Route 309 North Cross Valley Expressway over Susquehanna River Bridge Project

County: Luzerne
Municipality: Plains Township, Kingston and Forty Fort Boroughs
State Route:309
Local Name: Cross Valley Expressway
Project Type: Bridge Project
MPMS Number: 114271
Proposed Construction Start:Winter 2029
Proposed Construction End: Fall 2031
Last Updated: January 28, 2026

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) invites the public to a virtual plans display regarding the North Cross Valley Expressway bridge rehabilitation project over the Susquehanna River, Luzerne County. The proposed project is to rehabilitate the existing Route 309 (North Cross Valley Expressway) Bridge over the Susquehanna River between the Plains on/off and the Kingston on/off ramps. 

The digital version of the information will be available to the public to view online from February 5, 2026, through February 19, 2026.

The purpose of the plans display is to provide a project overview, display and describe the traffic maintenance during construction, and let the public know when construction will occur. 

The project is located in Plains Township, Kingston and Forty Fort boroughs in Luzerne County, and consists of the rehabilitation of the existing 17-span steel plate girder bridge that is approximately 2,278’ long. The partial superstructure replacement of the structure’s fracture critical spans and the rehabilitation of the remaining spans of the superstructure. The project will also include pavement overlays, lighting up grades and a few off-site improvements. 

To facilitate construction activities, the temporary traffic control scheme will utilize staged construction that will shift traffic away from the active work areas. This scheme requires pavement rehabilitation outside the project’s full depth pavement reconstruction limits and bridge rehabilitation to accommodate shifted traffic.

A temporary moveable barrier system will be implemented to actively manage traffic flow multiple times daily by adjusting the lane configurations. The location of the moveable barrier system will vary depending on the time of day and anticipated traffic volumes.

Two long-term detours are proposed for the project. Ramp A-A will be closed while the Route 309 southbound structure is rehabilitated. Ramp B-B will be closed for the majority of construction activities. The proposed detour route for both ramps is to utilize the adjacent Wilkes-Barre / Center City interchange.