Saturday, May 25, 2013
PennDOT's new YouTube channel features safety information and a video of a recent highway tanker fire.
PennDOT has a new YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/PennsylvaniaDOT, to expand its public outreach on safety and education initiatives, as well as department operations. “Our YouTube channel is our next step in communicating with our customers in more personal, interactive ways,” PennDOT Secretary Barry J. Schoch said. So far, the new PennDOT YouTube channel includes: In the future, the department plans to add videos featuring department maintenance operations as well as highway safety efforts. The channel complements PennDOT’s social media outreach on Facebook and Twitter. Since the department launched its official Twitter account – PennDOTNews – in 2010, more than 11,000 followers have signed on. The PennDOT Facebook page, which was …
Friday, May 24, 2013
Drivers can expect roving patrols, safety checkpoints and special attention to seat belt compliance over Memorial Day Weekend.
PennDOT will partner with more than 600 law enforcement agencies and the Pennsylvania State Police to participate in a national “Click It or Ticket” seat-belt enforcement effort through June 9. The effort will focus largely on nighttime enforcement, using traffic safety checkpoints and roving patrols. Police will also use Traffic Enforcement Zones, which combine roving patrol and checkpoint tactics on roadways with high numbers of unbuckled crashes. According to PennDOT data, 503 people died last year in unbelted crashes, a decrease from 509 such fatalities in 2011. The total number of crashes in which people were not wearing seat belts also decreased to 15,528, compared with 16,298 in 2011. The majority of enforcement will occur at night…
Saturday, April 20, 2013
Ran a red light? $100, please: PA proposal would add traffic fines for road repairs.
- GOVERNMENT
-
Saturday, April 20
By Melissa Daniels/Pa Independent HARRISBURG — The latest proposal to fund repairs to Pennsylvania’s aging roads and bridges could mean steeper costs for all drivers, especially those with a lead foot. Sen. John Rafferty, R-Montgomery, chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, unveiled his proposal for $2.5 billion worth of transportation funding Tuesday. The plan uncaps the oil-franchise tax, which is paid on the wholesale price of gasoline, to raise about $1.6 billion, and brings in millions more by increasing Pennsylvania Department of Transportation fees and a new surcharge on top of traffic tickets. “If we want to be competitive and we want to move the state forward, we have to do something in the way of transportation funding…
Friday, April 19, 2013
Group of GOP lawmakers call for abolishing PA Turnpike citing scandal, redundancy.
- GOVERNMENT
-
Friday, April 19
By Melissa Daniels/Pa Independent HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania has two transportation agencies. One controls more than 40,000 miles of state roads and 25,000 bridges, and another maintains 545 miles of tolled highway. The former has seven executives, one for every 5,857 miles of roadway; the latter nine executives, one for every 60 miles of roadway. For a group of Republican lawmakers, this doesn’t add up, especially when one of those agencies was the subject of a 44-month long grand jury investigation over alleged bid-rigging. Standing alongside a dozen other GOP lawmakers, Rep. Donna Oberlander, R-Clarion, introduced legislation Wednesday to abolish the “corruption-infested” Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission and fold the route’s operation …
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett is proposing a multi-year transportation funding plan that would raise the oil company franchise tax and lower the flat gasoline tax.
- GOVERNMENT
-
Saturday, February 9
By Melissa Daniels | PA Independent HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania could finally see some serious improvements in roads and bridges, but only if lawmakers are willing to follow the governor’s plan to raise funds through a plan that might also boost gas prices. On the same day Gov. Tom Corbett introduced his 2013-2014 budget proposal, he announced a plan to generate more than $5 billion in transportation funding over five years, mostly from a change in the way gas taxes are levied. Under Corbett’s plan, funds would come from lowering the flat tax paid by consumers while increasing the tax gas stations pay on fuel. Related story: Corbett Budget: Pension 'Reform' Now, Big Costs Later Corbett and other administration officials maintain this wouldn’…
Monday, January 14, 2013
Plan you commute on I-78.
