Route 30 construction shutdowns

Crews are planning to close Route 30 for brief overnight stretches in the Columbia area the week of May 16.  The move is needed so workers can install beams for an overpass carrying Columbia’s long-awaited truck bypass over Route 30. The effort is planned tentatively for overnight Sunday, May 17, into Monday, May 18. State Transportation Department officials said Friday the work will lead to intermittent closures of Route 30, of approximately 15 minutes at a time, for both eastbound and westbound traffic from midnight to 5 a.m. Monday, May 18. “That’s the best time in terms of traffic volumes, since it has the least amount of traffic,” PennDOT spokesman Greg Penny explained. Project managers are hopeful the beam installation will take only one night, but they have planned for additional nights if needed, officials said. Motorists on Route 30 approaching the project area who don’t wish to wait for the highway to re-open will be able to use Route 462 as a detour. Each road closure is expected to be in the 15-to-30-minute range as each of the five overpass beams are installed, officials said.