Work to begin on dangerous stretch of I-84

By Anya Tikka
DINGMAN TOWNSHIP — Engineering work will soon start on the Route I-84 corridor in Dingman Township, on a dangerous stretch of road that has long needed urgent repairs.
Steve Goodsell from the HDR Engineering Group, representing the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), gave a presentation at the Oct. 18 Dingman Township meeting about construction between mile markers 40 and 46, near Raymondskill Road and Sawkill Road, running to near the Milford/Dingman line.
“We’re presently doing engineering preliminaries and looking to environmental clearances," Goodsell said. "The work includes pavement replacement. They will remain much as they are now. Shoulders will be wider to 12 feet, and bridges will be replaced and widened with new shoulders.”
The Raymondskill Creek and Sawkill Road bridges will be replaced, he said. Improvements will also be made to the roadway, including roadside safety features.
“It now has some substandard side stones," Goodsell said. "More guiderails and other types of safety features will be improved.”
Some county stormwater management facilities will also be installed in Pike County, he said.

State-township cooperation needed

The project is currently in the preliminary stages, with the engineering expected to be completted by the end of the year. Construction will start in the spring of 2018 and to last between two to four years. There will be temporary traffic patterns, and lane crossovers in the middle for temporary one-lane traffic. Emergency parking areas will also be made approximately 1,000 feet from these areas in case of accidents or chemical spills. A temporary gate system will be installed in the concrete barriers.
Cooperation between the town and state is needed. Tunnel Road is township-owned and -maintained, while the state-owned I-84 is maintained by PennDOT.
Supervisors chair Tom Mincer said the road is known to be a site of many accidents. The project was meant to improve the side slopes along I-84.
“Have you met with our fire department?" Mincer asked Goodsell. "It’s a good idea because you’re talking about several accidents, some serious.”
He urged Goodsell to meet with the fire department, to make sure everyone is on the same page. Concern over Tunnel Road's head walls has been apparent since it was first built, he said.
“We’ve seen a lot of issues with it, and the township is concerned,” he said.
Goodsell said the plan involves replacing collapsing head walls with a different kind of wall on east side of Tunnel Road. The south end is in good condition compared to the other structures, he said, and Tunnel Road is in good structural condition.
Mincer asked about the width when the road goes under I-84. Goodsell said it will remain the same, with improvements at the ends, and an improved embankment.
“The main walls are to be replaced, upgraded on east and south ends," he said.
A box culvert will be installed.
Township secretary/treasurer Karen Kleist said the road is "becoming harder and harder to maintain, especially in winter.” Trucks are a special concern.
Mincer said the road has been a problem for the township for a long time. This is the best time to address it, before the actual construction, he said. He urged the engineering company to keep in touch with the township.
He stressed that his main concern was the safety of local residents.
Questions were raised about the echo sound, especially around mile markers between 41-2 and 41-9, from Tunnel Road — the “rubber burn,” and engine sounds that bounce off the walls right now. There is a downhill, where truckers engage their noisy brakes.
The interruption to traffic is intended to be no longer than two hours during construction during the day. The traffic will be one way, with no detour.
Another concern was the emergency access, but Mincer said it’s a separate issue that will probably be dealt with later.