Traffic Signals

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - A land development plan for an expansion of Chambersburg Area Senior High School was approved Monday night by the Chambersburg Borough Council. The plan for the $73.8 million project, reviewed by the council two weeks ago and placed on the consent agenda for Monday's meeting, was passed without discussion. The council also approved an agreement with the school district for traffic signals and recreational improvements. The Chambersburg School Board previously voted to approve the agreement, which calls for the borough to undertake "a program of additions and renovations to its recreational facilities, which may be used by school district students.

GREENCASTLE, Pa. - The Antrim Township Board of Supervisors heard recommendations Tuesday about how to reduce traffic congestion at the intersection of Pa. 16 and exit 5 of Interstate 81. The supervisors initially approved the proposed study by Grove Miller Traffic Engineering Inc. of Harrisburg, Pa., on May 8 at a cost of $21,300. Township Manager Ben Thomas said the problem of traffic stacking at the intersection during morning and evening rush hours is the main reason for the study.

Recently finished work at the intersection of Maugans Avenue and U.S. 11 is being repaired after engineers found problems with two of the intersection's shoulders, Washington County Deputy Chief Engineer Robert J. Slocum said. Workers excavated the curbs and pavement around the southeast and northeast corners of the intersection on Thursday. Grading inconsistencies and warped pavement made the repairs necessary, Slocum said. Repairs on both corners of the intersection began Thursday, and should take four days to complete, Slocum said.

A Maugans Avenue improvement project is expected to be finished in August 2008, according to Washington County Deputy Chief Engineer Robert J. Slocum. In a story about the project that ran Sunday, The Herald-Mail reported that it was estimated the work would be completed in the middle of May. That estimate was correct when Slocum talked about the project several weeks ago, but there have been delays since then. The Herald-Mail left a message with Slocum on Friday for an update, but he was not available.

MAUGANSVILLE - When Tracy Dinezza's children want candy at the nearby convenience store, she drives them there. The two blocks along Maugans Avenue are too hazardous for her to walk with a 3-year-old and a 5-year-old, she believes. In a neighborhood in which a major road is about to get larger, count Dinezza as one of the project's staunch supporters. When she found out that Washington County was making significant improvements to Maugans Avenue and needed to acquire land, her reaction was, "I'll sign whatever papers you want," she said.

HAGERSTOWN Vehicles stopped at a traffic signal on South Potomac Street in front of South Hagerstown High School Thursday afternoon for the first time. Construction of the $43,000 signal began in June, and the light was activated Thursday after a brief ceremony during which local officials discussed the project. Because of an increase in traffic volume when children are arriving at and departing from school, the intersection where South Potomac Street intersects with the entrance to South Hagerstown High School "goes from not much of anything to a real dangerous intersection," Capt.

HAGERSTOWN - In an effort to save thousands of dollars, the City of Hagerstown will start replacing its traffic signal bulbs with light-emitting diodes. City Public Works Director Eric Deike said the switch could shave a significant amount off the $90,000 annual electric bill that the city pays to keep the traffic signals operating. The City Council voted 5-0 Tuesday to spend $16,932 to purchase the LEDs from RGA Inc., of Powhatan, Va. LEDs are a series of several small lights, rather than a single bulb, he said.

WAYNESBORO, Pa. - About 20,000 vehicles roll through Washington Township on Pa. 16 each day, making it increasingly difficult for those motorists trying to get across the road or make a left turn along the corridor. At one particularly busy intersection, that situation should improve next year after state Sen. Terry Punt, R-Franklin, announced Friday that the township will receive a $100,000 grant to install a traffic signal at the Oller Avenue intersection. "We opened our business here in 1984, and from that time, we've been telling them how much we need a light here," said Paul Gunder, an associate broker with Jack Gaughen Realtor ERA at 1814 E. Main St. "I'll be able to turn left and go home at the end of the day ... It's wonderful," said Magisterial District Judge Larry Pentz, whose office is on North Oller Avenue.

Folks looking to drive through downtown Hagerstown as fast as possible are probably grateful that traffic signals are coordinated to speed their progress. Not all downtowns do it that way. Some purposefully stagger lights to ensure motorists have to stop and wait for the light to change at several points in the city. The reason is that if a motorist is stopped, she is more likely to look around and perhaps take note of an interesting downtown shop or two that might have otherwise gone unnoticed as she breezed by. Any rookie ad agent can tell you this: eyes matter.

MAUGANSVILLE - A fist-sized puncture in the shoulder of Maugans Avenue on Sunday night grew overnight into a gaping hole. Beneath the street's surface, where water eroded the limestone, the chasm was greater. Joseph Kroboth III, the county's public works director, said the sinkhole was about 20 feet at a narrow point and about 30 feet at its widest. The depth varied from about 22 feet to more than 30 feet, he said. County officials said they expected to plug both the hole and the underground caverns that jutted out like wings by the end of Monday night.