To maintain progress and address the relentless rise in costs for infrastructure improvements, the Department of Transportation is reevaluating plans for relieving traffic congestion in and around Marshalls Creek in eastern Monroe County..

Significant increases in costs for cement, steel and petroleum since 2003 were at the top of the list of factors that almost tripled the estimated cost to build the previously planned project. What once had been budgeted at about $70 million for the proposed 3.5-mile four-lane limited access highway had ballooned to a projection of more than $200 million.

This infrastructure-funding dilemma is not unique to our region. Across the state, numerous other projects are undergoing similar reviews because of similar dramatic cost increases. The process is further complicated by the ever-pressing need to fix Pennsylvania’s thousands of deteriorating bridges.

With our funding resources limited, soaring costs and a hearty appetite statewide for projects to increase highway capacity have left us in a position where we must make hard choices. And while it is difficult to tell the people of one community that it cannot have the project it had long expected, the reality is that we must take the steps we have taken to ensure the future solvency of our transportation program in Monroe County and across the Commonwealth.

As we continue to move forward toward relief of the traffic congestion in Marshalls Creek, we have assembled an Advisory Committee made up of local officials, business operators and community representatives. Their charge is to develop a scalable, affordable solution that will address the traffic issues in and around the Village.

As we work toward that goal, we will use this website to keep you apprised of the progress of the Committee and the developing details of a Marshalls Creek Traffic Relief Project. We sincerely thank everyone for their patience as we work toward a timely resolution of the difficult transportation challenges that we face.

Sincerely,
Michael W. Rebert, PE
District Executive
Engineering District 5-0