2012-05-14 22:37:00
BERNARD HARRIS
Roundabouts, those circular islands used to move traffic through intersections, may eventually find their way to Lancaster County.
The state Department of Transportation is making a pitch to local officials to begin installing roundabouts, particularly at intersections with a frequent cra......
2012-05-10 11:59:00
CINDY STAUFFER
Blame the GPS.
That's what a tractor-trailer driver did after he wedged his too-tall, too-heavy truck in a local covered bridge Wednesday night.
Rubin Zhu, 54, of Monterey Park, Calif., was heading east through the Hunsecker Road covered bridge that connects Manheim and Upper Leac......
2012-05-08 22:18:00
P.J. REILLY
Lancaster County commissioners Wednesday are expected to award a $1.24 million contract to replace a bridge on Eshelman Mill Road.
Grace Industries of Bath is expected to start the project in West Lampeter Township within 30 days, according to Charlie Douts, director of the county's Facil......
2012-05-06 00:15:00
CHIP SMEDLEY
"Aloha," the email began, possibly because the writer believed she had just been stranded on an island. That island is a precariously positioned Red Rose Transit Authority bus stop on the north side of Harrisburg Pike, just past the intersection with Toys R Us. The emailer explains she ......
2012-05-02 22:22:00
STAFF REPORT
The Route 472 bridge over Octoraro Lake, between Lancaster and Chester counties, will be closed this weekend starting around 6 p.m. Friday, state officials said Wednesday.
It will reopen no later than 6 a.m. Monday.
The closure will allow construction crews to remove six beams as ......
2012-05-01 21:57:00
BERNARD HARRIS
Michelle Boczon looks over her shoulder every time she crosses Lime Street.
It took her months to bring herself to walk across the intersection again, after she was struck by a turning motorist in November 2010.
"I didn't even know I was hit until I was on the ground. That's how f......
2012-04-29 00:15:00
CHIP SMEDLEY
A Lancaster city sidewalk — or, more specifically, the lack of one — has raised concerns for downtown pedestrians. The sidewalk location is 215 N. Queen St., site of the former Empire TV & Appliance building. The building's facade collapsed in April 2010 when workers were exc......
2012-04-25 20:52:00
TOM KNAPP
The Susquehanna Association for the Blind and Vision Impaired is laying off 30 people — about 20 percent of its workforce — the Lancaster-based nonprofit agency announced Tuesday.
SABVI president and CEO Dennis Steiner said Wednesday that the layoffs are due to decreased spend......
2012-04-23 22:26:00
BERNARD HARRIS
In August, the state Department of Transportation hopes to seek bids from construction companies to build a new Lititz Pike bridge.
The $26.25 million project would include a new span over the Amtrak rails, and a new road alignment connecting Lititz Pike directly with Duke Street.
...
2012-04-22 00:20:00
JON RUTTER
When a cardboard box fell off the trailer ahead, Roy Shipman's car was upon it so fast he didn't have time to be scared. "I only had time to make one little swerve," recalled Shipman of the accident two months ago on Interstate 95 in South Carolina. But he couldn't avoid ......
2012-04-22 00:14:00
CHIP SMEDLEY
A question about those "yield to pedestrians in crosswalk" signs that seem to be popping up in various locations led The Watchdog on something of an unexpected goose chase. The sign that sparked the search is in the city of Lancaster on Fairview Avenue at Price Elementary School. Two residen......
2012-04-13 16:26:00
NORENE K. LAHR
West Earl Township supervisors looked at present, past and future as they took action on various topics during their meeting Monday. "Present" matters included review of the traffic signal timing east of Schaum's Corner, involving the intersection of Routes 272/222 and 772. Police Chie......
2012-04-10 12:56:00
STAFF
Students from five Lancaster County high schools will compete Thursday in a safe-driving competition at the Lancaster County Public Safety Training Center in East Hempfield Township. PennDOT is looking for the "best of the best" among teen drivers. The event takes place from 10 a.m. to noon.......
2012-04-02 22:50:00
BERNARD HARRIS
At some intersections in Philadelphia, motorists who run red lights can find themselves ticketed even if there is no police officer around.
Cameras at 19 intersections automatically snap a picture of a red-light runner's license plate. Tickets are sent to their address.
And, Phila......
2012-03-30 22:22:00
BERNARD HARRIS
When the state Department of Transportation began work on a pair of bridges earlier this month on Route 272, an electronic message board was placed along the roadway near the intersection with Route 322 in Ephrata.
A helpful message advises northbound motorists to expect delays on Route 2......
2012-03-30 20:19:00
STAFF REPORT
Work on the Route 472 bridge, which spans the Octoraro Creek Reservoir between Lancaster and Chester counties, will not begin Monday as planned.
That work will begin Tuesday, state Department of Transportation officials announced late Friday.
On Tuesday, temporary traffic signals ......
2012-03-28 21:02:00
TIM MEKEEL
It's fitting that the Companion Animal Hospital's location is a former model house — the small business has a family atmosphere.
But the small-animal veterinary clinic needs a new home.
Having outgrown its current facility, the Elizabethtown business is planning to build a n......
2012-03-27 20:34:00
STAFF REPORT
The Route 472 bridge over the Octoraro Creek Reservoir will be restricted to a single lane — with traffic signals on each end alternating traffic — beginning Monday and continuing through November.
The 62-year-old, three-span bridge connects Colerain Township in Lancaster......
2012-03-24 17:34:00
GIL SMART, Associate Editor
A skirmish in Quarryville Borough's sidewalk war ended earlier this month. The long war goes on. For five years, Quarryville residents have been at odds with officials over a borough policy that when a street is reconstructed, sidewalks must be built or replaced — a......
2012-03-19 16:54:00
STAFF REPORT
State department of transportation officials today closed West Lampeter Township's Gypsy Hill Road bridge, which is slated for replacement this year.
Gypsy Hill Road will now be closed to through traffic between Lancaster city and Route 222 for up to seven and a half months during the pro......
2012-03-18 00:13:00
CHIP SMEDLEY
The water is no longer on top of (as opposed to under, where it should be) the bridge. That's because last week a PennDOT work crew fixed a drain that wasn't draining on the southeast corner of the new Duke Street bridge across the Conestoga River near the entrance to Lancaste......
2012-03-17 17:03:00
GIL SMART, Associate Editor
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is preparing for the Lititz Pike bridge replacement project — by using its power of eminent domain to take portions of several properties that lie in the path of the new traffic patterns. Late last month PennDOT filed a "decl......
2012-03-12 22:44:00
TOM MURSE
A controversial proposal requiring all Pennsylvania voters to show certain photo identification at their polling places could make it more difficult for many disabled veterans to cast ballots.
The legislation being debated by the state House would not permit disabled veterans to use photo......
2012-03-11 16:44:00
CINDY HUMMEL
A Strasburg Township man's six-year effort to see a bridge replaced may finally pay off. Tom Long has lived near the bridge, which carries Route 741 over the Pequea Creek, his entire life. He said he watched it change over the decades — since he played there as a child during Wor......
2012-03-09 14:09:00
STAFF REPORT
Motorists traveling west on Route 30 will experience delays on the Wright's Ferry Bridge over the Susquehanna River beginning Monday morning as crews limit traffic to one lane.
This restriction will continue until about 3 p.m., when a new westbound express lane will be opened to traffic, ......
2012-03-08 22:52:00
BERNARD HARRIS
A banner hanging in Lancaster's Amtrak station advertises a special promotion for travelers going to the current Philadelphia flower show.
