp up economic spying on US

<p>Unusually rumbly drives on a stripped-down Business Route 309 through Wilkes-Barre Township should soon be over because paving is set to begin Thursday night, state transportation department representatives said.</p><p>Contractors had removed the top two inches of the busy roadway&#8217;s surface between July 8 and July 18, leaving it bumpy and uneven, the department said. The impacted span is from the area of the Home Depot in Wilkes-Barre Township to Pine Run Road near the Joe Palooka Monument in Hanover Township.</p><p>Resurfacing was supposed to immediately follow exposure of the underlying roadway, but the rainy weather halted those plans, said George Welki, the department&#8217;s inspector overseeing the project.</p><p>In hindsight, the contractors likely would have delayed the top layer removal to reduce the duration motorists were forced to drive on the raw stretch, he said.</p><p>Weather permitting, contractors plan to add a half-inch middle layer of asphalt over the next three or four nights, Welki said.</p><p>Crews will work from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. to minimize traffic disruption, with flaggers directing traffic through the construction zone, he said.</p><p>This intermediate asphalt layer is increasingly included in department projects to form a stronger base, Welki said.</p><p>The rotating drum with teeth that&#8217;s used to tear out the old road &#8212; a process known as milling &#8212; does not buff out grooves and holes, he said.</p><p>&#8220;It seems to make for a better overlay in the end,&#8221; Welki said of the thin layer sandwiched between.</p><p><strong>Asphalt next week?</strong></p><p>Contractors plan to add the final 1.5-inch asphalt top next week, but the middle spread will still be smoother than the roadway in its current state if that work is delayed, he said.</p><p>In total, 7.7 miles of Business Route 309 are slated for resurfacing. The project was deemed a priority to address numerous cracks, potholes and other deterioration, Welki said. Depending on the spot, the route is also identified as Wilkes-Barre Township Boulevard, Spring Street and Kidder Street, department maps show.</p><p>Contractors have not yet milled the portion from the Home Depot to Valley Crest Drive near the Cross Valley Expressway because disability-accessible ramps must first be installed, Welki said.</p><p>New Enterprise Stone and Lime Co., based in New Enterprise, is handling the $4 million project, which is targeted for completion Nov. 26, department representatives said.</p><p><strong>Upcoming plans</strong></p><p>Meanwhile, a future proposal to reconfigure the highway hub where the 309 paving project ends near the Cross Valley is still under discussion.</p><p>Developer Robert Tambur is seeking a tax diversion to fund reconfiguration of that congested highway so he can proceed with a $100 million commercial development project at the 62.3-acre former Valley Crest site his family&#8217;s company, Tamburro R.E. Development and Management, purchased from the county for $2.075 million in 2015.</p><p>Under this Tax Incremental Financing (TIF) program, property owners within a designated zone in the impacted area would pay all taxes, but participating taxing bodies sacrifice the portion from new development to pay off a loan to fund the infrastructure.</p><p>Luzerne County Council Chairman Tim McGinley, who serves on the committee drafting a proposed TIF, told his colleagues this week the committee is now awaiting some decisions from Tambur on which additional infrastructure funding streams will be sought by the developer.</p><p>Tambur said Thursday he is exploring all options to reduce the amount that must be diverted by taxing bodies.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Contractors are scheduled to pave the exposed surface of Business Route 309 in Wilkes-Barre and Hanover Townships the next few nights. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/web1_TTL072718penndot2.jpg</photo0><caption0>Contractors are scheduled to pave the exposed surface of Business Route 309 in Wilkes-Barre and Hanover Townships the next few nights. </caption0><photoCredit0>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/web1_TTL072718penndot1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Motorists on Business Route 309 in Wilkes-Barre and Hanover townships have contended with driving on a surface that feels like a rumble strip due to paving that was delayed due to the weather. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/web1_TTL072718penndot1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Motorists on Business Route 309 in Wilkes-Barre and Hanover townships have contended with driving on a surface that feels like a rumble strip due to paving that was delayed due to the weather. </caption1><photoCredit1>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Work resumes on Business Route 309 after delay</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jennifer Learn-Andes</p><p>jandes@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Business Route 309 repaving set to begin tonight