A project that was first expected to take a couple of weeks in Luzerne County wrapped up in just one night.
Route 309 in the Back Mountain was shut down for a bridge project from 7 p.m. Wednesday until Thursday morning. In that time, crews were able to make all the repairs necessary, and that means the road will not be closed for an extended period as first thought.
The bridge carries Overbrook Road over busy Route 309.
It is the main road linking Wilkes-Barre and Dallas.
Workers were busy cutting away concrete on the bridge that takes Overbrook Road over Route 309 near Dallas.
PennDOT said the project comes after parts of loose concrete came crashing down a few days earlier.
About 25,000 vehicles pass underneath the bridge each day.
To keep any more chunks from falling, PennDOT closed 309 and detoured traffic to do its work. That had nearby businesses concerned.
“I'm hoping it doesn't deter people from coming out,” said Connor’s Grillroom Server, Danielle Sabol.
Connor’s Grillroom is right along the closed stretch of Route 309.
“Seven o'clock to 8:30 p.m. or 9 p.m. is our busiest times. People are coming home from work, passing by. That's usually our busiest time. Tonight that's obviously not the case," Said Sabol.
“It’s going to be dead,” said one of the few customers at Curry Donuts. It's open 24 hours but there's no traffic passing by on nights now.
“At night it gets quite busy. The young people come in, they like the coffee, they like their friends," said Lynn Kerneg about Curry Donuts.
While the work is underway and the road is closed, the businesses want people to know they are open and hope that this work doesn't take too long.
“We're hoping they find a way. They like the coffee. They like their friends,” said Kerneg.