The good news is that PennDOT plans to keep the Lititz Pike bridge near the train station open while a new one is constructed next to it.

The bad news is that the road closures and detours necessary to complete the project will force drivers to make some difficult decisions in the year ahead to avoid snarled traffic.

The $12.7 million project involves constructing a bridge that will funnel Lititz Pike traffic directly onto Duke Street in the city.

The project is already under way, with the demolition of the Fulton Bank on Duke Street and the former Crouse used car lot across from the Stockyard Inn.

Stage 1 of the project, which begins March 11, will not be very disruptive. That's when PennDOT's contractor, J.D. Eckman of Atglen, begins to construct the new bridge over the tracks and widen portions of Duke and Liberty streets to accommodate new traffic patterns.

Temporary traffic signals will be installed at Duke and Liberty streets, Lititz Pike and Liberty Street, and Lititz Pike and Marshall Avenue to prepare motorists for Stage 2, which begins May 8.

And that's when — if the work is on time — things get really messy.

How messy?

Street closings will foul traffic patterns and cause detours. Since PennDOT can use only state roads for its detours, many of the detours are convoluted and will lead drivers far out of their way.

Those involved in the project say drivers familiar with side roads will ignore detours and seek shorter routes through neighborhoods.

And some businesses in the area could see a drop in traffic if drivers decide to stay away from the area.

Mike Sisson, of Michael Baker, LLC, the company performing construction management services, said he understands the impact detours and closures will have on drivers in the area.

"Not every plan is perfect," he said, "but designers and engineers have been studying this for a long time and believe these are the best solutions for the situation."

Following is a street-by-street look at work scheduled during Stage 2, which runs to May 2014:

McGovern Avenue
The street, which runs in front of the Amtrak station, will be closed from the Lititz Pike bridge to Queen Street. This will eliminate the eastern entrance/exit to the station, leaving the Queen Street entrance as the only way in or out.

During Stage 2, the southern side of McGovern Avenue will be widened to accommodate its conversion to a two-way street.

Christian Street
Christian Street access to McGovern Avenue will be closed.

Keller Avenue
Keller Avenue will be closed from Lititz Pike to Glen Moore Circle as the intersection must be reconfigured to allow for the altered traffic flow over the new bridge. The remaining section of Keller Avenue, from Glen Moore to the Fruitville Pike, will remain open.

As an example of how complex the PennDOT-recommended detours can be, southbound drivers on Lititz Pike unable to turn onto Keller Avenue will be directed to Liberty Street, turn right on Liberty to Queen Street, turn right onto Queen, drive one block, turn left onto McGovern, then right onto Prince Street to cross the Richard M. Scott bridge, then right onto Keller Avenue.

Liberty Street
The concrete island at Liberty Street and Lititz Pike will be removed and Liberty Street will become a two-way street — two lanes eastbound and one westbound lane — for its entire length.

Old Lititz Pike Bridge
Since southbound traffic coming off the bridge will not be able to turn right onto McGovern Avenue, it will continue south, past Brubaker Motors, to the intersection with Liberty Street, where drivers can turn right or left.

However, since northbound Lititz Pike traffic will remain two lanes in that same stretch (which is currently only three lanes wide), southbound traffic must merge from two lanes to one, creating a bottleneck before the Liberty Street intersection.

Duke Street
The newly widened portion of Duke Street (between McGovern Avenue and Liberty Street) will temporarily be reduced to two lanes of traffic — one northbound lane and one southbound lane — to provide access to Brubaker Motors. The west side of Duke Street will be closed so work can be done on its reconfiguration to meet the new bridge.

Train station traffic
With the closure of McGovern Avenue, the Queen Street entrance to the station will become both an entrance and exit.

Cars not parking at the station will be forced to stay in the right lane through the station entrance, then loop through the employee parking lot (east of the station), turn right out of the lot and return to the intersection to turn right onto McGovern Avenue.

Lititz Pike
Lititz Pike north of the existing bridge will be impacted by the closing of Keller Avenue since it will be narrowed to two lanes (one northbound and one southbound) through the intersection. That will require the creation of two merge points — one near Stauffer Park for southbound traffic, and one on the downslope of the existing bridge for northbound traffic.

