But come mid-July, Usner may see more traffic than usual.

		Joe's hot tips Call off sick. Go by boat. Relocate. Come early and stay late. Many drivers who live north of Etna and who can't tolerate the 31st Street Bridge situation - and who can blame them? - take a longer but less chaotic route via the Pennsylvania Turnpike, I-79 and I-279. If you carpool, it's not a bad deal. And you can use the I-279 HOV lane.

Across the Allegheny River, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has plans to close the exit ramp from the southbound lanes of Route 28 onto Route 8 north. A longer, improved ramp will be built in its place.

PennDOT expects the $6 million project to last until October. In the interim, an estimated 20,000 detoured motorists will pass Tastee Freez daily. About 10 percent of the traffic will come during morning and afternoon peak periods.

Usner isn’t quite sure how to respond.

"It could be good. It could be bad," she said. "It could be so congested people won’t be able to get into our lot."

On the other hand, some of the motorists could become customers, Usner said.

"In a way, I’m excited about it," she said. "But are they going to be able to stop?"

When Exit 5 on southbound Route 28 closes, drivers destined for Etna or other points north would instead take Exit 6. They would cross the Allegheny over the Highland Park Bridge and bear right onto Butler Street, passing Tastee Freez.

From Butler Street, motorists would go to the 62nd Street Bridge, cross the river again and head straight to Route 8 through Etna.

In light traffic, the detour adds about five minutes to the trip, but there is no telling how long the trip will take until Exit 5 southbound actually closes.

		Etna Interchange Map

Like Usner, Yvette Kandor struck a positive note about the prospect of increased traffic, saying motorists could become more aware of her business. Kandor owns Yvette’s Highland Park Florist on Butler Street.

But Kandor said traffic was already busy along Butler Street during evening rush hour.

"At 5 o’clock, I have to tell my customers, ‘Be careful. They’ll mow you down.’ Will it hurt my business or will it improve my business? I don’t know."

Kandor said roughly 40 percent of her customers visited the store, while the remaining place telephone orders. "I think my regular customers will still come," she said. "It may affect new customers."

Etna Borough Manager Mary Ellen Ramage said the new exit ramp would improve safety. Currently, motorists taking Exit 5 southbound must merge with two other traffic streams -- one from Route 28 northbound and the other from the 62nd Street Bridge.

"You don’t ever have clear, open vision," Ramage said.

After the work is completed, motorists will be able to leave Route 28 southbound in their own exit lane.

The ramp work is a part of larger $40 million package of improvements to the Route 28/Route 8 interchange. PennDOT anticipates the series of upgrades will last five years.

The biggest headache has yet to come. PennDOT has plans to close Route 28 southbound entirely at Etna to expand the mainline bridge going through the interchange. The bridge will grow from one to two lanes, and work is scheduled to begin during the 2000 construction season.