Section of North Main Ave in Scranton to close for months to replacement bridge

SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA CO. (WOLF) — A section of North Main Avenue in Scranton will be closed beginning later this month as crews prepare to replace an aging bridge, city officials announced.

The City of Scranton, working alongside the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, said North Main Avenue will shut down between Marvine Avenue and Watkins Street starting Tuesday, January 20, 2026. The closure is expected to last through the winter while construction is underway.

Drivers are being urged to plan ahead and avoid the 2700 block of North Main Avenue during the project. A designated detour will route traffic approximately 2.1 miles away, directing motorists from Main Avenue to Parker Street, then along Boulevard Avenue, before reconnecting with Main Avenue near Dickson Corners by NBT Bank. Truck traffic will be required to use Interstate 81, exiting at either Route 6 Business in Dickson City or Main Avenue.

To help manage increased traffic along the detour, officials say signal timing will be adjusted from the intersection of Commerce Boulevard and Main Avenue to the Interstate 81 on-ramp at Schiff’s. A new traffic signal will also be installed at Boulevard Avenue and Parker Street.

The North Main Avenue Bridge replacement is part of the larger Scranton Local Bridge Project, a multi-bridge initiative being carried out in coordination with PennDOT. Other bridges included in the program are the West Lackawanna Avenue Bridge, the Parker Street Bridge—which reopened in the summer of 2025—and the East Elm Street Bridge, which closed for repairs in early 2024 and is expected to reopen later this year.

The North Main Avenue Bridge, originally built in 1900, spans approximately 36 feet over a section of Leggetts Creek before it flows into the Lackawanna River. The cost of the replacement project is estimated at $6.4 million.

Meanwhile, PennDOT recently announced the opening of the newly rebuilt Green Ridge Street Bridge in Scranton. Additional work related to that $16.9 million project will continue through 2026, including the removal of a temporary bridge and installation of new sidewalks, drainage improvements, and traffic signals.