PennDOT to begin Furnace Road paving project in East Buffalo Township

Drivers on Furnace Road in East Buffalo Township will face lane restrictions and brief Route 15 closures once PennDOT begins a paving project on the corridor between Old Schoolhouse Road and the crossover between Route 15 northbound and southbound lanes.

PennDOT said the work is set for Monday, May 11, through May 19, weather permitting. Crews will be on the road weekdays from 6 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The project covers Furnace Road, Route 2004, and includes patching, milling intersection tie-ins and paving at the Route 15 connection. During milling and paving at the intersection, short closures on Route 15 are expected, adding delays for commuters, delivery vehicles and anyone heading toward Lewisburg.

The job is a routine maintenance effort aimed at addressing roadway wear before it becomes a larger problem. When the work is done, the corridor should have a more even driving surface and a cleaner tie-in at the Route 15 crossover, which is one of the more important connectors in this part of Union County.

That matters in East Buffalo Township, a relatively compact municipality that the U.S. Census Bureau says had 7,421 residents in the 2020 Census across about 15.2 square miles. The township says it was erected in 1792, and it notes that Bucknell University lies mostly in East Buffalo Township and partly in Lewisburg Borough. That mix of homes, campus travel and local traffic is why even a short-term project on Furnace Road can ripple through daily routines.

PennDOT is directing motorists to 511PA for real-time traffic and weather information while the work is underway. For drivers using Furnace Road to move between Old Schoolhouse Road and Route 15, the next several weekday mornings and afternoons are likely to bring slower travel, lane shifts and added time on a corridor that links some of the busiest parts of East Buffalo Township.