The 15 percent reduction on tickets on Amtrak's Keystone line is an effort to get more people to ride the rails rather than drive.
In the near......
2012-03-07 14:52:00
PATRICK BURNS
Brecknock Township supervisors are concerned that traffic being detoured around a disabled bridge on Route 897 is damaging roads and will require costly repairs. Board Chairman Garth Wise suggested the township petition PennDOT for road-repair reimbursement for work along Pleasan......
2012-03-06 15:40:00
PATRICK BURNS
Drivers who pass through Earl Township on a regular basis have likely encountered delays at the intersection that connects Wanner Road, Railroad Avenue and Route 322 — but that may change. Township roadmaster Lee Zimmerman told supervisors on Monday that the state's Department of Trans......
2012-03-04 00:14:00
CHIP SMEDLEY
A commuter who uses Route 741 (Millersville Road section) daily is having problems at the intersection with Charlestown Road. Drivers headed north who want to turn left onto Charlestown Road or continue straight through the intersection get an "advanced green" light — meaning southb......
2012-03-02 21:39:00
STAFF REPORT
A repair and resurfacing project on a 4-mile-plus stretch of Route 23 east of Lancaster will begin on Monday.
Under a $3.1 million contract awarded last June to Pennsy Supply Inc. of Annville, Landis Valley Road will be realigned at the intersection of Route 23.
The work includes ......
2012-02-26 00:12:00
CHIP SMEDLEY
Perseverance pays off. Two weeks ago, The Watchdog reported problems Grandview Heights residents had with two overstuffed Planet Aid donation bins at Fountain and New Holland avenues. At that time, residents had made numerous contacts with Planet Aid, which finally dispatched a driver t......
2012-02-23 22:18:00
AD CRABLE
In a way, Lisa Sanchez will miss one of Lancaster County's last "singing" bridges.
But in another way, she won't.
Sanchez is a naturalist at Lancaster County Central Park. She can't count how many times a rumbling sound would fill the air during one of her outdoor programs, drawin......
2012-02-22 22:01:00
DAVID O'CONNOR
Officials in Manheim Township and East Hempfield Township are teaming up on a proposal to replace a bridge for an estimated $2 million.
The two-lane span connects Dairy Road to Rohrerstown Road, which also carries motorists to the Route 283 interchange.
Each township would contrib......
2012-02-21 22:04:00
P.J. REILLY
Correction Feb. 22, 2011 — The article below regarding county plans to replace the Eshelman Mill and Wabash Road bridges contained incorrect information. The existing Eshelman Mill Road bridge will remain open during construction of ......
2012-02-19 00:16:00
CHIP SMEDLEY
A regular reader of Lancaster Lookout is responsible for bringing attention to a problem the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation says it will fix. The reader drives South Duke Street and the new bridge across the Conestoga River. Every time it rains a large puddle appears on the southe......
2012-02-14 21:05:00
STAFF REPORT
The westbound Route 30 bridge over the Susquehanna River will be restricted to a single lane Wednesday so potholes can be filled.
The closure of the left "passing lane" on the Wright's Ferry Bridge between Lancaster and York counties will occur between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., weather permittin......
2012-02-11 22:52:00
LARRY ALEXANDER
Lancaster County's latest winter storm, while not dumping much in the way of snow, made up for it in wind, frigid air and icy roads. The light blanket of snow, up to an inch in some places, that greeted Lancaster Countians when they arose Saturday morning, was largely gone by ......
2012-02-10 22:17:00
DAN NEPHIN
Up to two inches of snow are expected by about 6 a.m. Saturday, with a similar amount expected later in the day and falling temperatures that could cause freezing on wet roads at night, according to meteorologists.
"The snow is kind of a nuisance event. It's not going to be a crippling ev......
2012-02-09 22:44:00
P.J. REILLY
Nine local development projects were honored recently by the Lancaster County Planning Commission as recipients of 2011 Envision Leadership Awards. The awards are given annually to raise awareness of smart growth in Lancaster County.
The winners' projects met smart-growth standards &mdash......
2012-02-07 23:04:00
BERNARD HARRIS
In the 52 years that Melvin Martin has been driving in Gap, he's seen the traffic at the intersection of Routes 30 and 41 grow much worse.
On Fridays and Saturdays, it typically sits bumper to bumper there, Martin said.
According to the state Transportation Department's rating sca......
2012-02-07 21:55:00
STAFF REPORT
The westbound Route 30 bridge over the Susquehanna River will be restricted to a single lane Thursday, Feb. 9, so potholes can be filled.
The closure of the right "travel lane" on the Wright's Ferry Bridge between Lancaster and York counties will occur between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., weat......
2012-02-07 14:54:00
BERNARD HARRIS
The state Transportation Department is holding an open house this evening, from 5:30-7:30 p.m., to display a proposal to eliminate the bottleneck at the intersection of Routes 30 and 41 at Gap.
The meeting will be held at the Gap Fire Company, 802 Pequea Ave. Interested people are invited......
2012-01-31 22:11:00
BERNARD HARRIS
There are trails on the Lancaster County Solid Waste Management lands off Farmingdale Road in East Hempfield Township.
Trails are under consideration for the adjacent Lancaster Urban Forest Center, being planned by Lancaster County Conservancy.
There are 3.1 miles of trails includ......
2012-01-30 16:33:00
STAFF REPORT
The westbound Route 30 bridge over the Susquehanna River will be restricted to a single lane Tuesday so potholes can be filled and a railing repaired.
The lane closure on the Wright's Ferry Bridge between Lancaster and York counties will occur between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., weather permitting......
2012-01-21 21:50:00
JON RUTTER and RYAN ROBINSON
The local Sierra Club's second annual Polar Bear Trail Run/Hike was coming up Saturday and runner Dave Greiner had been following weather reports all week. First it was supposed to be sunny and 48 degrees. Then the forecast changed and a storm was supposed to drop a wintr......
2012-01-17 22:27:00
TOM KNAPP
Route 272 soon will be restricted to a single lane over two bridges in northern Lancaster County.
The state Department of Transportation announced Tuesday that preliminary work has begun on the bridges, both of which lie between Ephrata and Reamstown.
The existing steel I-beam bri......
2012-01-15 00:15:00
CHIP SMEDLEY
The New Year's Day column about Amtrak's tree-trimming program in Mount Joy touched a few nerves. A resident of South Barbara Street wrote in an email, "My concern is now, with the trees gone, it is a dangerous situation for the kids in the neighborhood. ... The trees were a barrier for the ......
2012-01-12 15:37:00
CINDY STAUFFER
December and January have been easy on the furnace and the back.
But get ready.
Winter is coming.
Sort of.
Chilly temperatures are on their way, featuring daytime highs in the 30s and overnight lows dipping into the teens.
Don't look for any substantial sno......
2012-01-10 13:00:00
AD CRABLE
Jay Kauffman was sitting in the cab of a combine, cutting corn on his East Donegal Township farm, in the fall when the earth collapsed under him.
"It kind of scares you for a half-second. You don't know where the bottom is," Kauffman recalled.
Kauffman, who lives along Beatty's To......
2012-01-06 22:21:00
BRETT HAMBRIGHT
An officer's failure to renew his police credentials will result in overturned convictions, dropped charges and returned fines in more than 100 cases, officials said this week.
Peter "P.J." Ondeck, a Southern Regional police officer, didn't recertify his credentials under Act 120, which p......
