The "Bumpy Roads Ahead" Story

Heading north on Rt. 501 in Neffsville, PA.  The repairs to
the road are the second try and still have sunk below the roadbed.

It was an ordinary day.  Heading to work at Grebinger Gallery, traveling north on the Fruitville Pike in Lancaster, PA.  Most days I would also be heading the same direction if going to work at Manheim Township High School where I work on the in-house printing needs of the school district.  Both locations are off of SR501 north in the small town of Neffsville, PA.  SR501 goes directly through Neffsville and is the main north-south route in Lancaster County.  Only problem with that is the terrible roadway that is called the Lititz Pike (SR501).  At the beginning of 2014 the laying of new sewer lines was started on the east side of SR501.  The road is three lanes so congestion was kept to a minimum with the center turning lane used to funnel traffic around the construction.  

Heading south on Rt. 501 you can see the amount of
repairs that have been made.  Bumpy ride to say the least.

Temporary repairs were made with the summer of 2015 slated to repave the entire roadway from US Rt.30 to the Lancaster Airport to the north.  Well, that never happened.  The construction was finished and the road remains terrible with 2016 set as the date to repave.  The patching that was done after the sewer was laid was terrible and this summer they dug up the patching and repatched it with just about the same results, only a wider patch.  I have found another route to work for fear of what may happen to my car from driving on the road that sports a "gutter" the entire length with some spots an inch below the main roadway.   This road is one reason why Lancaster County has been listed as the federal report "Bumpy Roads Ahead: America's Roughest Rides and Strategies to Make our Roads Smoother."   The U.S. Congress is being asked to approve a new highway bill that expired recently.  The Federal Government ranked 63 mid-sized urban area with populations between 250,000 and 500,000.  Lancaster ranked #27 with over a quarter of it's roads in poor shape.  Flint, Michigan was #1 with 54% or it's roads in poor shape.  Lancaster had only 19% of it's roads rated good.  The fact that our roads are so poor translates into auto deterioration, higher maintenance costs, fuel consumption, tire wear and depreciation to the tune of $547 annually as reported by Washington, D.C. based TRIP.  And, that's why I stay off Rt. 501 whenever possible.  Just hoping everyone doesn't decide to change their way to work as I have.  Could lead to a congested Fruitville Pike.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.