Road Watch Col. -- March 28
A new online video feature, “Road Rant,” will be featured with my Road Watch blog. So if you want to rant, ahh, sound off, gripe or take issue with a traffic or road problem in Delaware County in need of attention/improvement or correction e-mail me (jroman@delcotimes.com) with the details and your phone number.
P-L-E-A-S-E don’t send Road Watcher out on a wild-goose chase to videotape a measly pothole that’s only an inch or so deep – just craters only!
Here are some ideas: What about that bad curve that doesn’t have any chevron warning signs beforehand? I’ll videotape one example in Haverford.
What about the rules for stopping for a red turn signal light that doesn’t have a “No Turn On Red” sign?
Now’s your chance to get your 15 seconds plus of fame – as opposed to the late Andy Warhol’s 15 minutes – ranting about a road situation in need of attention, either on- or off-camera.
Road Rant – don’t just mumble to yourself, fill us in online with video. Or I’ll just film the location without you and add your rant. Hopefully, it will get the attention of PennDOT or your local municipal highway department.
“The squeaky wheel gets the grease,” or the loudest complaints get the most attention, as the idiom says.

New Bus Driver Policy
State Reps. Bryan Lentz, D-161, of Swarthmore, and Josh Shapiro, D-153, of Montgomery County, along with Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman will host a press conference Tuesday in Norristown to announce a change in PennDOT policy regarding driving records for school bus driver applicants.
This comes in the wake of the fatal crash Feb. 17 involving Frederick Poust III, a school bus driver for the Perkiomen Valley School District, who was in a fatal crash several years ago that killed a toddler.
Shapiro on March 12 sent a letter to PennDOT Secretary Allen Biehler calling on the agency to make all accident information available to school districts prior to hiring school bus drivers.
“I’ve called on PennDOT to change their regulations so that the details on any accident are available to school districts prior to the hiring of any bus driver,” he said.
In 1999, Poust had been ticketed for careless driving following a crash that killed a 2-year-old girl and touched off a national debate about motorists using cell phones.
The latest crash has raised questions about how someone who has been involved in a prior fatal crash was able to get a job driving school buses.
Since Poust was only cited back then for careless driving, a summary offense, his driving record and a background check would not show that he was charged with a crime.

Barry Bridge Restriction
The right lane on the westbound Commodore Barry Bridge in Chester will be closed through November for bridge widening, PennDOT said.
The 24-hour restriction is part of the $71.1 million project to construct two new ramps off the bridge to provide direct access between I-95 and Route 291 (Second Street).
Construction is scheduled to finish in 2011.
Crews are building a new ramp off the approach to the bridge to enable I-95 motorists to exit onto Route 291. A second ramp being built off the bridge will allow drivers on Route 291 to reach I-95.

Naamans Creek Road
Daytime lane restrictions are scheduled on Naamans Creek Road (Route 491) between U.S. Route 202 and the Delaware state line in Concord, Bethel, Upper Chichester and Lower Chichester 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesday-Friday for tree clearing and utility relocation.
The work is being done in advance of PennDOT’s $9.8 million project to reconstruct, mill and pave Naamans Creek Road between the Delaware state line and Route 202, a distance of 5.5 miles.
The project also calls for drainage, signing, pavement marking, driveway, sight distance and turn radius improvements. Roadway shoulders will also be stabilized.
For the first phase of the operation, Route 491 through traffic will be detoured over Route 261, Delaware state Route 92 (Naamans Road) and Route 202. The phase one detour is expected to take effect in spring 2011.

I-95 North/South
One lane will be closed on I-95 North/South between Cottman Avenue and Academy Road 9 p.m.-5 a.m. Tuesday-Thursday for the installation of protective shielding on the bridge over Ashburner Street.
Lane closures also may occur 9 a.m.-3 p.m. weekdays on the northbound/southbound decks of the I-95/Girard Point Bridge over the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia. Crews will install painting platforms over the northbound lanes and prepare the southbound deck for resurfacing.

R1 Airport Line Shuttles
The Airport Brush Cutting Project has resumed after inclement weather with weekend shuttle buses replacing regular R1 Airport Line train service this weekend through today; April 10-11; and April 17-18.

TRAFFIC DELAYS
Radnor – Darby-Paoli Road, rumble strip installation between Bryn Mawr Avenue and Brooke Road 9 a.m.-3 p.m. weekdays.
Radnor – Blue Route (I-476 North/South), overhead sign inspection, one lane closed 9 a.m.-noon Tuesday between the Pennsylvania Turnpike and Lancaster Avenue (Route 30) in Radnor and Plymouth Township and Lower Merion, Montgomery County.
Radnor – Goshen Road, road work costing $1.3 million, closed/detoured 24 hours daily between Darby-Paoli Road and Hunt Road for roadway reconstruction and realignment to remove a sharp curve through Aug. 21. Work began March 1. Goshen Road will be detoured over Darby-Paoli Road, Bryn Mawr Avenue, Route 3, Route 252 and Goshen Road.
Radnor – Radnor-Chester Road, Aqua utility installation, closed/detoured between Lancaster Avenue and Conestoga Road 9 a.m.-3 p.m. starting Monday through June 29.
Knowlton Road – Aston and Middletown, rumble strip installation between Routes 452 and 352, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. weekdays.
Concord – U.S. Route 202 South, utility installation by the Concord Sewer Authority between Summit Street and Smithbridge Road 9 a.m.-3 p.m. weekdays through Thursday.
Concord – Baltimore Pike, bridge replacement with lane restrictions on bridge over Chester Creek 9 a.m.-3 p.m. weekdays through June 2011. Work began September 2009.
Ridley Township – U.S. Route 13 (Chester Pike), Aqua Pa. utility installation between Morton Avenue and Acres Drive 9 a.m.-3 p.m. weekdays through April 6.
Also, Route 13, bridge replacement with lane restrictions between Morton Avenue and Acres Drive 9 a.m.-3 p.m. April 5-16.
U.S. Route 1 (Baltimore Pike) – Middletown and Chester Township, bridge replacement between Darlington and Station roads, 24-hour restrictions through June 2011; work began October 2009.
Baltimore Pike (U.S. Route 1) – Middletown and Chester Heights, bridge replacement with lane restrictions between Darlington and Station roads, 24-hour restrictions through June 2011. Work began Oct. 12.
Road Watch appears Sundays. Only messages and mail with phone numbers will be considered. E-mail: jroman@delcotimes.com.