Hole Opens on Scranton Expressway

Wednesday, July 11, UDPATED: 4:20 p.m.
By Josh Brogadir

Southbound trucks are now banned from using the North Scranton Expressway to get into the city of Scranton. PennDOT put the restriction in place Wednesday afternoon after a huge subsidence opened on the roadway.

Click for larger image
The hole opened early Wednesday morning on the North Scranton Expressway.

PennDOT officials got the call just after 6 a.m. about the hole on the North Scranton Expressway. One lane of the expressway is closed in each direction but traffic is still moving.

Officials from the Office of Surface Mining and PennDOT officials are trying to explain why the hole opened. It is about five feet by ten feet. It opened up under the concrete barrier that separates the two sides of the expressway. They think it may be a mine subsidence because material has fallen away.

A PennDOT engineer explained that the structure of the bridge over Seventh Avenue is safe. He said there is a 15-inch concrete slab that cars pass over which is intact. There is no danger for drivers heading in or out of the city.

The downpours late Tuesday may have contributed to widening the hole.

"We're actually looking at the cross pipe to see if it was broken and see if it might have washed the fines out. But that may well be, and we're trying to figure that out now, if it's just a mine subsidence or if it was a combination of both with the heavy rains and the mines," explained PennDOT engineer Harold Hill.

As a temporary fix, crews will bring in rocks to fill in the hole and use cement grout for reinforcement.

The job will then be bid out as an emergency bridge repair project, and a contractor will drill test borings to find out what happened.

If mine voids are found they will need to be filled.

Truckers heading into the city will have to exit the expressway at the North Main Avenue exit or the Keyser Avenue exit until repairs can be made.

PennDOT engineers said this has happened before in the same spot a few years ago. It was reinforced then and will, of course, have to be reinforced now.

I saw this on my way into work wednesday morning. I think that's pretty close to where the diamond colliery was. Could have been bad if it happened latter in the day.

Manage to take any pictures of it? Would be interesting to see what it looks like before they fill it.

Miner Greg

There was a picture of it in the Times Tribune. I will have to see if i still have the paper at work.

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Bryan

Well there's Your problem - Mythbusters

Caution: anything posted above may not be real, I am imaginary.

I unfortunatley didn't get any pictures of it, it was in a bad spot to stop and get out to take a picture.

hey just got back from ohio and find out about this wow, i do know there was an airshaft right next to the expressway at theodore st. there is an underpass there, wonder if that has anything to do with it. this is just speculation as i havent seen pics or where it is yet.

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Quick search and i found this.

http://www.thetimes-tribune.com/site/in ... 0572&rfi=8

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Bryan

Well there's Your problem - Mythbusters

Caution: anything posted above may not be real, I am imaginary.

figures were both gone when it happens.......


ADAM! wheres the photos!

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This ain't longwall... this is long hole!