You can almost hear the collective groans of tens of thousands of motorists who drive Route 222 in northern Lancaster County.
Come Monday, single-lane restrictions will resume on the heavily traveled highway after a winter-season break. The lane restrictions are expected to occur intermittently until the end of the year.
Responding to motorists' complaints from last year, PennDOT says it will work on one-mile stretches at a time rather than close all four miles between Pool Road in West Earl Township and Mohlers Church Road in Ephrata Township.
On Monday, the right lane will be closed in each direction around-the-clock between Pool and Peach roads in West Earl Township. When the work is completed, improvements on another one-mile section farther north will start, according to PennDOT.
Also getting under way Monday will be deck replacement for the twin bridges that carry Route 222 over Church Street in Reamstown. Lane restrictions on Route 222 will be in effect near the bridges.
After concrete repairs to the roadbed on the four miles are completed, likely around mid-June, eight miles of Route 222 — including the four miles completed last year — will be repaved between Bushong Road in Manheim Township and Mohlers Church Road.
This work will take place during overnight hours and include lane restrictions. The work should be complete by the end of the year.
The project also includes repairs to the northbound and southbound bridges that carry Route 222 over Pleasant Valley Road in Earl Township.
PennDOT said there will be no lane restrictions on Route 222 on Sunday, May 9, for the annual Mother's Day Truck Convoy.
All the roadwork on the eight miles of Route 222 was to have begun this spring. But when federal stimulus money became available, PennDOT speeded up the project, and it began last June. Work was suspended in November for winter.
Noting that the concerns expressed by drivers last year came from "some of the angriest people I've ever seen," PennDOT spokesman Greg Penny said in a November story in the Sunday News that the agency should have taken a closer look at ways to minimize traffic disruptions.
Other PennDOT projects already under way include drainage pipe replacement on a 5.25-mile section of Route 222 between Quarryville Borough and Refton in southern Lancaster County.
The work will include repairing and resurfacing the road, also called Beaver Valley Pike, between Route 372 in Quarryville and the intersection with Brenneman Road in Strasburg Township.
All roadwork is scheduled to be completed by the end of August.
On Monday, PennDOT resumed work on a 3.67-mile section of Route 441 along the Susquehanna River. The road will be repaired and resurfaced from Third Street in Columbia to the intersection with Route 999 in Manor Township.
Motorists might encounter single lanes and shifting traffic patterns from 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. weekdays.