An After Action Review Meeting for the S.R. 0021 Section C10 Transportation Improvement Project was held on Wednesday, November 5, 2003 at the German Township Municipal building.  This meeting was held in order to resolve a few issues which were brought up at the previous Public Advisory Meeting held on August 27, 2003 and the Public Meeting held on October 16, 2003.  Members of the project team in attendance were Jim French, representing PENNDOT District 12-0, and Ed Jones and Tim Bliss, both representing L. Robert Kimball & Associates, the facilitator.  Mr. French, PENNDOT Project Manager, mentioned that this is the last Public Advisory Committee Meeting in the Preliminary Engineering Phase of the project. 

Ed Jones, Kimball Project Manager, stated that, as a result of suggestions by the committee at the second PAC Meeting, Jughandle #1 was relocated to the east of the Edenborn/Springer Road intersection and slotted left turn lanes were added at the Edenborn/Springer Road intersection to allow for emergency access to the side roads.  Mr. French gave the committee members credit for these revisions due to their concern for the best utilization of the jughandle and safety in the community.

There had been a concern from the local residents that an increase of truck traffic would occur once the proposed roadway is opened.  However, upon calling a couple of tucking companies that are frequent users of existing S.R. 0021, they stated that they don’t anticipate utilizing the proposed S.R. 0021 any more than they currently do.

One of the four concerns that were brought up at the Public Meeting involved driveway access off the proposed eastbound lanes to the east of the Messmore Road intersection.  As a result of further analysis after the Public Meeting, Mr. Jones pointed out that the edge of the proposed roadway will only be one foot closer to the property than it is now and won’t be any worse than it is currently.

A second concern from the Public Meeting centered on impacts to an existing leach field near Kelley Road.  Since the project is still in preliminary design, Mr. Jones mentioned that in Final Design surveyors would locate the leach field, and if impacted, the issue would be resolved during right-of-way negotiations.  He also mentioned that the owner had expressed interest in relocating to the south of the Karate School across the road, however, Mr. Belch and Mr. Dan Shimshock, German Township supervisors, stated that new sewage lines would be in place in the next 18 months up to Kelley Road.  If this occurs the relocation may not be necessary.

The third concern involved the sight distance at Jughandles #5 and #6 and the Lakeside Party Center traffic.  Mr. Jones referred to a display showing over 6,000 feet of sight distance for vehicles entering the left turn lane of Jughandle #6 and vehicles exiting the jughandle onto S.R. 0021.  During this meeting new information on the vehicle numbers for the Lakeside Party Center were obtained.  The center has two banquet halls, one with a seating capacity of 400 and one with 600.  There are two parking lots, one with 75 spaces and one with 300 spaces.  They host approximately 16 double wedding receptions per year, with a guest arrival time of 4:30 PM – 5:30 PM and guest departure time of 9:30 PM – 11:00 PM. 

A suggestion was made by one of the members to move Jughandle #6 further east under the overhead power lines and install a traffic signal at the Old Route 21 eastern intersection at S.R. 0021.

Kimball further analyzed the need for the installation of a traffic signal at the intersection of T-440 (Old Route 21), based on traffic volumes generated by the Lakeside Party Center.  Based on information provided by Lakeside, a traffic signal is not warranted at this location for the following reasons:  (1) Signal warrants are conducted for average day conditions and should not include special event traffic that occurs only on certain weekends.  According to Lakeside, the maximum capacity of the facility occurs approximately 16 times annually, which equates to less than five percent of the year; (2) Guests depart the facility between 9:30 P.M. and 11:00 P.M.  Therefore, traffic will be entering S.R. 0021 during the off-peak hours when the through volumes on S.R. 0021 are significantly reduced; (3)  Traffic can gain access to S.R. 0021 from either the western or eastern terminus of T-440, depending on their respective destination.  If both of these access points are utilized, delays experienced by guests of the Lakeside Party Center should be minimized.  Based on the above reasoning, the special event traffic generated by the Lakeside Party Center does not justify the installation of a traffic signal at this location. 

Mr. Jones proceeded with the remaining concern from the public meeting, which involves westbound car carriers accessing the Detweiler Pontiac dealership along the eastbound lanes near the S.R. 0166/S.R. 0021 intersection.  He mentioned there had been a suggestion at the Public Meeting to provide a break in the median barrier, but no other business has been provided an opening, due primarily to safety concerns.  Through further investigation, the design team also looked at upgrading Lardin Farm Road, but the cost of widening and upgrading was prohibitive for a temporary condition.  Since the S.R. 0166 intersection is not posted to prohibit u-turns, cars can still turn around there.  Larger trucks and car carriers will need to go to the S.R. 0166/S.R. 0021 interchange and use the southbound loop to access Leg B.  Some concern was expressed at the Public Meeting of car carriers bottoming out on the break in grade between the ramps, but a field investigation determined that a small profile adjustment on Leg B would solve any potential problem.  A call to the Fike dealership on main street in Masontown and to the dealership along S.R. 0021 revealed that their car carrier deliveries use this interchange frequently with no problems.

A committee member asked if the left turn lanes at the S.R. 0166 intersection could be lengthened.  Mr. Jones stated that the design team would evaluate whether the westbound left turn lane could be lengthened without impacting the large arch culvert.  He also stated that the extension of the westbound left turn lane would be looked at in final design.

An additional concern was the truck traffic from Anthony Trucking utilizing S.R. 3023.  The design team evaluated the traffic counts on S.R. 3023 after the meeting and determined that no signal is warranted.  In response to a question concerning adding a traffic signal in the future, Mr. French mentioned that the proposed 18 foot median accommodates this since the barrier can easily be removed and left turn lanes provided.

The proposed project schedule was discussed. Recent information shows construction beginning in the spring of 2007. The Department is reviewing the possibility that Section C10 may be divided into two construction sections, with one section preceding the other.

In closing, Mr. French thanked all who attended this after action review meeting, and specifically, Mr. Shimshock, for providing the new information concerning the Lakeside Party Center and Anthony Trucking.