2011-12-31 20:15:00
JON RUTTER
The old stone arch bridge once carried steam-belching locomotives over Pumping Station Road in Eden Township. Italian stonemasons cut the blocks by hand nearly a century ago. Equipment used to lift the heavy pieces left dimples in the chiseled surfaces. Mark Rudy is ......
2011-12-30 21:13:00
RYAN ROBINSON
This year was one of the least deadly on Lancaster County roads in the past 15 years, records show.
Fifty-one people were killed in 48 traffic accidents in 2011, Lancaster County Assistant District Attorney Todd Brown said, a drop from the 66 people killed in 58 wrecks here last year. The......
2011-12-28 11:53:00
KARA NEWHOUSE
For several years, Columbia officials have talked about bringing sparkle to the borough park system by adding recreation space and replacing outdated equipment.
And that's exactly what borough officials plan to do, now that they have the cash needed to make the vision a reality.
E......
2011-12-25 21:43:00
DAN NEPHIN
"I got shotgun" will be heard less around high school parking lots starting Tuesday, when a law aimed at increasing young driver safety takes effect.
Drivers younger than 18 will only be able to carry one passenger who is a minor and not an immediate family member, unless a parent or lega......
2011-12-15 22:56:00
BERNARD HARRIS
A towering Christmas tree decorates the interior of the Lancaster Amtrak station, greeting regular commuters and holiday travelers.
The tree joins yellowed prints of Santa and other characters from the poem "'Twas the Night Before Christmas," which have likely been hung on the walls every......
2011-12-13 22:52:00
STAFF REPORT
Eastbound Route 30 on the Wrights Ferry Bridge over the Susquehanna River between York and Lancaster counties will be reduced to one lane for the daytime hours between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Wednesday.
Weather permitting, the right eastbound lane will be closed to traffic and eastbound motoris......
2011-12-05 12:27:00
Associated Press
PennDOT says it's invented a better driver's license.
The state Department of Transportation announced Monday that a new security feature is being added to make it easier so that police officers, bartenders and others can more easily spot counterfeit licenses and state identification card......
2011-12-02 22:34:00
BERNARD HARRIS
Several times each day, heavy trucks rumbling north on Lime Street shake the building housing the law office of Kegel, Kelin, Almy & Grimm.
Clarence Kegel Jr. describes the window-rattling events as similar to explosions. Pointing has fallen from between the bricks of the building, bu......
2011-11-30 22:21:00
TOM KNAPP
The South Duke Street bridge will reopen a little later than scheduled.
The bridge, which crosses the Conestoga River at Lancaster County Central Park, has been closed for repairs since June.
PennDOT officials said then that the bridge would be open by Nov. 4. They later revi......
2011-11-30 21:09:00
P.J. REILLY
Charlie Douts knows the widespread flooding caused by Tropical Storm Lee was a rare occurrence.
Still, if it happened once, it could happen again.
That's why Douts, director of Lancaster County's facilities management department, told the county commissioners Wednesday that when r......
2011-11-20 00:15:00
CHIP SMEDLEY
Could the relocation of the Lititz Pike bridge over the Amtrak tracks solve the McGovern Avenue lane-changing problems mentioned here two weeks ago? That possibility was raised by two emailers who asked for an update on the bridge project's status. Another emailer wanted to kn......
2011-11-14 23:09:00
BERNARD HARRIS
Correction Nov. 15, 2011 — An earlier version of the story below about transportation projects planned in Lancaster County contained incorrect information. Traffic signal improvements will be done in Salisbury Township, Somerset Coun......
2011-11-13 00:11:00
CHIP SMEDLEY
A county taxpayer contacted The Watchdog because he was vexed by the county treasurer's office. Two weeks ago he received a letter from the office informing him that he had not paid his county and municipal taxes on time and a 10 percent penalty was added to his bill. He said he called the t......
2011-11-10 20:08:00
DAVID O'CONNOR
A fiery crash on the Route 30 bridge closed the span's eastbound lanes for nearly 11 hours Wednesday night into Thursday morning.
The state Department of Transportation said the vehicle involved was a tractor-trailer.
Hellam Township police on Thursday said the driver, Barry Brand......
2011-11-06 00:15:00
CHIP SMEDLEY
Clarification Nov. 8, 2011 — An item that appears in the story below regarding the wearing of blaze orange requires a clarification.
State regulations stipulate that anyone who is on state game lands between Nov. 15 ......
2011-10-29 23:41:00
RYAN ROBINSON, CINDY STAUFFER and BRIAN WALLACE
Trick, no treat. The heavy, wet snow that blanketed Lancaster County Saturday set a record for snowfall in October. Eric Horst, Millersville University meteorologist, said the day-long snowfall totaled 4.6 inches at Millersville, nearly doubling the record for an October snowfall of 2.4......
2011-10-29 20:01:00
CHIP SMEDLEY
Many people assumed the two-year $14.2 million project to renovate the Lancaster train station would restore beauty to its crumbling 81-year-old interior. Those same people, from citizens to Lancaster Mayor Rick Gray, the county commissioners, and tourism and business officials, expressed......
2011-10-29 20:00:00
CHIP SMEDLEY
Who's in charge? Where's the money coming from? What's the time frame? That's what city and county community and business leaders want to know about proposed improvements to interior public spaces at the Lancaster train station. The James Street Improvement District, Lancas......
2011-10-20 21:41:00
BERNARD HARRIS
On Saturday, the state Department of Transportation's paving deadline, the sun shone brightly on Lancaster County.
Not so the day before, or on many other days since the start of the asphalt paving season April 1.
In fact, the county has received a third more rain than normal so f......
2011-10-16 00:15:00
CHIP SMEDLEY
Residents of the first block of North Plum Street in the city asked Lookout to check on the status of a condemned property at 14 N. Plum. The property was the scene of a deliberately set fire that claimed the life of Olga Sanchez-Reyes and injured two children on Dec. 5, 2010. No arrests hav......
2011-10-12 22:23:00
P.J. REILLY
Lancaster County could become part of a southcentral Pennsylvania version of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority.
The county commissioners on Wednesday adopted a resolution committing the county to participate in a state Department of Transportation-led feasibility stud......
2011-10-12 20:40:00
STAFF REPORT
A portion of Peartown Road in West Cocalico Township was closed Monday to allow repair of a section damaged by flooding during Tropical Storm Lee last month, state Department of Transportation officials said Tuesday.
Peartown Road, between Laurel Ridge Road and the Berks County line, is e......
2011-10-10 19:06:00
BERNARD HARRIS
Eastbound Route 30 traffic on the Wrights Ferry Bridge over the Susquehanna River is reduced to one lane this week as freshly poured concrete hardens and bearings are replaced.
The single-lane restriction will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily through Thursday, state Transportation Departme......
2011-10-09 00:15:00
CHIP SMEDLEY
A River Road motorist contacted Lookout about a guide rail that took a pounding from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee. The section in question is located on the west side of the road as it climbs toward the Turkey Hill Dairy. In one spot, a tree has fallen on the guide rail. Farther no......
2011-10-05 22:19:00
JIMMY PIANKA
Construction at Oregon Pike and Butler Avenue, across from Lancaster Shopping Center, has resumed and is expected to end within the month, officials said. Integrity Bank, whose newly constructed branch sits on the former site of the Eat'n Park restaurant, has been working with......
2011-10-04 21:55:00
MARCELLA PEYRE-FERRY
Colerain Township supervisors would rather not pay $55,000 to put in a driveway entrance they are not planning to use any time soon. At a meeting Monday, the board agreed to delay the project, which it feels has gone beyond its original plans.
