Graham and Old State Roads to Reopen in 2012

A few weeks ago I wrote a column about traffic-related issues in getting to and from . I wondered at that time if Graham and Old State roads were lost to us forever.

Of course, as we all do, I blamed PennDOT, which is sort of a no-brainer. It probably gets blamed for climate change, it's such a handy target.

After the column was published, like-minded, detour-weary residents who live near those roads sent me some angry emails. The gist of those notes: Why have those two roads been closed for so long and, will they reopen in our lifetimes?

I decided to find out. I called PennDOT, and its helpful spokesman, Jim Struzzi, explained that this was not PennDOT's fault, not with these two roads anyway. The only road PennDOT has closed near here is , but that's another story.

On Struzzi's advice, I called the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission and reached spokesman Tom Fox, who sent me a copy of the two original news releases announcing the closings of Graham and Old State roads.

I realized why we were all feeling so much helpless anger: The roads have been closed so long we've forgotten why they did it and that there really is a deadline for them to reopen.

The news releases were from 2009 and stated very clearly that Graham and Old State roads would close at the end of August 2009, stay closed for three years, and then reopen in summer 2012.

It turns out they even have a good reason for the closures.

Fox got me in touch with John Pavlovich, engineering project manager for the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. He explained that both roads had to be closed for the duration of the turnpike reconstruction project because the road underneath is an integral part of the staged reconstruction of the turnpike. Keeping the roads closed allows them to maintain traffic flow on the turnpike.   

The turnpike reconstruction is projected to be completed by the end of 2012.

I told Fox that the closing of Pearce Mill Road had added some hardship to the lives and commutes of those who lived out that way because Graham Road was still closed. He assured me that PennDOT had assured the Turnpike Commission that the closing of Pearce Mill Road would not affect the Graham Road detour. 

As we residents know, that's not true, but he'd been so nice I thought I'd just keep that to myself.

It was a productive effort overall, but there are some lessons here. I learned that if your road is going to be closed for three years, you should probably stick a copy of the news release on the fridge so you don't forget why.

Also, don't just automatically blame PennDOT for everything -- it's not fair. You can blame the Turnpike Commission as well.