Construction

Repairs are under way to the C&O Canal over Culvert 182 in Hancock.

Construction crews work Wednesday on the earthen foundation of the northbound on-ramp of Exit 17 in Chambersburg, Pa. The long-delayed $15.6 million interchange on Interstate 81 is scheduled for completion in summer 2005, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.

FUNKSTOWN -- Construction on the Funkstown bypass, referred to as Southern Boulevard, won't begin until spring 2011 at the earliest, Rob Slocum, Washington County's deputy director of public works, said Thursday. The bypass eventually is to extend from East Oak Ridge Drive, west of Funkstown, to Dual Highway. The first phase of the project calls for building the leg from East Oak Ridge Drive to Alternate U.S. 40 north of Funkstown and does not involve a bridge. Last December, Slocum said the work could begin this fall to the spring of 2011.

Due to sanitary sewer construction in Woodpoint Avenue between Broadfording Avenue and Church Street, Woodpoint Avenue will be closed to through traffic effective today from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. A detour will be posted. Local access will be maintained.

The alley between the first block of East Franklin Street and East Avenue in downtown Hagerstown is temporarily closed for construction, according to the city engineering department. Traffic can access the Cramer Alley entrance to the Department of Social Services on North Potomac Street by entering from East Avenue.

There will be construction on East Antietam Street from Oct. 25 to Oct. 28, which might cause traffic delays at the intersection with South Potomac Street, according to a city news release. The City Light Department will be installing street light equipment between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m., officials said. Construction workers will close one of three lanes at a time on the east side of South Potomac Street until the work is completed. Officials said all traffic lanes will be open during nonworking hours, and the work will not prevent emergency vehicles from passing.

Traffic patterns on a portion of Maugans Avenue returned to normal Thursday after a week of construction reduced the road to one lane in an area between Pennsylvania Avenue and I-81. The road was narrowed to one lane Aug. 1 to allow workers to repair a sinkhole near the Maugans Avenue Car Wash. The repairs have been finished and all traffic lanes on the road are open, according to a Washington County press release.

A series of delays has stalled a construction project that was supposed to start this month at Hagerstown Community College, HCC officials said Tuesday. Renovations to the school's Career Programs Building and major construction extending the campus' main traffic loop will not start until June - five months later than planned, George Soterin, HCC's director of facilities management and planning, said at the college's Board of Trustees meeting. HCC President Guy Altieri said the later construction date could pose problems this time next year, as administrators search for alternative space to accommodate students who might be without classrooms during the renovations.

photos: RICHARD T. MEAGHER / staff photographer Construction of the new $75 million Centre at Hagerstown shopping complex is on schedule for a spring 2000 opening, Scott R. Schroeder, spokesman for Ohio-based Developers Diversified Realty Corp., said Tuesday. The shopping center, at the intersection of Interstate 81 and U.S. 40, is fully leased, Schroeder said. It will contain more than 40 stores and restaurants, including Wal-Mart Super Center, Home Depot, Borders Books and Music, Pier 1 Imports, Circuit City and PetSMart.

Construction for the last leg of a project that will complete a downtown bike loop was unanimously approved Tuesday by the Hagerstown City Council. A contract was awarded to Hagerstown company Henson & Son, Inc, in the amount of $79,786.50 for the construction of a 10-foot-wide multiuse path from South Prospect Street along Walnut Street to Park Circle, along the north side of Park Circle to Walnut Avenue. According to the city documents, the construction will connect existing bike lanes on South Prospect Street to Summit Avenue and cyclists will have the option of turning onto the West Lee Street bike lane or continuing north on a new Summit Avenue lane connecting to an existing lane on Jonathan Street.

After hearing public testimony Tuesday afternoon, the Washington County Board of Commissioners voted to amend the county's excise tax ordinance, reducing the costs on new construction of residential and nonresidential retail properties. The amendment, approved by a unanimous 5-0 vote, authorizes the excise tax on residential construction to be lowered from $3 per square feet of habitable gross square footage to $1. Costs on new nonresidential retail construction also will be lowered from $3 per square foot to $1 per square foot on the first 15,000 square feet, and $3 per square foot thereafter.

Volvo Construction Equipment celebrated its $100 million investment in its new national headquarters in Shippensburg during a day-long ceremony Thursday. The company also unveiled its first U.S.-built wheel loaders as they rolled off the assembly line at the Franklin County plant Thursday. “This should serve as a very clear signal that Volvo CE is committed to this market and in a better position than ever before to offer our customers products that are made by Americans, for Americans,” Volvo Construction Equipment President Pat Olney said in a statement.

Spring Mills High School is set to be dedicated Aug. 7, but Berkeley County's fourth public high school is expected to be finished well before then, Berkeley County Schools Superintendent Manny P. Arvon said Tuesday while giving a tour of the school. Hallway clocks displayed the correct time during the tour, basketball backboards were installed in the main gymnasium and cafeteria equipment in the kitchen appeared practically ready for food service. The cafeteria and every other room visited Tuesday had yet to be furnished, but Arvon said all of the remaining work is expected to be finished by June 1, if not sooner.

With time of the essence to entice the Washington County Board of Education to move downtown, some Hagerstown officials said they believe the unit block of West Washington Street is the best available site because of its visibility, accessibility and proximity. More specifically, the city wants to purchase and demolish the former Susquehanna Bank property at 55-57-59 W. Washington St. and the current Columbia Bank properties at 81 and 83 W. Washington St. to make way for new construction of the BOE's administrative offices, Mayor David S. Gysberts said Thursday.

The following courses will be offered at the Barr Construction Institute at Associated Builders and Contractors, 530 N. Locust St. in Hagerstown: OSHA 10-Hour Course Instructor: Wayne Young Monday, March 4; Thursday, March 7; and Monday, March 11, 5:30 to 9 p.m. The 10-hour certification course is intended to provide instruction on a variety of construction and industry safety and health standards. Certification cards issued from the OSHA Training Institute.

While touring the construction site of the new Bester Elementary School on Wednesday, Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot said he supports the county's request for slightly more than $1 million in state funds for the project on top of the $7.6 million already provided for it and was “very optimistic” that it would be approved. “This is a well-run construction project, taxpayers' money is being well spent, the kids are going to benefit, the faculty will benefit, the state will benefit,” he said.

The Town of Williamsport will use a $10,000 state grant to create a 1.3-mile circuit of bike lanes on town streets, with enough funding expected to be left to mark South Conococheague Street for cyclists down to a new park-and-ride lot to be built near the Interstate 81/Md. 68 interchange, Town Clerk Donald Stotelmyer said. Bicyclists should have more designated paths on Williamsport streets by this summer, Stotelmyer said. Construction work for a park-and-ride lot, which includes adjusting an interstate ramp and widening Md. 68, is expected to begin in midsummer, weather and scheduling permitting, so  the project could be done by spring 2014, according to an email from State Highway Administration spokesman Charlie Gischlar.

Clayton Wilcox, the superintendent for Washington County Public Schools, asked the state Board of Public Works Wednesday to restore about $2 million in school construction money that was requested by the school district, but was not part of the proposed capital budget announced by Gov. Martin O'Malley last week. The capital budget for fiscal year 2014 sets aside $6.5 million for school construction in Washington County, and the district had requested about $9 million. The meeting at the governor's office is an annual ritual, where school district officials from around the state ask the board for school construction money that has been requested but not fully allocated.