Marshall Street
During Stage 3, which is scheduled to last from mid-May 2014 to mid-September 2014, Marshall Street will be closed from Lititz Pike to the entrance to Stauffer Park as the contractor demolishes the old Lititz Pike bridge.

PennDOT will direct southbound Lititz Pike drivers wanting to get to Marshall on a 3.5-mile detour which includes Duke, Chestnut and Plum streets, and New Holland and Martha Avenues.

The PennDOT detour for northbound drivers on Lititz Pike wanting to get to Marshall is a 4.2-mile-long stretch on the Oregon Pike, Route 30 East, and New Holland, Fountain and Martha avenues.

The closing of Marshall Street concerns Jim Fournaris, an owner of the Stockyard Inn.

He said he would like to get prepared for the May 2014 closure but added, "Part of preparation is knowledge" and PennDOT, Fournaris said, has not been entirely forthcoming in its communications with neighbors.

He said that in an early presentation for business owners, "They showed us these virtual design pictures of the bridge, but since then they have changed the design three times, so we're all kind of vague on how it's going to look."

As for traffic patterns, Fournaris said, "We have many long-time customers, and some of them tend to be elderly, who don't like to drive around cones, down narrowed streets or through construction zones.

"I would hate for them to be afraid to come here."

At least the length of time before the closure will enable the Stockyard Inn to provide customers with information regarding alternative ways to reach the restaurant.

Still, Fournaris would like to see some more communication from PennDOT.

"I know they have a job to do but it would make the property owners feel much better if they would be a little more transparent."

Bill Durkota, president of Brubaker Motors on the corner of McGovern Avenue and the Lititz Pike noted, "It will take some adjustment."

Brubaker is losing its main entrance on McGovern Avenue, Durkota said, some of its car lot on Liberty Street and must move light poles on the lot to accommodate the widening of Liberty.

PennDOT officials, Durkota said, "Haven't told us much," but in all he said "It will not affect us too much. We have to move the poles around and move cars around and people won't be able to access our front entrance."

Yet, Durkota tried to find a silver lining in the project.

"Who knows," he said. "People are going to be driving slower, so maybe they'll have more time to look at our cars."

Spokesmen for two other Lititz Pike businesses affected by the closure, Cibo's Pizza and Grill and the Sunoco A Plus, were unavailable for comment.

Except for the Marshall Avenue closure, however, Stage 3 should bring happier times.

That's when the new bridge will open.

It's also when McGovern Avenue will be opened from Duke to Queen streets (allowing for the reopening of the eastern vehicular entrance to the train station). Duke Street will be opened entirely, and Christian Street's access to McGovern Avenue will be restored.

A new cul-de-sac will be constructed at the northern end of Lititz Avenue to provide access to homes while Lititz Pike is closed for demolition of the old bridge.

Stage 4, scheduled for September 2014 to early October 2014, involves final milling and paving activities on road surfaces to complete the project.

All dates are only projections, said Baker's Mike Sisson. The actual time could change if any unforseen problems arise during construction, he said.

Sisson said the project also calls for sidewalks to be installed on both sides of McGovern Avenue between the new bridge and Prince Street.

Sisson said PennDOT plans to liberally sign all detours to direct drivers. He said PennDOT will also install seven temporary message boards to update drivers on traffic conditions.

And PennDOT is also developing a way for people to access the same information via cellphones.

When finished
When the project is complete, Duke Street will become a two-way, four-lane street until its intersection with Liberty Street, where it will revert to two southbound lanes only.

McGovern Avenue will be a two-way street from the new bridge to Prince Street. Two lanes will head west on McGovern and one lane will head east.

A signal will be placed at the intersection where McGovern Avenue meets the new bridge.

The concrete island at McGovern Avenue and Prince Street will be removed, and a new signal installed allowing southbound traffic to turn left onto McGovern Aveue.

A signal will also be installed at Queen Street and McGovern Avenue to help with entry into the train station from its new eastbound lane.

csmedley@lnpnews.com