Road Closure

Concrete arches installed Tuesday on Wharf Road will allow the road to reopen next week after being closed for four and a half years. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation contracted with Oldcastle Precast Inc. to deliver the con-span arch, PennDOT spokesman Mike Crochunis said. "Four-plus years ago, heavy rains flooded the roadway and resulted in damage to the foundation of the original stone arch," Crochunis said. Spring runoff in 2007 crested a nearby dam, prompting the road closure after the effects on the bridge were evaluated.

WAYNESBORO, PA. -- Construction officially started Tuesday to replace a bridge on Pa. 316 South near the Mason-Dixon Line. Baltimore contractor Whiting Turner spent the past week preparing the site with temporary traffic signals and signs. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation awarded the $1.9 million contract to Whiting Turner in January. The affected section of Pa. 316 south, also known as Wayne Highway South, averages more than 6,000 vehicles daily and serves as a major route between Waynesboro and Hagerstown.

Man pleads guilty to sale of a firearm to a prohibited person MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - A Sharpsburg man entered a plea of guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Martinsburg before Magistrate Judge David J. Joel, according to U.S. Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld II. Wilbur Slick, 60, pleaded guilty to sale of a firearm to a prohibited person in Harpers Ferry, W.Va., Ihlenfeld said in a news release. Slick, who is out on bond pending sentencing, faces up to 10 years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.

Work crews from Charles Brake Co. and Newville Construction Services will begin work to replace water and sewer mains in the intersection of Jonathan Street and North Avenue on Monday, weather permitting. This work will require drilling, blasting and excavation in the middle of the intersection, which will affect traffic flow on North Avenue, according to a release from the city. During the initial part of construction in the intersection, the contractor will attempt to use flaggers to keep at least one lane of traffic flowing on North Avenue, the release says.

East King Street at Martinsburg’s town square is expected to be closed to motorists on Queen and West King streets this week as contractors begin work on planned pedestrian and aesthetic improvements there. Detour signs directing motorists to East John and Spring streets in order to continue east on King Street beyond the 100 block have been installed and state Division of Highways area construction engineer Kenneth L. Clohan said he expects equipment for the $1.3 million project will be moved in (today)

WAYNESBORO, PA. - East Second Street between Virginia Avenue and Enterprise Avenue could be closed for more than two years under a proposal developed Thursday morning by a contingent of school and municipal officials. Councilmen Allen Porter and Richard "Dick" George, who attended the meeting with borough and schools staff, favored the idea and said they would take it to the full council at its Feb. 21 meeting. "Remember, Al and I represent two-sixths of a council," George said.

Editor's note: Millions of dollars worth of road projects are under way in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia and southcentral Pennsylvania. Drivers will find themselves navigating through detours and delays. Here is what to anticipate on the roads this week. West Virginia Interstate 81 at exit 8 near Martinsburg, W.Va., will have nighttime closures and a single lane of traffic at times this week during bridge construction at Tabler Station Road. The West Virginia Division of Highways will be doing maintenance on Carlyle, Camp Frame and Ted Kesecker roads, as well as Interstate 81 in Berkeley County.

Deal approved for landfill gas flaring operation The Washington County Commissioners on Tuesday approved an agreement with a renewable energy company for a landfill gas flaring operation at the closed Resh Road Landfill. The contract, similar to one already approved for the active Forty West Landfill, allows Washington Renewable Energy LLC to install and operate a gas flare system at its own expense and entitles the county to a percentage of the company's revenue from the sale of carbon credits earned by destroying the harmful greenhouse gas. The county had planned to install its own landfill gas collection system at the Resh Road Landfill to meet state requirements, but that system would not have allowed the county to earn carbon credits, said Clifford J. Engle, who heads the county's Solid Waste Department.

The problem: Richard Crowther, who lives in the 800 block of Dewey Avenue in Hagerstown's North End, said the city recently began sewer work in his street without notifying nearby residents of what was being done. The city put up no-parking signs in the area of the work, but Crowther, who leaves a vehicle at home while he is traveling, said that had he been out of town, he would have had no idea he needed to move his vehicle and fears it would have been towed. “I think they should have sent us all a letter and said, 'We intend to work on the sewage,' and that 'We will be asking you to move your cars' during a certain period of time,” Crowther said.

It was a fitting kickoff to summer as two new bridges opened to traffic just in time for the Memorial Day rush to Twin Bridge Meadow Family Campground. Franklin County commissioners and supervisors from St. Thomas and Hamilton townships cut a ribbon on Wednesday to officially open the two-lane bridges to traffic. Bridge 27 crosses Dennis Creek and is on Twin Bridge Road while Bridge 28 is on Crottlestown Road and also crosses Dennis Creek. Twin Bridge Road is off U.S. 30 a few miles west of Chambersburg.