For June 13, Road Watch/With Road Rant Video…
The state police in cooperation with the Department of Environmental Protection placed 193 trash trucks out of service during a two-day enforcement effort that focused on commercial haulers.
During the operation on June 2-3, state police motor carrier enforcement personnel focused their attention on trash trucks and identifying safety defects that can lead to crashes, according to State Police Commissioner Frank Pawlowski.
“Inspections were conducted at landfills and waste transfer stations across the state,” he said.
Pawlowski said personnel inspected 892 trash trucks and weighed 676 trucks. They issued 666 citations and 1,235 written warnings.
The most common violations were inoperable rear lights and improperly adjusted brakes. Nineteen drivers were placed out of service.
Troop K, which covers Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties, conducted 119 inspections. They placed 28 vehicles out of service and issued 124 citations.
SEPTA Routes 101/102 Trolleys
Construction on the final phase of the Route 101/Media and Route 102/Sharon Hill trolley lines in Delaware County will begin Monday and through Aug. 29.
Regular trolley service will resume Aug. 30.
During the construction, temporary shuttle buses will operate seven days a week substituting for regular Route 101 service between 69th Street Terminal and Media, and Route 102 service between 69th Street Terminal and Sharon Hill.
All shuttle buses will arrive and depart from South Terminal at 69th Street.
Shuttle bus stops are located at or near trolley stops marked with “Route 101 Shuttle Bus” or “Route 102 Shuttle Bus” signs. During weekday peak hours, Route 101 Express trips will operate without stops between 69th Street Terminal and State Road and Anderson Avenue, and then make all scheduled local stops.
Route 101 shuttle bus morning express trips will depart Media at 5:55, 6:15, 6:35, 6:55, 7:15, 7:35 and 7:55 a.m.
Afternoon express trips will depart 69th Street Terminal/South Terminal at 4:00, 4:20, 4:40, 5:00, 5:20 and 5:40 p.m.
Customers should consult the Route 101 or Route 102 timetable dated June 14 for specific route and schedule details and plan to add an additional 10 to 25 minutes travel time to their commute.
SEPTA’s Toughest Fixes
Behind-the-scenes work at SEPTA’s maintenance shops, subway tunnels and other areas not seen by the public was featured on National Geographic Channel’s series World’s Toughest Fixes.
The episode titled World’s Toughest Transit: Philly Mega Fix aired at 9 p.m. Thursday on the TV channel.
The program provided a surprisingly intimate and unique look at the jobs SEPTA employees do each day.
The episode focused on the hard work and dedication of thousands of SEPTA workers, whose efforts are usually unseen and unknown. For several weeks, the channel lugged its high definition cameras through the bowels of the SEPTA subway system, into the back shops and to the heights of its electrical grid to film the unseen story of how SEPTA works.
To learn more about the SEPTA employees featured in the episode and their job assignments, visit www.septa.org/megatransit.
Walt Whitman Bridge
Monday-Friday the ramp connecting the eastbound Walt Whitman Bridge with southbound Black Horse Pike will be closed between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. for strip seal removal/installation.
Lincoln Drive Bridge
Southbound Lincoln Drive motorists will need to allow more time for travel through the Gustine Lake Interchange in Philadelphia when a major traffic pattern change goes into effect June 21 for the replacement of the structurally deficient Lincoln Drive Bridge over Ridge Avenue, PennDOT reported.
Delaware Welcome Center Preview
DelDOT will hold a media preview 11 a.m. Friday of the 42,000 square foot flagship travel plaza at the Delaware Welcome Center located on I-95 between Exit 1 (Route 896) and Exit 3 (Route 23) which will service more than 250,000 travelers who drive this route daily.
The public opening is set for early July.
Road Rant (See Video)
This week’s Road Rant comes from Tim Cohen regarding the overcrowded parking situation at the SEPTA R3 Elwyn Station off Elwyn Road in Middletown.
He noticed that the new additional 90-space parking lot is filled to capacity since it was opened May 19. Work began on the new nearly $900,000 lot – funded by federal stimulus money – in mid-November.
Commuters are no longer allowed to park their vehicles on the shoulders of Elwyn Road. They now are prohibited from doing so by new dirt berms piled up alongside the road. So the overflow from the new full parking lot has nowhere else to go – except maybe another R3 station.
There are signs on poles posted indicating that violators will be ticketed and/or towed away at the vehicle owner’s expense, but for the most part it’s difficult to park up on a berm.
A visit by the Road Watcher to the scene Wednesday found four vehicles parked on the shoulder of the road just past the new lot, where no dirt berms were installed yet.
Since SEPTA is always crying poor – no thanks to upstate legislators who don’t want/use mass transit – here’s an overwhelmed station that reinforces the need for opening up the Wawa Station some day.
Blue Route Work Area
I-476 North in Plymouth Township, Montgomery County, will be reduced to two lanes Wednesday at the Ridge Pike/Norristown Interchange (Exit 18) as crews establish a work area on the off-ramp to Chemical Road (Exit 18B/Norristown) that will include a ban on right turns onto Chemical Road by trucks and other large vehicles.
The large vehicle detour is expected to be in place until mid-October as crews reconstruct the off-ramp. During reconstruction, the ramp will be narrowed at its intersection with Chemical Road, preventing large vehicles from turning right.
However, cars, pickup trucks and other small vehicles will continue to be able to turn right onto Chemical Road from the ramp.
The northbound lane closures will be in effect from 10 p.m. Wednesday until 5 a.m. Thursday to allow crews to set construction barriers for the ramp work.
Traffic Delays
Ridley Township – Fairview Road closed, Aqua utility installation between Sherman Avenue and Emlen Street 9 a.m.-3 p.m., 24-hour detour through July 9.
Radnor – Goshen Road, road work costing $1.3 million, closed/detoured 24 hours daily between Darby-Paoli and Hunt roads 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.
Also, Radnor-Chester Road, Aqua utility installation, closed/detoured between Lancaster Avenue and Conestoga Road 9 a.m.-3 p.m. weekdays through June 29.
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 in September 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/Road Rant appears Sundays. Only messages and mail with phone numbers will be considered. E-mail: jroman@delcotimes.com.