MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette A couple enjoy a bicycle ride on a deserted Warrensville Road near Mosteller Road Wednesday afternoon. The road has been closed from Mosteller Road to Lick Run Road due to shoulder and road damage due to erosion along Mill Creek.

While one section of roadway east of downtown Williamsport is reopening, another section of roadway — Warrensville Road as it crosses the municipal line between Loyalsock and Eldred townships — will remain closed.

East Third Street between State and Basin street reopens Friday. The now-completed upgrades were part of the Gateway Project, a reconstruction project which partnered the City of Williamsport, Lycoming College, and the state Department of Transportation.

Meanwhile, an embankment failure on Warrensville Road is expected to cost $4 million to repair, and the project won’t be completed for another two years, according to the state Department of Transportation.

The road has been closed since Aug. 2019 from Mosteller Road in Eldred Township to Lick Run Road in Loyalsock Township due to safety concerns.

“The embankment failed due to the numerous flooding events and above average rainfall that occurred prior to the closure,” Lloyd Ayres, PennDOT engineer in the design unit, said. “The flooding events washed away portions of the base/bottom of the slope.”

He added that the additional water in the ground weakened the slope and above average rainfall “accelerated or progressed the failure.”

“The slope will need to be rebuilt with rock from the bottom to the top … The roadway will need to be rebuilt after the slope is repaired,” Ayres continued. “The construction is needed to stabilize the slope. If we do nothing, the roadway will continue to slide down the slope toward the creek. This will require a lot of excavation to remove the material from the falling slope and a large quantity of rock to build the slope back.”

PennDOT is working through a design that will need to include permitting, environmental clearances, relocating utilities, acquiring a right-of-way and developing specific plans for repairs and requirements for the bidding process.

Ayres said the tentative schedule for repairs is during the construction season of March 2022 to November 2022. A detour is in place using Broad and Montour streets, Route 87 and Route 973.