The township purchased a piece of prope......
2011-09-26 22:48:00
BERNARD HARRIS
What will the Lancaster Amtrak Station look like after its $14.2 million renovation?
From the inside, apparently, much the same as it looked before work began two years ago: shabby, worn-down, in need of a facelift.
On Monday, workers outside the station were preparing the parking......
2011-09-25 23:16:00
LYNN COMMERO
There is a delay in the installation of a new traffic signal that originally was to be constructed this summer along a section of Lincoln Highway East.
East Lampeter Township Manager Ralph Hutchison said the state Department of Transportation has not started work on the traffic sign......
2011-09-25 00:17:00
CHIP SMEDLEY
Drivers who routinely ply Route 222 South have expressed concern about the off ramp that leads cars to the merge point with Route 30 West in Manheim Township. They've seen cars ditched all over the place — either in the grassy basin between routes 222 and 30, or along the right-h......
2011-09-22 23:35:00
PATRICK BURNS
The state Department of Transportation already had a full plate before Tropical Storm Lee flooded the region and wreaked havoc on bridges and roads across eastern Lancaster County.
But spokesman Greg Penny said PennDOT has had to alter its schedule only slightly around a group......
2011-09-20 21:53:00
BERNARD HARRIS
Lancaster city officials and the Red Rose Transit Authority have reached an agreement that clears the way for North Queen Street to be repaved and for RRTA to get an occupancy permit when its new garage is completed.
City workers will begin work Wednesday to "properly abandon" old water a......
2011-09-18 00:16:00
CHIP SMEDLEY
More than a few Route 30 commuters have wondered if the work on the Wright's Ferry Bridge that connects York and Lancaster counties is on schedule. One asked, "Is it really going to take until 2012 to finish this project?" Short answers: yes and yes. Last week, work on the bridg......
2011-09-16 22:32:00
BRIAN WALLACE
Individuals and business owners who sustained flood damage from Tropical Storm Lee already qualify for federal aid to help rebuild their homes and livelihoods.
Now municipalities can get financial help, too.
Because damage to roads, bridges, wastewater facilities and other public ......
2011-09-15 22:58:00
LARRY ALEXANDER
During last week's flooding in the Ephrata area, Eddie Martin and his family "lost pretty much everything," he said.
"We had over 2 feet of water in the house," Martin, of 139 Bellevue Ave., said. "We saved the kitchen table and the chairs."
Fran Halligan, of 527 S. State St., had......
2011-09-13 21:58:00
P.J. REILLY
The historic Siegrist's Mill covered bridge will rise again — literally.
Built in 1885, the 5-ton structure spanning Chiques Creek on the Rapho-West Hempfield township line was swept off its piers and washed downstream Sept. 8 as the creek overflowed its banks because of Tropical St......
2011-09-11 12:31:00
Staff
As of 8:30 p.m. Sunday, the following state roads in Lancaster County remained closed due to flood-related issues, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. PennDOT said road crews have been working all weekend to repair road washouts, inspect bridges and clear debris....
2011-09-04 00:15:00
CHIP SMEDLEY
It's a wasted day if you don't learn something. The Watchdog was educated about an organization called Grave Concern while checking into a report of a damaged wall surrounding an old cemetery on the north side of Route 23 (Marietta Pike), between the village of Silver Springs and Farmdale......
2011-08-31 23:21:00
BERNARD HARRIS
When construction workers find old, unused utility pipes while working in Lancaster city, the rule is that they have to be filled.
So when nine utility lines were found during excavation for the Red Rose Transit Authority's parking garage at North Queen and East Chestnut streets, city off......
2011-08-29 23:25:00
BERNARD HARRIS
After rush hour Tuesday evening, workers will begin overnight paving on Lancaster city's North Queen and North Prince streets.
The paving will put the final 2-inch wearing surface on portions of the roadways, which received their initial 1-inch leveling course of pavement last fall. Addit......
2011-08-24 11:25:00
Associated Press
Pennsylvania officials say highways, bridges and other vital structures in the state escaped serious damage from that earthquake that rattled the East Coast.
Officials at the state's five nuclear power plants said Wednesday that checks revealed no damage and all the stations were operatin......
2011-08-22 21:18:00
BERNARD HARRIS
Correction Aug. 23, 2011 — Contrary to information in the article below, roadwork on Route 72 in Manheim Borough began last week.
•••
Work on Route 72 i......
2011-08-21 00:16:00
CHIP SMEDLEY
Residents along the 200 block of Marticville Road and the 800 block of Baumgardner Road sent The Watchdog a copy of a petition they signed to protest the condition of a property at 242 Marticville Road. The petition was also mailed to Pequea Township Zoning Officer Jim Hindes, Stat......
2011-08-07 00:21:00
MARY BETH SCHWEIGERT and CHIP SMEDLEY
Every day more than 5,100 cars and trucks rumble across the worn surface of the 115-year-old steel truss bridge that carries Route 772 over railroad tracks through Mount Joy Borough. The span's trusses are pockmarked with rust spots. Exposed patches of metal create a checkerboard pattern on ......
2011-08-07 00:20:00
KEVIN BEGOS, Associated Press
Thousands of bridges are rusting, creaking and wearing out in Pennsylvania, but no one is sure where the money to repair them will come from. And like a homeowner who puts off fixing a leaky roof, just delaying repairs won't make things easier over time. "We're getting more and more bri......
2011-08-07 00:16:00
CHIP SMEDLEY
If you spend a lot of time driving on U.S. Route 30 and state Route 283 in Lancaster County you might want to smile, because you could be on camera. A reader said he saw more cameras installed on those roads and wondered what was going on. According to PennDOT spokesman Greg Penny,......
2011-08-03 08:38:00
KIMBERLY MARSELAS
Officials in Ephrata Township are planning to ask the county to support a widening of the Route 322 corridor, paving the way for more lanes and state and federal funding.
Over the next several years, the already-congested stretch of road —most of it just two lanes — is slated ......
2011-08-01 23:18:00
BERNARD HARRIS
Despite ongoing renovations at Lancaster's Amtrak station, train ridership increased last year and along the length of the Keystone Corridor between Philadelphia and Harrisburg.
Passengers boarding and exiting Amtrak trains at the McGovern Avenue station increased 5.7 percent in the fisca......
2011-07-31 00:21:00
GIL SMART, Associate Editor
As the light turns yellow, you hit the gas. As yellow turns to red, you plow through the intersection, "beating" the light. If a recommendation by a state panel were to become law — the light might beat you. On Monday, the Pennsylvania Transportation Funding Advisor......
2011-07-24 00:15:00
CHIP SMEDLEY
Supersized curbs at two intersections made a city resident wonder if they would impede emergency vehicles responding to calls on Juniata and Terrace streets. The curbs are located where those two streets intersect East Strawberry Street, just north of Chesapeake Street. And the curbs......
2011-07-03 00:03:00
CHIP SMEDLEY
Some Manheim residents had questions about a door-to-door canvassing operation being conducted by state dog law enforcement officers to make sure dog owners had licenses and up-to-date rabies shot certification for their pets.
The residents wanted to know if the officers were legit, and i......
2011-06-26 00:19:00
GIL SMART, Associate Editor
Slowed by a stagnant economy for a few years, plans for a major development on the farm across from Long's Park are back on the drawing board. But this time they're drawn differently. Earlier this month, High Real Estate Group LLC submitted a request to the Manheim Townsh......
