For the third day in a row, heavy traffic continued to clog the
streets jutting out across the Tuna Valley on Wednesday, as the
patching project on the U.S. Route 219 Bradford bypass
continued.

However, that hasn’t stopped the Bradford City Fire Department
and its ambulance from responding to calls of those in need.

“It’s worked out good so far,” Fire Chief Bill McCormack said
Wednesday night. “We haven’t been delayed that much with the
traffic. Luckily, we haven’t had any serious accidents on the
highway. We’ve had calls, but really just minor things to this
point, knock on wood.”

Last week, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation
announced major traffic delays could be expected through Wednesday
as a result of contractors patching holes in both the northbound
and southbound lanes of the bypass during business hours.

The majority of the ongoing construction work is occurring in
the southbound lanes, which has led to road closures and additional
detours over the course of seven months.

As it stands, traffic was being directed around the bypass on
“blue” and “red” routes from Bolivar Drive to Owens Way. Traffic
has been reduced to a near crawl in several locations across the
city, including East Main Street and Jackson Avenue.

To cope with the construction, McCormack said the department has
split the city into two sections divided by the railroad tracks
going through town – the Central Fire Station crew covers
everything from Owens Way to downtown, while the East Bradford
Station is responsible for everything in East Bradford toward
Bolivar Drive and beyond.

“With any fire calls, we have a truck on each side of the
tracks,” McCormack said. “Eventually you have to negotiate coming
through the congestion.”

Meanwhile, McCormack said the department also has a plan worked
out with the Derrick City and Bradford Township volunteer fire
departments to handle major accidents on the bypass during the
construction work.

“Derrick City will block off the bypass at Bolivar Drive in the
southbound lane, while Bradford Township will block it off at Owens
Way in the northbound lane,” McCormack said. “That way, everything
is shut down and we can put the traffic on the detours. That gives
us a chance to get in there.

“We have blocked it off a couple of times.”

So far, there have not been too many mishaps on the bypass
itself during the work.

Local emergency officials, including the Bradford City Police,
have been concerned about the approaching winter and what that will
mean for potential accidents on the bypass.

Officials with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and
other local agencies are slated to meet today to discuss the
situation, including what the traffic pattern will be during the
winter.

Last month, Brian Brosius, PennDOT’s inspector in charge for the
bypass project, said some amount of Jersey barriers will remain in
place on the highway during the winter, including those over the
bridges.

Meanwhile, officials said a snow blower will likely be brought
in to help keep the lanes clear. There has also been talk of
widening the lanes, so traditional snow plows can make their way
through.

The main contractor for the two-year, $55.4 million project is
Mascaro Construction Co. of Pittsburgh.