SCRANTON — A year-long closure of part of heavily-traveled North Main Avenue in North Scranton for a bridge replacement might tie up that neighborhood in traffic knots, one civic leader fears.
The road will close starting Tuesday for a $6.4 million replacement of a bridge that carries the North Main Avenue over Leggetts Creek, the city and state Department of Transportation announced Thursday.
The closure of the 2700 block of North Main Avenue between Marvine Avenue and Watkins Street will last through the winter of 2026-27.
Motorists should avoid the 2700 block of North Main Avenue during the project and detours will exist.
PennDOT and the city say drivers should use a suggested 2.1-mile detour from North Main Avenue to the recently replaced Parker Street bridge and along Boulevard Avenue to reconnect with Main Avenue at Dickson Corners near NBT Bank. Truck traffic must take Interstate 81 to Exit 191A (Route 6 Business Dickson City) or Exit 190 (Main Avenue) as a detour.
During the project, implementation of traffic signal timing adjustments will start at the intersection of Commerce Boulevard and Main Avenue to the on-ramp of Interstate 81 at Schiff’s. A new traffic signal also will be installed at the intersection of Boulevard Avenue and Parker Street as part of the additional traffic expected on this route.
Other detour signs already posted along North Main Avenue and side streets would send vehicles around the construction zone, via the residential Marvine Avenue and Wells Street.
North Main Avenue, which becomes South Main Avenue in West Side, already is congested, from North Scranton all the way to Taylor, and having the road closed completely for the bridge replacement in North Scranton likely will not go unnoticed, especially by residents on side streets that may get an influx of new traffic, said North Scranton Neighborhood Association President Kathy Quinn.
“It’s going to be bananas,” Quinn said Friday. “It’s just going to be a big inconvenience. But, that being said, a bridge has to be replaced. What can you do? It guess it’s just unavoidable.”
Originally constructed in 1900, the bridge is a 36-foot span carrying North Main Avenue over Leggetts Creek that is a tributary to the nearby Lackawanna River.
A bridge of North Main Avenue over Leggetts Creek in North Scranton on Friday, Jan. 16, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
A bridge of North Main Avenue over Leggetts Creek in North Scranton on Friday, Jan. 16, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
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A bridge of North Main Avenue over Leggetts Creek in North Scranton on Friday, Jan. 16, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
The old bridge features stone-block construction of its arch and walls.
Representatives of some local businesses near bridge who declined to be identified expressed mixed opinions. One feared a big loss of customer traffic, while another thought it won’t be so bad because businesses on both sides of the closed bridge will still have public access to their estsablishments.
Other bridge projects
The North Main Avenue Bridge replacement is one of four bridge projects included in the Scranton Local Bridge Project, undertaken in collaboration with PennDOT. The other bridges in this initiative include:
• The West Lackawanna Avenue Bridge, between downtown and West Side, which is not yet under reconstruction and remains open.
• The newly reconstructed Parker Street Bridge—which reopened in summer 2025.
The Parker Street Bridge over the Lackawanna River in Scranton on Friday, Jan. 16, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
• The East Elm Street Bridge, which closed for repairs in February 2024 and has since been removed, while a new span here remains under construction and expected to completed later this year.
A new Elm Street Bridge being constructed over the Lackawanna River in Scranton on Friday, Jan. 16, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
A new Elm Street Bridge being constructed over the Lackawanna River in Scranton on Friday, Jan. 16, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
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A new Elm Street Bridge being constructed over the Lackawanna River in Scranton on Friday, Jan. 16, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
Meanwhile, in December, PennDOT opened two lanes of a newly constructed Green Ridge Street Bridge. While traffic flows in both directions of the Green Ridge Street Bridge, this project is not complete and additional work to continue through 2026 will include removal of a temporary bridge and installation of new sidewalks, drainage systems and traffic signals.
The Green Ridge Street Bridge over the Lackawanna River in Scranton on Friday, Jan. 16, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
The Green Ridge Street Bridge over the Lackawanna River in Scranton on Friday, Jan. 16, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
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The Green Ridge Street Bridge over the Lackawanna River in Scranton on Friday, Jan. 16, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)