2011-06-24 19:52:00
TOM MURSE
All Pennsylvania voters including the Amish would be required to show government-issued identification in every election under legislation passed by the state House this week.
But Plain sect voters could claim an exemption, based on their religious objections, from the provision requiring......
2011-06-16 22:16:00
BERNARD HARRIS
The chairman of the state House transportation committee told Lancaster business leaders Thursday that Pennsylvania's roads and bridges are badly in need of repair and the state doesn't have the money to fix them.
As a solution, he suggested asking private companies to pay for the repairs......
2011-06-13 21:41:00
BERNARD HARRIS
PennDOT will be busy this week and next year with projects announced on Monday.
The most pressing project for state Department of Transportation crews will be the replacement of a stormwater pipe that collapsed over the weekend under Route 772, or Mount Joy Road, between Esbenshade and Er......
2011-05-29 00:12:00
CHIP SMEDLEY
A wise man once said, "Life has its ups and downs, but what you really have to watch out for is the dips." Which brings us to Willow Street Pike just south of the Lancaster city line. In an email, a reader noted that after the southbound lanes cross over the Conestoga River and merge in......
2011-05-22 19:05:00
TOM KNAPP
The Red Rose Run is back on track.
A change in the 5-mile course — announced earlier this month because of a bridge-construction project along the route — turned out to be premature. The bridge, which carries South Duke Street over the Conestoga River, was scheduled to cl......
2011-05-10 22:25:00
TOM KNAPP
The South Duke Street bridge over the Conestoga River is scheduled to close for repairs within the next few weeks.
The state Department of Transportation opened bids in May 2010 for the design-and-build project to replace the superstructure of the aging bridge. PennDOT spokesman Greg Penn......
2011-05-08 00:13:00
CHIP SMEDLEY
Some Warwick Township residents wonder if someone got his signals crossed. Callers and emailers questioned the placement of left-turn arrows on traffic lights installed at West Millport Road and Woodcrest Avenue in the township. West Millport Road ends in a "T" where it i......
2011-04-27 21:48:00
BRETT HAMBRIGHT
A makeover of the Lancaster Amtrak station is on track for a late-summer completion, planners said Tuesday.
But the benefits of the station's new look were questioned at a meeting of the county commissioners.
Some residents wondered about the return on the job's $14.2 million pric......
2011-04-22 21:17:00
MARCELLA PEYRE-FERRY
More than 100 people turned out for Wednesday's Colerain Township supervisors meeting to express concerns about the upcoming closure of the Route 472 bridge linking Lancaster and Chester counties over the Octoraro Lake.
"We have nothing we can do," Supervisor Walter Todd said, explaining ......
2011-04-19 08:31:00
P.J. REILLY and RYAN ROBINSON
Repairs were completed and both westbound lanes of the Route 30 bridge have been reopened, according to a PennDOT spokesman. A piece of metal sticking up from the deck of the Wright's Ferry Bridge over the Susquehanna River damaged more than 30 vehicles, forcing the closure of the westbound ......
2011-04-18 23:32:00
BERNARD HARRIS
Ryan Kreider said Sunday that he had heard that PennDOT planned to work on the Octoraro Creek bridge, but that was just a proposal being discussed.
And he said he expected that when the state Department of Transportation got around to doing the work, it would keep open the bridge that car......
2011-04-18 21:00:00
BERNARD HARRIS
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania doesn't have a law prohibiting hand-held cell phone use while driving.
Without a law, the state Department of Transportation doesn't have signs to tell motorists of a cell phone usage ban.
Without approved state signs, PennDOT will not allow any si......
2011-04-06 22:37:00
LARRY ALEXANDER
Florida's loss could be Pennsylvania's gain.
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has applied for $248 million of the $2.4 billion in federal funds recently rejected by Florida Gov. Rick Scott.
Scott, a tea party candidate who was elected in November, canceled a project t......
2011-03-29 18:33:00
STAFF
The state Department of Transportation has resumed work on a project to repair and resurface Route 322 from 400 feet west of Route 501 in Elizabeth Township through the villages of Brickerville and Clay to the intersection with Durlach Road/Wood Corner Road in Clay Township. The nearly 5-mil......
2011-03-24 22:35:00
TOM KNAPP
Traffic lanes are shifting on Route 30 near Columbia to accommodate a $9.3 million rehabilitation project on Wright's Ferry Bridge.
The 39-year-old bridge over the Susquehanna River is due for extensive maintenance that will take two construction seasons to complete, wrapping up in Novemb......
2011-03-21 22:42:00
CINDY STAUFFER
It's a whodunit.
Terry Sayers was driving to work from her Pequea home one snowy January morning when she heard an alarmingly loud noise.
She had just run over a large part from a snow plow.
Two months and $5,000 in repairs later, Sayers and her husband, Rick, still haven'......
2011-03-15 21:19:00
DEAN LEE EVANS
Until the bridge replacement project in Mountville Borough is completed in October, motorists are directed to detours outside the borough onto Donerville and Prospect roads.
Near the Main Street project's eastern edge, a new step will take effect Wednesday.
The borough's narrow Sp......
2011-03-13 00:14:00
JACK BRUBAKER
Richard Livesey watched two horses fall as they tried to pull their buggies through a depressed section of Furniss Road in front of his house last week. A neighbor across the highway contacted PennDOT. A road crew spread 2 or 3 inches of cold patch onto the deflated surface. "They didn'......
2011-03-11 21:05:00
RYAN ROBINSON
Flooding from Thursday's rain did not cause serious problems in Lancaster County on Friday and none are expected for Saturday either, an official said.
Flooding along the Susquehanna River in Marietta will likely only affect a few basements, said Randy Gockley, the county's emergency mana......
2011-03-11 19:19:00
STAFF REPORT
Work will resume Monday on a project to repair and resurface Route 441 in western Lancaster County.
The work covers an area of 441 from Chickies Hill, just north of Route 30, through Marietta to the intersection with Route 772, the state Transportation Department said.
The 2.8-mil......
2011-03-10 08:51:00
RYAN ROBINSON
A Washington Boro man wrecked his car, left the scene and told police the car had been stolen, police said.
Michael Midile Jr., 28, of 348-A Penn St., was charged with making a false report to police, Manor Township police said.
At about 1:20 a.m. on March 2, Cpl. Kim Geyer respon......
2011-03-08 22:45:00
BERNARD HARRIS
Lancaster city could join Harrisburg, Lebanon and other cities in Pennsylvania and 30 other states in banning texting while driving.
City Council member Todd Smith this week proposed an ordinance that would ban texting and the use of any wireless communication device while driving in the ......
2011-03-02 22:24:00
P.J. REILLY
Lancaster County Transportation Authority has a message for Martic Township: Back off, or you're going to pay.
The authority on Wednesday voted to send the township supervisors a letter stating that Martic could be liable for the $400,000 spent so far on a PennDOT-approved realig......
2011-03-01 21:48:00
P.J. REILLY
Since 1989, motorists have been avoiding the Route 324 tunnel under the Enola Low-Grade Line in Martic Township by driving on a makeshift road that crosses over the abandoned rail line.
Tractor-trailers, large farm machines and firetrucks can't fit through the 12-foot-high underpass, and ......
2011-03-01 21:28:00
BERNARD HARRIS
Lancaster city officials installed a temporary fence in the 200 block of North Queen Street to prevent people from walking in the area where Red Rose Transit Authority is building a new garage.
When people walked there anyway, the city put up concrete barriers. Still, Mayor Rick Gray said......
