The first of a series of Thursday morning blasts will take place today along Route 28 in Harmar, where a firm working for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is carrying out an $8.5 million hillside stablilization contract.

Traffic is to be stopped in both directions on Route 28, as well as on nearby Freeport Road, for up to 15 minutes, starting at 10 a.m.

If a longer closure is necessary to clean up dislodged rock and debris on Route 28, Freeport Road will be used as a detour.

The blasts are to occur every Thursday morning, weather permitting, on 200- to 300-foot-long sections of the slide-prone cliff where fallen rock and debris have hindered traffic numerous times in the past.

About 77,000 cubic yards of material are to be removed and a new "shelf" is to be created to catch falling rock from the cliff that resulted from highway excavation about 30 years ago, when the divided highway was built. Then, PennDOT's contractor will build a 1,600-foot-long protective fence to snare and contain falling rock in the future.