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DALLAS — Construction on Lake Street related to the planned roundabout project will now begin Aug. 29, according to PennDOT.

A nearly 400-foot section of Lake Street, starting at the five-way intersection in the center of Dallas, will be shut down to traffic for excavation to realign the street to connect to the roundabout, said Michael S. Taluto, safety press officer for PennDOT. Other work includes installation of new stormwater drainage basins, sidewalks, curbs, repaving and line painting,

“Construction to Lake Street will last several months to a year,” said Taluto.

The road’s closure was initially scheduled for Monday, Aug. 21, but was pushed back to Thursday, Aug. 24, and again to Tuesday, Aug. 29, to accommodate Misericordia University first-year students moving on campus for the fall semester, Taluto said.

“PennDOT was gracious to work around our schedule,” Paul Krzywicki, the manager of Misericordia’s Office of Public Relations.

Misericordia expects 368 freshmen to move into on-campus housing Aug. 24, Krzywicki said.

The school’s fall Convocation Ceremony for first-year students, including 70 commuter students, is also slated the same day.

Meanwhile, Misericordia’s first day of classes is Aug. 28, when its 1,722 commuter students will need to get to campus, Krzywicki noted.

“The contractor (Latona Trucking) understood the problems the road closure could cause for first-year students and parents,” he said. “It allows us to get the academic year started.”

The roundabout will comprise a five-way intersection with Main, Church and Lake streets, Machell Avenue and Route 415.

Construction will continue to impact motorists until the project’s anticipated completion of Oct. 31, 2019, weather pending, Taluto said.

The single-lane, oval-shaped roundabout’s design will decrease vehicles’ speed while allowing traffic to flow through Dallas and make the area safer for pedestrians.

The roundabout will have a 19-foot travel lane plus a 16-foot truck apron to provide space for emergency vehicles to navigate around vehicles that may stop in the circle as well as room for tractor-trailers to maneuver around the oval.

The roundabout was proposed by a 2005 Back Mountain Area Transportation Study as a way to alleviate traffic projected as the Back Mountain area continues to grow.

Last week, PennDOT posted a construction sign that announced Lake Street in Dallas would be closed Monday, Aug. 21. The road closure was changed to Aug. 24 and again to Aug. 29 to accommodate Misericordia University’s incoming freshmen and start of the fall semester.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/web1_LakeSt.-Aug-21.jpg.optimal.jpgLast week, PennDOT posted a construction sign that announced Lake Street in Dallas would be closed Monday, Aug. 21. The road closure was changed to Aug. 24 and again to Aug. 29 to accommodate Misericordia University’s incoming freshmen and start of the fall semester. Eileen Godin | Times Leader

By Eileen Godin

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Reach Eileen Godin at 570-991-6387 or on Twitter @TLNews.