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Sunday, January 05, 2003

By Joe Grata, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

Let's start the new year getting back to basics, which is you, the reader, and your transportation-related complaints, questions and suggestions.

John Kostuch of North Huntingdon says the Pennsylvania Turnpike needs to post bigger, better signs before the eastbound exit to Donegal, where a nine-mile, $66 million reconstruction of the old toll road is taking place.

He wrote: "On [Dec. 14], I was driving east. Although it was snowing, the roads were clear and wet. Due to insufficient exit signs, we missed the Donegal exit and we were forced to drive 30 miles out of the way, using the Somerset exit."

Kostuch hit the brakes to avoid another confused driver who stopped on the main line looking for the exit. Traffic behind them reacted in time to avoid an accident.

"I'm sure many motorists have missed this exit," Kostuch said. "It is a hazardous area and the construction makes it worse. Can you alert fellow motorists to the dangerous situation? When will work be finished?"

Dear John:

Because other people have complained, the turnpike added an electronic message board just before the interchange. On the day you were traveling, guess what? The sign wasn't working.

Turnpike officials need to revisit the exit and make changes necessary to improve safety there, because it's a lo-o-ong project. Construction isn't scheduled to be finished until December 2005.

Meanwhile, I'll bet the turnpike didn't credit Kostuch's EZPass account for the extra 85-cent toll he paid for having to drive to Somerset.

In need of a fix. Chris Parzyck of Lincoln Place is concerned about the condition of Route 885 (Lebanon Road) in West Mifflin that's inside a tunnel under an Allegheny County Airport runway.

"The road before and after the tunnel has been repaved in the past few years, but not inside," he e-mailed. "It's in terrible shape and new potholes open weekly. I have gotten a flat tire on this strip of road, and I'm sure others have experienced the same."

Dear Chris:

I always thought the county or Airport Authority was responsible because of the runway extension built over the top of that awful, dark and dangerous stretch of road.

I never expected the owner to be PennDOT, but it is. And after all these years, it finally plans to do something about the deteriorated pavement.

The short stretch, part of a popular "back door" route to Downtown and Oakland, is to be rebuilt, starting this spring.

It won't be easy on motorists. Traffic will be crossed to one side, where it will be maintained with one lane in each direction while workers do their thing on the opposite side.

Incidentally, PennDOT has no plans to illuminate the tunnel. Engineers said, "It has always been that way" -- dark -- so it'll stay that way.

Lighting the way. Lynn Labun of Aspinwall is curious about the white strobe lights mounted on the roof of most school buses.

"When I see them from a distance, I sometimes think there's an accident up ahead or that I need to make way for an emergency vehicle," she e-mailed. "I have wracked my brain but failed to figure out any logical reason for them."

Dear Lynn:

The lights are the latest safety measure designed to draw motorists' attention to the fact there's a school bus loaded with pupils on the road.

Over the past 10 years, officials also have added yellow warning lights, reflective tape, "stop" signs with flashing red lights that swing out below the driver's window and other devices to make buses safer.

I agree the strobe lights can be a distraction, but let me use an axiom to address the situation: Better to be safe than sorry.

Seeing the light. Art Schwartz of South Park read some years ago that when Route 51 was paved through the South Hills, controls would be installed to synchronize traffic signals and commuters traveling at 35 mph would be able to catch all green lights.

"I don't see any sign of it," he e-mailed. "What happened to the plan? It really sounded like a good idea."

Dear Art:

Those are the new signals you see and "red revert" is the term engineers use to describe the type of system installed between Large and the Liberty Tunnels, excluding several major intersections such as at Route 51-88.

During the night, the lights remain on red in order to control speeding. As you approach intersections, the lights turn green and you can keep going. But you need to slow down to about 15 mph.

On Saturday, when I sometimes work until midnight, I've traveled just about the entire distance, hitting only one or two red lights out of dozens there.

During the day, the lights are supposed to stay on green in order to speed "thru" traffic unless a vehicle entering the road from an intersection activates sensors that turn the lights red. The trouble is, too many vehicles are always entering Route 51, keeping it a stop-and-go main artery and nullifying the purpose for the lights.

Also, PennDOT doesn't maintain traffic signals. Municipalities where they're located are responsible for them.

Drivers put up with a lot of nonsense. I'm just trying to explain some of it.

Route 88 delays. Carolyn Singer drove past the Route 88 reconstruction between Route 51 and McNeilly Road the other day.

"They were supposed to be finished in four days if the weather was good, and that was Dec. 15," she e-mailed. "Not only did we have four good days, but one was over 60 degrees. Chalk up another round of incompetence. Not only that, my butcher shop closed because of PennDOT."

Dear Carolyn:

I wrote that story. Once again, PennDOT failed to deliver, not even reopening the short stretch between Elwyn and McNeilly.

I checked again last week, because we had another good day Tuesday. I don't think the contractor was paving that day because of New Year's Eve. But the PennDOT engineer on the job thought the paving would be done and guard rail would be installed by late yesterday.

Tomorrow is supposed to be the day you've awaited. Cross your fingers.

Plate du jour. While driving from York to his job as a chief engineer for the Pennsylvania Turnpike, Frank Kempf spotted the Pennsylvania personalized license plate DRTOLMN. He thought it was me.