After two recent large water main breaks significantly disrupted downtown Scranton, Pennsylvania American Water will accelerate a $5 million project to replace 1 mile of old mains downtown by starting this work early.

The project is now set to begin in the spring instead of in 2028 as initially planned.

Old 24-inch and 6-inch water main pipes will get replaced with new 16-inch mains under seven blocks of North Washington Avenue, between Lackawanna Avenue and East Gibson Street; and under three blocks of Mulberry Street, between North Washington and Madison avenues, the company announced Wednesday.

PAW maintains around 300 miles of water mains throughout Scranton and replaces 5-10 miles of aging pipe annually. New pipes strengthen service reliability and increase capacity for businesses, residents and visitors.

“With approximately 50 miles of water main in Scranton dating back to before 1900, projects like this are essential to modernizing the city’s water system,” Pennsylvania American Water President Justin Ladner said in a statement. “We’re replacing aging water mains at a pace two-times faster than the national average, helping improve reliability, increase capacity and support the future of downtown Scranton.

This project also will create new connections that will give crews more flexibility to isolate sections for maintenance or repairs without disrupting a larger area.

“These upgrades will help improve reliability, reduce the potential for service disruptions, and support the long-term water needs of downtown businesses, institutions and residents. The new infrastructure is expected to serve customers for decades to come while strengthening one of the region’s oldest water systems,” the company announcement said.

Preliminary planning, permitting and coordination for the accelerated project will start in coming weeks downtown, in advance of a spring 2027 construction start. To minimize impacts and maintain access to businesses, work will be completed in phases and coordinated with the city’s downtown streetscape improvements. PAW also said it is “coordinating closely” with city engineer Reilly Associates to align the water-main project with streetscape improvements.

The announcement of the accelerated project comes after back-to-back water-main breaks in July occurring about two weeks apart walloped the downtown. The latter break on July 27 of a 24-inch main from 1885 in the front of the William J. Nealon Federal Building & U.S. Courthouse gushed water down the 200 block of North Washington Avenue, forcing the closure of numerous downtown buildings and buckling the road in front of the Lackawanna County Courthouse.

At a media event on July 28, Scranton Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti on July 28 demanded that Pennsylvania American Water make as a top priority replacing the 140-year-old water mains in the downtown and move those projects to the top of a replacement project schedule.

Later on July 28 during a weekly Scranton City Council meeting, council members blasted the water company for a delay in addressing aging pipes and reactive approach when problems arise. They also called on the utility company to support the impacted businesses and residents and attend a caucus following the council’s August recess.

Council returned to session in September and has a public caucus with water company officials scheduled for Tuesday at 5:45 p.m. in council chambers at City Hall, before the weekly regular council meeting at 6:30 p.m.

Meanwhile, the water company also announced Wednesday it would give a $50,000 American Water Charitable Foundation grant to the nonprofit Scranton Tomorrow organization. The donation will support Scranton Tomorrow’s Safe, Clean & Green Program that promotes neighborhood revitalization, environmental stewardship and community engagement throughout the city.