I have spent a boat load of time bashing our President for the things he has done so far in office and rightly so. However, I have a Gripe about something that hits home right here in the Kingston and Forty Fort area of the Wyoming Valley. This Gripe has to do with our wonderful state department called PennDot. Believe you me, it is easy to have an issue with what PennDot does, especially when it comes to the roads in the Keystone state. In most cases, it seems that the PennDot road crews are constantly working on the same stretches of roads like Interstate 81 between Dupont and Dunmore without finalization of their project.
A few weeks ago, PennDot started to work on the bridge portion of Rutter Ave. or what I call the hump of the Cross Valley. This is a very high traffic area that links Kingston to Forty Fort and both communities to the Cross Valley Expressway. It's a vital link between the West Side communities and the shopping areas up and around the Wyoming Valley Mall as well as Interstate 81. Speaking of the Mall, does anyone actually shop there anymore? Anyway, PennDot started work on the lane coming from Kingston to Forty Fort and blocked off the entire road starting just after the CV entrance. Believe me, I am thrilled to death that they are repairing the bridge and the road to make it safer for drivers. However, it seems to me that not a lot of thought was put into this plan other than to tear the place up and fix what may be broken.
What the brain surgeons at Penn Dot did was to prohibit traffic from moving in the North bound lanes totally while maintaining the two lanes moving South. They did not split the South bound lanes into two lanes moving North and South. Wouldn't that have made sense? Instead the traffic can only move in one direction which causes drivers to go up E. Bennett St. to access Wyoming Ave to travel North. This detour has now caused traffic jams at the light on the corner of E. Bennett and Wyoming Ave. The jams have occurred because no one at PennDot thought far enough ahead to change the traffic signals to accommodate additional traffic. Also, you have another light about 30 yards down the Ave., for the turn onto Church St.. When this light turns red, the traffic backs up past Bennett St. and stops people turning right with the green light to sit and wait. Of course, when the light at Church turns green, the light at Bennett turns red. A proverbial log jam of stupidity.
Speaking of stupidity and lights, lets talk about the light at the end of the CV exit ramp into Forty Fort. Yes, its still functional even though absolutely NO traffic can come from the Kingston side. WHAT? WHAT? ARE YOU FREAKIN' KIDDING ME? Drivers have to actually stop at a red light even though there is a (0) zero chance of traffic coming from the other direction. It may be one of the dumbest things I have ever seen. Has anyone at PennDot actually thought about this? I'm sure the answer is NO! I just don't get it. Maybe, they don't know how to change the signal pattern. Maybe they forgot about it or maybe they just don't give a rats ass about it.
The Bottom Line here is since this functional light is so stupid, I regularly slow down and simply blow through it. I drives me crazy when something doesn't make sense and I have to abide by it. To all of you motorists who exit on this ramp, I say blow through this light whenever you can. There is no way in hell that you can get hit by oncoming traffic while the lug nuts of PennDot are working on the bridge. If someone in front of you is dumb enough to actually stop and wait for the light to turn green, lay on your horn until the nitwit in front of you goes deaf or runs the red light. Wake up PennDot and think through these projects. Think about not only the traffic problems that are caused by the direct work, but also the jam ups that may occur from the detours.
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