2011-02-27 00:17:00
CHIP SMEDLEY
Pedestrians on the Old Philadelphia Pike (Route 340) trying to negotiate the crosswalk at the Route 30 East exit ramp should walk carefully and carry a long stick. As a caller to "Lookout" noted, that's because the button that people must push to activate the green light is more than t......
2011-02-22 21:31:00
CINDY STAUFFER and RYAN ROBINSON
It's that time of year: warm temperatures one day, snow another, then frigid temps followed by rain and wind.
As we slouch toward spring, Lancaster County is riding a weather roller coaster.
A 3- to 5-inch snowfall Monday into Tuesday delayed the start of school and caused a rash ......
2011-02-20 00:16:00
CHIP SMEDLEY
A patron of the new Manheim Township Public Library reports traffic gets stacked up at a short green light at Granite Run Drive and Fruitville Pike, making it difficult for drivers who want to turn left to head south on the pike. "At busy times," the patron said, "the first car is lucky to g......
2011-02-14 22:35:00
BERNARD HARRIS
On his way out the door last month, former state Department of Transportation Secretary Allen Biehler gave Lancaster County and 40 other communities a parting gift.
For Lancaster, that came in the form of a new road in Warwick Township and Lititz Borough.
On Monday, the ......
2011-02-11 22:17:00
BERNARD HARRIS
The bridge that carries Main Street over Amtrak tracks in Mountville will be closed as workers begin a seven-month replacement project.
Traffic will be detoured off Main Street, Route 462, starting Monday morning, Feb. 21, state Department of Transportation District 8 spoke......
2011-02-08 22:23:00
BERNARD HARRIS
Warmer temperatures might be a welcome relief for those weary of winter, but they don't do local roads any favors.
Workers for contractor J.D. Eckman Inc., spent Monday and Tuesday repairing sections of North Prince Street in Lancaster city, where potholes have appeared in recent weeks....
2011-02-07 21:51:00
RYAN ROBINSON
A Christiana woman was taken to the hospital after her sport utility vehicle overturned on an icy road in Bart Township Monday morning, police reported.
Kandace E. Miller, 32, was driving north in the 1200 block of Georgetown Road at 6:51 a.m. when she hit a patch of ice and lost control ......
2011-02-07 17:59:00
TOM KNAPP
The covered bridge on Hunsecker Road once again is open to traffic.
The 37-year-old span, which bridges the gap over the Conestoga River between Upper Leacock and Manheim townships, was closed Sept. 16 after a one-car crash in its interior damaged weight-bearing beams.
Motorists f......
2011-02-06 00:14:00
MARY BETH SCHWEIGERT and RYAN ROBINSON
Icy roads triggered a rash of vehicle accidents throughout Lancaster County early Saturday morning. Hundreds of calls flooded the county's 911 center, with about 60 crashes and 14 disabled vehicles reported between 4:30 and 8 a.m. Many of the early-morning accidents occurred in the nort......
2011-02-01 21:32:00
CINDY STAUFFER
Our Wednesday morning weather will hinge on a few degrees.
Freezing rain is expected to glaze the county overnight and continue Wednesday morning, likely making for a treacherous, white-knuckle start for those headed out on roads and sidewalks early Wednesday.
"We have a threat of......
2011-01-30 00:15:00
CHIP SMEDLEY
Drivers negotiating Route 72 in Manheim wonder why the recently installed traffic signal at Manheim and Fruitville pikes has not been activated. They're not alone. Manheim Borough officials want PennDOT to turn on the light. The signal was installed as part of a $2.8 million project to ......
2011-01-27 21:35:00
CINDY STAUFFER
It was time for the big dig Thursday after 8 to 14 inches of snow fell across Lancaster County, the result of a fast-moving, intense storm.
Road crews and residents attacked piles of heavy snow with plows, snowblowers and shovels.
All public schools were closed, and local colleges......
2011-01-18 23:45:00
CINDY STAUFFER and TOM MURSE
Police are investigating whether the four Manheim teenagers killed in a crash Sunday were making a video of their car speeding over a dip in the road.
South Londonderry Township police will be filing search warrants for the cell phones of the occupants of the car, as well as the cell phon......
2011-01-18 20:38:00
AD CRABLE
Snow and freezing rain caused about two dozen accidents and closed schools Tuesday — and more is on the way.
The frozen precipitation caused considerable headaches, especially on rural roads.
There were about 20 crashes, including some on Routes 283, 222, 30, 230 and 441....
2011-01-13 22:38:00
BERNARD HARRIS
The envelope that arrived with Mike Goodman's mail last month was not a holiday card.
Instead, Goodman and 42 other people who own property near the Lititz Pike bridge received notice from PennDOT that the properties will be affected by construction of a new bridge.
The span will ......
2011-01-12 21:40:00
JANE HOLAHAN
If you're hoping the snow on your sidewalk is going to melt soon, you can forget about it.
Lancaster County is in winter's icy grip, with below-normal temperatures expected over the next few days, said John LaCorte, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
He expects col......
2011-01-11 23:34:00
JENNIFER TODD
A snow day? Well, not quite.
For those Lancaster County residents who were hoping to stay under their covers Wednesday morning, all they're likely to get is a few extra winks.
With the snowstorm expected to wrap up around midnight, crews likely will have the roads in "pretty good ......
2011-01-11 18:01:00
DEBBIE WYGENT
UGI is providing gas service to the Quarryville Presbyterian Retirement Community, which is undergoing a major expansion, but residents should not expect the utility company to expand service into other parts of the borough, council members said during their Jan. 3 meeting.
"I don't think......
2011-01-04 20:41:00
P.J. REILLY
Closing all rail crossings on the 105-mile Keystone Corridor so high-speed trains can run between Harrisburg and Philadelphia is expected to move a step closer to completion Wednesday.
Lancaster County commissioners are expected to award contracts for the replacement of two bridges on the......
2010-12-30 23:07:00
RYAN ROBINSON and JENNIFER TODD
One person was killed and two others were injured in a one-vehicle crash Thursday in East Hempfield Township, police said, bringing to 58 the number of traffic fatalities in Lancaster County this year.
Nineteen of those 58 people were riding motorcycles or were passengers on them, accordi......
2010-12-30 10:43:00
TOM MURSE
Whoever said life is cheaper when you pay with cash obviously didn't have the Pennsylvania Turnpike in mind.
Driving the turnpike is about to get more expensive — especially if you pay with your George Washingtons and Abe Lincolns.
Cash-paying customers will be hit ......
2010-12-29 20:19:00
RYAN ROBINSON
A 21-year-old Maytown woman was killed in a one-car wreck on Route 230 in northwestern Lancaster County on Tuesday night.
It appeared that Nicole Elizabeth Styer was driving a 1995 Volkswagen convertible south on North Market Street (Route 230) at 9 p.m. when it left the road just no......
2010-12-25 21:05:00
PAULA WOLF and JON RUTTER
Mother Nature didn't see fit to give us a white Christmas, but at least she wasn't off by much. Meteorologists are forecasting the first serious snowfall of the winter here today, as a major storm moves up the East Coast. But while everyone agrees something's on the way, how m......
2010-12-23 14:05:00
JANET KELLEY
It looks like it will be clear sailing for folks traveling home at the end of the holiday weekend, with the much-anticipated snowstorm blowing out to sea.
The brunt of the storm system that has been carefully watched by holiday planners, meteorologists and road crews will likely miss us....
