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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Gov. Tom Wolf announced Friday that 50 highway, bridge, transit, aviation, and bike and pedestrian projects in 23 counties were selected to receive $44.5 million &#8212; including $4.6 million for Luzerne County &#8212; through the Multimodal Transportation Fund.</p><p>Reflecting Wolf and PennDOT Secretary Leslie S. Richards&#8217; commitment to improving locally owned infrastructure, several of the projects will help local governments address bridges and roadways in need of repair or replacement.</p><p>Here are the Luzerne County projects:</p><p>&#8226; Avoca Borough &#8212; $1.6 million for improvements to the intersection of Main and McAlpine streets, including widening the southwest corner of the intersection to improve the right turn from McAlpine to Main.</p><p>&#8226; City of Wilkes-Barre &#8212; $250,000 to rehabilitate the bridge carrying Strauss Lane over Solomon Creek.</p><p>&#8226; Exeter Borough &#8212; $572,293 to restore and improve Route 1025 (Schooley Avenue) between Cedar Street and Susquehanna Avenue.</p><p>&#8226; Lehman Township &#8212; $472,615 for base repairs and paving on Old Route 115 from Jackson Road to Route 118.</p><p>&#8226; Pittston Township &#8212; $603,847 for improvements to the roadway and drainage to safely accommodate two-way traffic, improve the conveyance of stormwater, and improve the safety of roadways in the township, including Baker Road, Chapel Road, and Upper and Lower Ridge roads.</p><p>&#8226; Plains Township &#8212; $117,463 to redefine the access points to the newly proposed Wilkes-Barre Area School District High School, improving traffic flow and safety.</p><p>&#8226; West Hazleton &#8212; $1 million to replace the Jaycee Drive bridge over Black Creek in the Valmont Industrial Park.</p><p><strong>Legislators comment</strong></p><p>State Sen. John Yudichak, D-Nanticoke, said the funding is a key investment in the county&#8217;s infrastructure.</p><p>&#8220;Under the leadership of Transportation Secretary Leslie Richards, Multimodal Funds continue to invest in significant infrastructure-building, job-creating projects of great regional value to northeastern Pennsylvania,&#8221; Yudichak said. &#8220;The leaders of West Hazleton Borough should specifically be commended for working to address a potential bridge failure in the Valmont Industrial Park that could have negatively impacted many local businesses and hundreds of jobs.&#8221;</p><p>State Rep. Gerald Mullery, D-Newport Township, also referred to the West Hazleton project.</p><p>&#8220;Mayor John Chura and I discussed how important the Jaycee Drive bridge project was to the borough on my 119th District tour last year,&#8221; Mullery said.</p><p>The City of Wilkes-Barre, meanwhile, received $250,000 to rehabilitate the bridge carrying Strauss Lane over Solomon Creek. The structure was closed because of damage due to recent flooding and age.</p><p>State Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski, D-Wilkes-Barre, said the bridge on Strauss Lane helps connect two residential areas on each side of Solomon Creek.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Wolf </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_Wolf_Tom-07-24-14-cmyk.jpg</photo0><caption0>Wolf </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Bill O&#8217;Boyle</p><p>boboyle@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Bill O&#8217;Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Gov. Wolf announces $4.6M for Luzerne County infrastructure projects