What does a drilling boom look like?
In Towanda, Bradford County, it looks like trucks rumbling across Veterans Memorial Bridge and down Main Street. The vehicles, hauling water, chemicals, equipment, sand and dirt more to and from natural gas drilling sites, have been a steady presence since 2008, when hydraulic fracturing began in surrounding Bradford County.
“The traffic here is horrendous,” says Joe Benjamin, a recent college graduate who lives in Towanda. But the increased flow also means more revenue for Towanda’s businesses. “That’s why we never complained about the traffic,” notes Karen Parkhurst, who operates a Towanda eatery called the Weigh Station. “When there’s traffic there’s people coming into your restaurant.”
Read the full story at our partner StateImpcat PA's website.
