Potomac River

Southbound Interstate 81 over the Potomac River was reduced to one lane Thursday to allow state road crews to repair a growing pothole on the bridge, Maryland highway officials said. Starting at 1 p.m. and expected to last through evening rush-hour, the southbound right-hand lane was closed so crews could cut out a 2-foot by 4-foot portion of the bridge deck and pour new concrete, said David Buck, a spokesman for the Maryland State Highway Administration. The concrete needed to set before the lane could be reopened.

A traffic accident was reported at about 2:15 p.m. Tuesday on southbound Interstate 81 near Exit 2 (U.S. 11) at Williamsport, a superivsor from Washington County Emergency Services said. The accident scene was cleared by 2:50 p.m. At 3 p.m., traffic on I-81 southbound was still moving very slowly from the Interstate 70 interchange to the bridge across the Potomac River. One southbound lane of I-81 was closed at Exit 1 near the Potomac River bridge into West Virginia in order to fix a pothole on the bridge.

A Funkstown man was in serious condition Tuesday at R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma in Baltimore following an accident on Interstate 81. Emergency repairs to a pothole on the I-81 bridge over the Potomac River apparently played a role in the afternoon crash at the Cearfoss Pike exit, Maryland State Police said in a news release. Emergency rescue crews responded to the crash at about 4:20 p.m. at the Cearfoss Pike and I-81 interchange that closed both southbound lanes. Police said the wreck involved a 2002 Kia Rio that struck the rear of a Volvo tractor-trailer, driven by David Kithart, 55, of Bell, Texas.

A search for someone who might have been in danger in the Potomac River was called off Thursday afternoon when a group of kayakers was found to be OK, a Washington County emergency dispatcher said. A report came in at about 3:30 p.m. that someone might have been stranded in a kayak or small raft in the river near Sandy Hook Road. Emergency crews used rescue boats to search the river where it meets the Shenandoah River, near Harpers Ferry, W.Va. However, shortly after 5 p.m., the rescue effort ended when everyone that was part of a group of kayakers was accounted for. A dispatcher said the kayakers had been in the water earlier and someone reported that someone might have been in danger, but the concern turned out to be unfounded.

A woman and two dogs were rescued Saturday afternoon from the Potomac River, where they had become stranded on a bank of logs after a canoe capsized near Harpers Ferry, Potomac Valley Volunteer Fire Co. Chief Eric Gray said. The woman, two medium-sized dogs and three other people were in the canoe when it capsized in a section of fast-moving water just below Dam No. 3, Gray said. The other three people made it to shore, but the woman and the dogs ended up on some logs that were hung up in a group of trees about 70 feet from the Maryland shore, he said.

This is the 186th in a series of articles about the historical and architectural treasures of Washington County. With great celebration, the Cheasapeake and Ohio Canal Company broke ground on July 4, 1828, intending to build a canal that would follow the Potomac River and eventually reach Pittsburgh. This canal would open up the Ohio Valley and the Midwest to commerce from Maryland; it would bind the new country together. Canals were a proven technology, used successfully in Europe and in New York for the Erie Canal.

After days of rain and flooding, dry weather is finally headed to the Tri-State area. The Hagerstown area is in for several drier days, with precipitation not making its way back to the area until the middle of next week, National Weather Service Meteorologist Bryan Jackson said. The Potomac River, however could still continue to rise Saturday as water makes its way down from higher elevations, Jackson said. Ed Plank, head of the Washington County Highway Department, said earlier Friday that the worst flooding in some parts of the county would not come until after sunset.

At about 47 degrees, the air might have been warmer than average for New Year’s Day in Williamsport, but the water? “Freezing!” said Ashlyn Powers, 18, of Hagerstown, as she emerged, dripping, from a dip in the icy Potomac River. “I can’t feel anything.” Powers was one of hundreds of people who participated in this year’s Polar Bear Plunge, a New Year’s Day tradition at River Bottom Park in Williamsport to benefit the Humane Society of Washington County.

WILLIAMSPORT --An overweight, southbound tractor-trailer with insufficient brakes struck the rear of a Mercedes sport utility vehicle on the Interstate 81 bridge crossing the Potomac River on Monday afternoon then hit another tractor-trailer, according to a Maryland State Police spokesman. Both southbound lanes of the interstate were shut down after the 2:18 p.m. crash, which snarled traffic on the road, Trooper 1st Class J. Eichelberger said. The driver of the overweight tractor-trailer, which was a tanker truck hauling milk, said he had faulty brakes, Eichelberger said.

Two cocker spaniels found along Potomac Found - Two cocker spaniels. Where - The dogs were found along the Potomac River. When - The dogs were found Aug. 22. Description - The dogs are female. Phone number - To identify pets, call Green Pastures No Kill Animal Rescue at 717-375-2980.