- GOVERNMENT
-
Monday, January 14
Salisbury Township/Allentown Road: Interstate 78 Between: Northampton County Line and Exit 49 (PA 100) Type of Work: Drainage Restriction: Shoulder restriction westbound. Watch for stopped vehicles and please use caution driving through the work zone. Start date: 01/14/2013 Est. Completion Date: 01/15/2013 Restrictions in Effect (time of day): 9:00 AM To 2:00 PM **** Road: Interstate 78 Between: Exit 57 (Lehigh Street) and Exit 55 (Cedar Crest Blvd) Type of Work: Median Repair Restriction: Lane restriction in both directions for median barrier repair. Start date: 01/14/2013 Est. Completion Date: 01/15/2013 Restrictions in Effect (time of day): 9:00 AM To 3:00 PM
Friday, January 4, 2013
UGI on scene to repair gas line leak in Fountain Hill. Traffic restrictions expected to remain in effect into the evening.
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
-
Friday, January 4
Traffic on Broadway through part of Fountain Hill is expected to be restricted to one lane until the early evening hours as UGI crews work to repair a gas line leak, PennDOT officials said. The leak was first spotted late this morning and Broadway was closed between Delaware and Dodson avenues at 11 a.m. One lane of traffic was restored this afternoon with flaggers controlling the flow in either direction, according to a Pennsylvania Department of Transportation news release. Broadway was expected to be reopened fully sometime this evening..
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Routes 22, 78, 309 and 33 among area highways that have had speed limits reduced because of winter storm.
- LOCAL CONNECTIONS
-
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
PennDOT is urging motorists to avoid unnecessary travel but those who must head out will see speeds reduced to 45 mph on the following highways: PennDOT is urging motorists to avoid unnecessary travel but those who must head out will see speeds reduced to 45 mph on the following highways: A winter storm is expected to bring several inches of snow to the Lehigh Valley through Wednesday night. Although PennDOT has crews treating roadways around the clock, the department's primary goal is to keep roads passable, not completely free of ice and snow. PennDOT will continue to treat roadways throughout the storm until precipitation stops and roads are clear. Although PennDOT recommends not traveling during winter storms, motorists can check …
Monday, December 24, 2012
A one-year bridge replacement project in Lehigh Township will begin Dec. 26.
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) has announced that work will begin Wednesday, Dec. 26 to replace the structurally deficient Walnut Drive Bridge over Indian Creek in Lehigh Township, Northampton County. The contractor will replace the existing masonry arch bridge with a new concrete arch bridge. The project is expected to be complete in November 2013. All schedules are weather dependent. Grace Industries, Inc. of Bath, Pa. is the general contractor on the $633,207 project. The Walnut Drive Bridge was constructed in 1834. The Bridge is 32 feet long and 21 feet wide. The new Bridge will be 36 feet long and 24 feet wide. Walnut Drive has an average daily traffic volume of 632 vehicles. Follow local PennDOT information …
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Get travel info via PennDOT's 511PA system
Pennsylvania’s 511PA system, which provides free travel information including construction alerts and real-time traffic cameras, reached a milestone of 2 million total website visits this summer. The website is a good resource to check before you hit the road for the holidays. The 511PA system is accessible 24-hours-per-day, seven days a week at www.511PA.com or by calling 5-1-1. The 511PA telephone system has received more than 1 million calls and more than 15,000 people have signed up for personalized text or email alerts. Launched in 2009, the 511PA service provides travel information such as active and planned construction, incident alerts and weather alerts for more than 2,900 miles of Pennsylvania highways. Average traffic speeds are…
Liberty 1
8:41 pm on Saturday, May 25, 2013
That does not give the government the right to stop anybody without cause and make suspects out of everybody. If you get pulled over for speeding, out of date tags, reckless driving etc. then you face the penalty. But I resent being a suspect. more ›