Paper: INTELLIGENCER JOURNAL (LANCASTER, PA.)

Date: 08/01/01

Day: WEDNESDAY

Section: LOCAL

Page: B-4

Byline: Carrie Caldwell

Subject: POLL; TRANSPORTATION; ROADS; LANCASTER; COUNTY; PA; TRAFFIC

Motorists often fight their way through traffic when traveling on Route 30 in eastern Lancaster County.

Increased traffic flow is a sign of a booming economy, say officials from the state Department of Transportation. But drivers often must pay the price for the growth.

PennDOT is hoping to provide relief from traffic congestion and safety hazards for motorists who travel along a 9-mile section of Route 30 that stretches from Route 896 in East Lampeter Township to Route 41 in Salisbury Township.

The Route 30 Corridor Improvement Study was started in 1996, but fell to the wayside when funding became scarce. PennDOT, however, picked up where it left off as soon as there was funding.

"As most people realize from driving on Route 30 in that area, the road is often congested and makes the driving experience unpleasant."

Part of the study is conducting origin and destination surveys, focusing on truck travel throughout the eastern portion of the Route 30 Corridor. Three survey areas have been established at three locations along Routes 30, 340 and 741.

The Routes 340 and 741 interview sites operate for six hours, while the Route 30 location will operate for 24 hours.

PennDOT is asking truck drivers to participate in the survey by pulling over briefly at these locations to be interviewed, said PennDOT spokesman Greg Penny, adding that the information collected would be useful in developing and evaluating solutions for improving the corridor.

Results of PennDOT's study will be presented at a meeting to be scheduled within the next several years, according to the project's Web site.

"The presence of too many personal vehicles is exacerbated by the trucks that serve the many productive farms in the area…," the project's Web site states. "Tourists attracted to the area's historic and rural charms as well as outlet stores, arrive by the busload."

Horse and buggies indigenous to the eastern side of the county also cause traffic delays on Route 30, mostly in the historic villages of Gap, Paradise and Soudersburg, the Web site states.

PennDOT plans to create a wide range of improvement alternatives for increasing roadway capacity in the corridor -- from widening the roadway to the construction of a new highway.

Origin and destination surveys, the first step in the process, will be conducted over the next couple of years, Penny said.

"They'll give us an idea on what we can do to get a more suitable route for the truckers," he said. "That way, later on, we'll know if we should build a bypass, widen the roadway or do something else. … We want to keep drivers safe.