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PLAINS TWP. &mdash; The repair project of the off ramp to River Street in Plains Township is ahead of schedule.
				That comes from from John Farrell, project manager, who is Transportation Construction Manager for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation&rsquo;s engineering office in Dunmore.
				&ldquo;The project is ahead of schedule,&rdquo; Farrell said. &ldquo;The completion date listed in the contract is July 17, 2021. However, the contractor is working to open the off ramp from Route 309 southbound to River Street on Sept. 18, 2020.&rdquo;
				Farrell said paving will also be completed in late September/early October of the off-ramp from Route 309 southbound to River Street; the on-ramp to Route 309 southbound from River Street; and the off-ramp from Route 309 northbound to River Street.
				Farrell said all work should be completed by Nov. 20, 2020.
				Paving of River Street, the on and off ramps, and a short section of Maffett Street has not started.
				Total cost of the project, including the replacement of 45 bearings, will be approximately $13.5 million, Farrell said.
				The heavily used off-ramp on the southbound lane of the North Cross Valley Expressway closed in early 2019. Construction crews have been removing and replacing the bridge deck and walls and will also paint beams and girders, according to PennDOT.
				A detour has been in place that takes motorists to Exit 2 (Wilkes-Barre/Center City) to Wilkes-Barre Boulevard, where temporary traffic signals have been installed. The detour directs motorists to access River Street in Plains Township by turning onto Wilkes-Barre Boulevard and then get back on the North Cross Valley Expressway back to Plains Township.
				A special provision was made for emergency vehicles that allows an exit via a newly constructed temporary off-ramp that utilizes the shoulder of the on-ramp from River Street to Route 309. Emergency responders travel against the normal flow of traffic, but concrete barriers separate the lanes.
				At the beginning of the project, Wilkes-Barre General Hospital officials and emergency responders said they were worried about how the project would limit hospital access, especially given the ramp closure coinciding with an unrelated sewer project that was beginning on River Street south of the hospital at the same time.
				The North Cross Valley Expressway on-ramp at River Street in Plains Township was repaired earlier.
				The on-ramp reopening marked the return of easier travel for those working on the Wilkes-Barre side of the river who live on the West Side or in the Back Mountain.

PennDOT: River Street ramp repair project ahead of schedule