2010-12-17 21:11:00
TOM MURSE
A New Holland teenager who told police he was putting a friend's new car to the test was cited for what might be the fastest speed on record here — 158.1 mph.
The speeding ticket issued to Edwin R. Nolt by the Northwest Regional police officer who pulled him over could easily be mis......
2010-12-13 15:32:00
LARRY ALEXANDER
The Monterey Road Bridge over Muddy Run was reopened to traffic Monday afternoon.
The bridge, in Upper Leacock Township, was closed Aug. 9 as part of a $584,192 replacement project.
Final paving of the roadway approaches to the new bridge have not yet been completed and will await......
2010-12-08 20:10:00
RYAN ROBINSON
Busy Harrisburg Pike was closed in both directions for hours Wednesday morning because of icy conditions.
Drains for the ponds at the Veranda development froze over and water ran onto the roadway in the 2300 block of Harrisburg Pike, East Hempfield Township police Sgt. Joseph Meley said....
2010-11-30 21:46:00
STAFF REPORT
Motorists traveling Route 230 in Mount Joy Wednesday night might find the road closed as workers install beams as part of a $1.6 million bridge-replacement project, a state Department of Transportation spokesman said Tuesday.
Construction crews are slated at 6 p.m. to start putting in pla......
2010-11-30 17:59:00
TOM KNAPP
Sometimes, new conveniences are a little inconvenient.
Just ask Jay Heisey, owner of Highlander Cleaners, 35 W. High St., Elizabethtown.
Heisey understands the need for new left-turn lanes in the main square at High and Market streets. The lanes, which are part of a larger project......
2010-11-19 17:37:00
STAFF REPORT
The Slackwater Road bridge, which spans the Conestoga River between Manor and Conestoga townships, reopened to traffic Friday afternoon.
The bridge was closed for reconstruction in June.
The project involved demolishing the old bridge, replacing the superstructure, repairing wing ......
2010-11-10 21:22:00
TOM KNAPP
Tourists enjoying the historical side of Strasburg Rail Road might not realize that, behind the scenes, the popular attraction is a working freight yard.
But Harrisburg knows all about it. On Wednesday, Gov. Ed Rendell announced a $1 million grant to help rehabilitate and expand the opera......
2010-11-09 18:18:00
PATRICK BURNS
A disagreement over an intersection design could spoil plans to build a new Turkey Hill Minit Mart at Route 23 and Swamp Road in Caernarvon Township.
John Roche, Caernarvon engineer, said Turkey Hill's plan to direct traffic from the store heading south onto Swamp Road (Route 10) comprise......
2010-11-04 21:35:00
TOM MURSE
A telling scene late on Election Day: Tom Corbett, the Republican who had just been elected Pennsylvania's next governor, offered this glimpse of the future to his supporters.
"Look across the river," he said.
Meaning to New Jersey, to its own Republican governor, Chris Christie. ......
2010-11-03 18:11:00
ENELLY BETANCOURT
Pennsylvania residents with Puerto Rican birth certificates issued before July 1, 2010, are no longer able to use those government-issued documents to get a driver's license or photo identification card.
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation issued a reminder last week that, begin......
2010-10-29 17:46:00
CINDY STAUFFER
At 9:30 a.m. Monday, a state Department of Transportation crew started to paint white lines on Route 222, just north of the Route 30 exit.
At 9:31 a.m., the lines were messed up.
As in: tracked on, swept through and generally just smeared all over parts of the busy north-south hig......
2010-10-28 22:35:00
BERNARD HARRIS
Tom Garman said he wasn't happy with the direction the government was headed, but it was the economy that prompted him to do something about it.
"When people don't have money, don't spend money, it affects my bottom line," said Garman, the Republican candidate for the 96th state House Dis......
2010-10-25 20:17:00
STAFF
Downtown traffic was snarled Monday as road crews stripped pavement from some parts of the city and utility crews worked elsewhere.
"It's pretty bad out there," Lancaster city Public Works Director Charlotte Katzenmoyer acknowledged, but, she said, motorists only need to hang on for a few......
2010-10-22 21:24:00
STAFF REPORT
The bridge that carries Elizabethtown Road over Little Chiques Creek at the Mount Joy/Rapho Township line in northern Lancaster County was reopened to traffic Friday afternoon.
The state Transportation Department had started work in May on the bridge, which had been closed nearly five mon......
2010-10-19 18:34:00
MARCELLA PEYRE-FERRY
Signs came up as a main discussion topic at the Oct. 12 Little Britain Township meeting. Resident Donna Donache is asking the supervisors to follow the example of surrounding municipalities and allow directional signs for local businesses.
Donache has a shop at her home on Pine Grove Road......
2010-10-15 08:22:00
RYAN ROBINSON
State police are continuing a program that has resulted in 4,652 drunken driving arrests in Pennsylvania in the past two years.
Troop J, covering Chester and Lancaster counties, made 531 of those arrests under the "Checkpoint Strikeforce Program," state police said today in a press releas......
2010-10-05 21:39:00
BERNARD HARRIS
In PennDOT's world, Band-Aids are made of steel. Tuesday morning, a state Department of Transportation maintenance crew put a steel plate over a gaping expansion joint on the south side of the Lititz Pike bridge. It was the second time in a week they had been there. Last Wednesday, a......
2010-10-02 22:18:00
CHIP SMEDLEY
This article is a follow-up to last Sunday's investigative report, "Buried under an avalanche of warrants." The reporter rode along last week with constables trying to serve warrants.
Hard knocks on a front door shattered the 5 a.m. silence. "Open the ......
2010-09-26 00:20:00
CHIP SMEDLEY
Jehu Young? Lancaster County constables are looking for you on seven warrants for unpaid parking ticket and traffic violations. And Maria Perez? The warrant you were issued in 2002, because you didn't make sure your child got to school? It hasn't gone away. Jehu and Maria are ......
2010-09-26 00:19:00
CHIP SMEDLEY
When Rick Gray campaigned against incumbent Mayor Charlie Smithgall in 2005, he criticized the Smithgall administration for its inability to reduce outstanding warrants —22,000 at the time — in the city and Lancaster Township. Five years later, according to informa......
2010-09-26 00:18:00
CHIP SMEDLEY
The Lancaster County Sheriff's Office faces some of the same problems other law enforcement agencies encounter when trying to serve arrest warrants. People move and cannot be found, but arrest warrants — in some cases almost 50 years old — stay on the their books. But c......
2010-09-24 21:30:00
JANE HOLAHAN
In about three weeks, the paving season will be over.
It's a regulation from the state Department of Transportation that no paving projects be done between Oct. 15 and April 1 because of winter weather concerns.
So you're thinking work crews will be out in force on Prince and Quee......
2010-09-21 16:52:00
STAFF REPORT
Workers on Monday night began the resurfacing of Lincoln Highway, between Old Philadelphia Pike and Greenfield Road in East Lampeter Township.
The work will be done overnight, on weeknights from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m., through late October.
Motorists can expect a single lane of traffic ......
2010-09-17 20:50:00
LARRY ALEXANDER
A single-vehicle accident inside the Hunsecker Road covered bridge Thursday has closed the span indefinitely while repairs are performed.
State Department of Transportation spokesman Gregg Penny said several vertical support members were damaged in the crash.
"The vehicle, when it......
2010-09-16 19:44:00
BERNARD HARRIS
On the walkway of the Lititz Pike bridge is a twisted ankle waiting to happen.
Amid the litter and broken glass, a serving-platter-sized hole has opened in the crumbling concrete.
