Motorists

Hamilton Boulevard was closed to all traffic between West Irvin Avenue and Cypress Street from 7 a.m. until about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to the City of Hagerstown. The same block is expected to be closed again Thursday between 7 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. The road was closed so work crews from the City of Hagerstown's Wastewater Division can repair sanitary sewer laterals in that block of Hamilton Boulevard. The work involves excavation in the street to access the laterals, according to the city.

After two years of construction, frequent drivers of Edgewood Drive are used to blocked lanes and restricted turns. But what they may not realize is that one of those restrictions will continue even when the construction project is completed and all the orange barrels removed. Left turns from northbound Edgewood Drive onto Howell Road near Hoffman Automotive will be prohibited permanently, according to Geoff McCammon, Maryland State Highway Administration community liaison for Washington County.

Pennsylvania State Police reported that seven people were killed in crashes during the four-day Fourth of July holiday, a slight decrease from a year ago. WHTM-TV reported on its website Tuesday that  State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan said 723 crashes were investigated, 358 motorists were arrested for driving under the influence and 519 people were cited for not wearing seat belts. State police also issued 7,007 speeding citations, along with 103 citations to motorists for not securing their children in child safety seats.

Washington County's roadways were crammed with motorists who set out Friday to get an early start on the Fourth of July weekend. Maryland State Police Cpl. P.A. Martin said traffic typically increases during the holidays in Washington County on Interstates 70 and 81. "It normal," Martin said. "Westbound (I-70) is the heaviest, but eastbound is heavy, too. " Martin said I-81 south also gets a lot of traffic because people are going to the beach. To monitor the increased traffic, state police are putting more patrols on the road to catch reckless and drunken drivers, Martin said.

A one-day survey by school bus drivers found 88 incidents in which drivers in Washington County did not stop for a school bus that had stopped to pick up or drop off students, Washington County Public Schools officials said. The Maryland State Department of Education on Feb. 10 sponsored a survey in which more than 4,712 school bus drivers were asked to note how many times motorists violated the school vehicle law, passing a school bus illegally, according to a state education department news release and Barbara Scotto, Washington County Public Schools’ supervisor of transportation.

With the cost of gasoline rising, the Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) suggests motorists develop ridesharing partnerships with friends, neighbors or co-workers.   The SHA has more than 12,000 free parking spaces for commuters at more than 100 park-and-ride locations across Maryland, and has opened new rideshare lots around the state, including one in Washington County on Md. 67 at Weverton Road, and one in Frederick County at the I-70/Md. 355 (Urbana Pike) interchange.

Although an accumulation of freezing rain is expected to be less than a than a tenth of an inch from about 1 a.m. through 10 a.m. today,  the National Weather Service is warning Tri-State area of potentially icy conditions. Meteorologist Kevin Witt said Friday night that overpasses and bridges could be particularly slick because of the precipitation. Temperatures are not expected to rise above freezing until late morning, if not until noon, Witt said.   Precipitation was expected to begin as early as 10 p.m. in the Shenandoah Valley before arriving in the Hagerstown area after midnight, according to forecast models.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. --The last sections of the new four-lane route for W.Va. 9 between Martinsburg and Charles Town, W.Va., opened to motorists at about 11 a.m. Tuesday, according to Kenneth L. Clohan, the area construction engineer for the West Virginia Division of Highways. To prevent confusion among the traveling public, highway officials had to coordinate the opening of the new section of W.Va. 9 between Opequon Creek and Leetown Road in Jefferson County with the changing of signage along the old route, Clohan said.

Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) crews will perform paving work Monday from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Edgewood Drive north of U.S. 40, according to an SHA press release. Those hours are extended from the crew's usual work times, according to the release. One lane of Edgewood Drive will be closed, the SHA said. The work is part of improvements to the intersection of U.S. 40 and Edgewood Drive. Weather permitting, the $7 million project will be completed in the fall, according to the SHA release.

To connect with moving voters, some candidates do The Wave. Clutching campaign signs, they stand along busy roads, waving and smiling at passing vehicles. Christopher B. Shank, a three-term delegate running for state Senate, did it in downtown Boonsboro on Thursday afternoon. He's challenging state Sen. Donald F. Munson in the Sept. 14 primary. No Democrats are running. Munson, seeking a sixth Senate term, waved in downtown Hagerstown on Friday afternoon. A reporter observed and interviewed each as he waved in the summertime heat.