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What's New: Visit this site often for the latest project news and information
Project Update
Development of Alternatives Resumes
The Route 30 Corridor Improvement Study has been underway for years. Throughout project development, the project team has been engaged in efforts to reduce the potential impacts of alternatives. Avoidance is not possible. Significant historic resources are numerous and widely dispersed throughout the study area. So too, rich, productive farmlands - on soils of nationwide significance - blanket the study area. The majority of these farms are owned by Old Order Amish. Increasing levels development in the area has been stressing Amish Culture, threatening their way of life in Lancaster County. Concerned about this, the study has proceeded with great diligence.
The study is currently in the Detailed Alternatives phase of development. For additional information, read the Winter 2006 Newsletter.
The Idea of 'Right-Sizing'
You may have heard a new term being used by transportation planners. That's because in the last year PennDOT has adopted a new approach to achieving its core mission of providing a safe, efficient transportation system that improves the quality of life in communities. They call this new approach to developing transportation improvements 'right-sizing'. Like any good organization, PennDOT has adapted its business practices to today's circumstances. The Department's decision to change the way it does business was prompted in part by a serious financial constraint - there is not enough funding to meet all of the Commonwealth's transportation needs.
By right-sizing transportation improvements we can:
- Further reduce project impacts
- Reduce the scale of proposed improvements for a better 'fit' with the community
- Provide for new local roadway connections, including facilities to serve non-motorized travel
- Reduce construction costs
Historic Attractions
Wondering what to do this weekend? Find new sites to visit to explore Lancaster County's rich heritage. Learn about the benefits of tourism to Lancaster County businesses and residents alike. (Click here for more)
A Workhorse of a Road
It is not much of a stretch to say that, in this country, the history of moving farm goods to market is the history of early transportation in Lancaster County. Settlers first arrived in Lancaster County in the early 1700's to forge a living farming the productive soils of America's frontier. The early roads through eastern Lancaster County provided routes from Philadelphia, the nation's capital, to the largest inland town of the colonies, Lancaster. The need to move large quantities of goods inspired Lancaster farmers to develop a new, heavy-duty vehicle, which became known as the Conestoga wagon. They were the semi-trucks of their day.
As more and more of these bulky wagons crowded the roadways, new roads were chartered. The Philadelphia-Lancaster Turnpike, predecessor of US 30, was constructed using the newest road building techniques of the day. By linking together the country's most prosperous agricultural region to one of its most important seaports, the turnpike offered local farmers direct access to regional markets and to the many inns and villages which sprung up along the way.
This same dynamic continues today with agricultural products being shipped from Lancaster County to Philadelphia and the entire eastern seaboard. Add to this the freight being moved between the Harrisburg rail yards and the Port of Wilmington, building materials being delivered throughout the region, millions of tourists coming into the area, and thousands of area workers heading to employment centers in Lancaster and Chester counties, and it is easy to see that US 30 remains a workhorse for commerce.