But, even before an ankle is twisted, official fingers are getting a workout.
The four-lane r......
2010-09-13 23:13:00
BERNARD HARRIS
Contractors working on behalf of the state Department of Transportation will be laying on the gas as they try to get North Prince Street in Lancaster city stripped of its old asphalt and covered with a fresh layer before the coming cold weather.
Motorists, however, will likely h......
2010-08-17 19:57:00
LAURA KNOWLES
Crime is down in Elizabeth Township, and state police are hoping the trend continues.Sgt. Richard D'Ambrosio of the Ephrata Barracks of the Pennsylvania State Police told Elizabeth Township supervisors Aug. 9 that in the past 90 days there had been 130 incidents that required police re......
2010-08-17 17:47:00
PATRICK BURNS
Correction Aug. 19, 2010 — The story below about a Lancaster Airport wildlife hazard study incorrectly stated where consultant Loomacres Wildlife Management is headquartered. It's Warnerville, N.Y.&bull......
2010-08-16 22:26:00
BERNARD HARRIS
Motorists accustomed to bouncing past the ballpark on North Prince Street will have a decidedly smoother ride by the time right field becomes a skating rink this winter.It will be smoother still by the time the Barnstormers again have opening day.Contractors working for the state De......
2010-08-16 17:53:00
STAFF REPORT
Work began Monday on the $2.4 million resurfacing of Route 322 in Elizabeth and Clay townships in the northern part of the county.Martin Limestone Inc., of Ephrata, was awarded the contract by PennDOT to repair and resurface the roadway from just west of Route 501 to the intersection with ......
2010-08-11 21:43:00
BERNARD HARRIS
And now a word from PennDOT to motorists traveling on Route 222: Don't worry, it's not done.Motorists on the state highway might think the repaving project was completed, an alarming thought because the new surface is rattling their cars.Greg Penny, spokesman for the state T......
2010-08-10 17:32:00
DONNA WETHERHOLD
Dog owners who fail to clean up after their pets in Adamstown will have a substantial bite taken out of their wallets.Adamstown Borough Council voted Aug. 3 to adopt an ordinance that imposes fines of up to $500, plus costs, if pet waste is not cleaned up immediately from public property o......
2010-08-10 13:34:00
RYAN ROBINSON
A young Morgantown woman has been charged in a collision that killed a Terre Hill bicyclist in April.Stephanie Britton, 19, was charged Monday with careless driving (causing a death) and driving a vehicle at an unsafe speed, East Earl Township police Chief Kevin C. McCarthy said.Nor......
2010-07-31 21:27:00
GIL SMART, Associate Editor
After a hard rain, Ed Jorgensen gets dead birds washing up into his yard. "Hundreds of cigarette butts, too," said Jorgensen, who lives along the 200 block of East Main Street in Brownstown. He's been there for 12 years; runoff has always been a problem. Storm drains are t......
2010-07-27 22:58:00
STAFF REPORT
The interchange ramps off Route 222 at Route 772 in Brownstown will be closed Wednesday night for construction work.The off-ramp from northbound Route 222 to Route 772 and the northbound on-ramp from Route 772 to northbound Route 222 will be closed. Motorists will be detoured to the next i......
2010-07-27 20:34:00
KIMBERLY MARSELAS
A builder hoping to rezone several residential lots and develop a commercial property on Route 322 in Ephrata Township has withdrawn his plans.At a meeting July 20, the township's board of supervisors accepted the ECKE Group's formal request to withdraw its rezoning petition. The p......
2010-07-26 22:40:00
TOM KNAPP
A new trend in traffic enforcement is giving Lancaster County motorists a nudge to remind them how fast they are driving.Portable radar units — about the size of a laptop computer — are appearing on speed-limit sign poles around the county, replacing in some areas the familiar ......
2010-07-15 23:00:00
CINDY STAUFFER
This has been a deadly summer for local motorcycle riders.Ten motorcyclists have died in crashes in about a four-week period in Lancaster County.A watch repair technician died when his cycle ran off the road on a sunny morning near a Manheim Township neighborhood. Two 20-year-old bu......
2010-07-12 20:37:00
STAFF REPORT
State Department of Transportation officials announced Monday that pipe installation and brush-cutting operations began along Route 230 near Elizabethtown. The work, which will conclude with the repaving of the roadway, is expected to be completed in October.The work is being done along a ......
2010-07-09 21:28:00
AD CRABLE
The state Senate has passed legislation intended to ease unpopular new federally mandated restrictions on farmers who operate farm machinery and vehicles on public roads.Under legislation sponsored by state Sen. Mike Brubaker of Lititz and Sen. John Rafferty of Montgomery County, the Senat......
2010-07-07 22:33:00
BERNARD HARRIS
In recent months, the pedestrian bridge over Harrisburg Avenue has been a bridge to nowhere.Access to the brick walkway that connects parts of the Franklin & Marshall College campus has been blocked on the south side as workers continue construction of a new dormitory.But the br......
2010-07-06 17:53:00
JAMES BUESCHER
Drumore Township has received a clean bill of health on its liquid-fuels finances, according to an audit by the state Auditor General's Office in Harrisburg.Township supervisors announced the news at the municipality's May 6 meeting. The audit covered 2008."We did not i......
2010-07-04 00:04:00
JON RUTTER
Summer's a good time to adorn roadways with fresh white and yellow stripes. But this season is threatening to catch road crews with their paints down. Just ask Manor Township public works director Mark Harris. Manor intends to spray more than 250,000 linear feet of line this su......
2010-07-01 17:47:00
STAFF REPORT
The bridge that carries Main Street over Route 222 in West Earl Township was reopened to traffic Wednesday morning.The bridge had been closed since January for a bridge deck replacement project.The work was one of a package of four bridges over Route 222 in northeastern Lancaster Co......
2010-06-30 22:57:00
DIANA MARTIN
If you plan to head out of town this weekend, expect plenty of company.The American Automobile Association estimates nearly 35 million Americans will venture 50 miles or more for the Independence Day holiday — up 17.1 percent from last year."The landscape for the U.S. eco......
2010-06-27 00:08:00
PAULA WOLF
Matt Parido can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. Or, at least, the light at the end of the bridge. A year after PennDOT began replacing the flood-prone and outdated Fruitville Pike bridge over Chickies Creek in Manheim Borough, the new bridge is expected to permanently op......
2010-06-24 20:46:00
BERNARD HARRIS
A planned maintenance project on the Wrights Ferry bridge recently became much bigger.State Department of Transportation officials had planned to do repairs on the expansion joints, structural steel and painting of the span that carries Route 30 over the Susquehanna River, between Columbia......
2010-06-23 22:20:00
BERNARD HARRIS
The people that work in the former Eastern Market building see it all the time: cars on Church Street roll past the stop sign as they merge on East King Street. Drivers rarely yield to pedestrians trying to cross the street."It's a dangerous stretch, whether you're driving a c......
2010-06-11 21:24:00
JENNA EBERSOLE
This summer, motorists on the bridge over the Pequea Creek on East Newport Road near Pequea Valley High School will have to take a different route. Starting Tuesday, the bridge will be closed until the end of August for "deck replacement, substructure repairs, installation of scour prot......
2010-06-11 20:13:00
STAFF
The Slackwater Road bridge, which spans the Conestoga River between Manor and Conestoga townships, will be closed Monday. The reconstruction of the bridge is expected to take until November. During that time, motorists traveling Slackwater Road south of Millersville will encounter a signed......
