I-83 Is a disaster.

Yep, Interstate 83 right here in Pennsylvania. It goes from Maryland north to Harrisburg. It is a disaster.

True, I have always had disdain for this highway since I began working in this area. I spent the first year and a half of my working life dealing with this death trap. I totalled my first car on this highway. I have had many near wrecks since. That said, this last week has been the absolute most frustrating week of I-83 I have ever witnessed.

Exactly one week ago today, I was driving home. There was an accident blocking the southbound lane of 83, and there was no way around it. It took me close to 2 hours to get home. I chalked it up to bad luck. These things happen on any highway.

But then this week on Monday, I was driving to work, when yet again there was another accident, right at the York Split. This caused me to be a half hour late for work. (The York Split incidentally is to highway design what Windows ME is to quality Operating Systems).

Then On Tuesday Im driving home, another accident. The same on Wednesday if you can believe it.

I was starting to lose my patience. Then today happened.

I’m driving home, everything is looking good, when bam, traffic stops. I optimistically thought to myself, “Just busy, should clear up pretty quick”. This is a common occurrence on 83, and most times, it does clear up pretty quick. But it didn’t. I soon approached the accident, a three car tangle, and I almost couldn’t believe it. In case you stopped counting that is now 4 highway blocking accidents in 7 days. All during Rush Hour!

Luckily, there was a detour around this one, which allowed me to get around it in surprisingly quick fashion. I relaxed and cruised along glad I had avoided the worst of it. And then traffic stopped again, no less than 2 minutes after I had gotten around the first accident, I was stuck behind another one.

Another one. 5 major accidents in seven days. That isn’t even counting the ones that didn’t affect me directly.

I have long said that they need to add a third lane to this highway, and fix the engineering, no it doesn’t even qualify as engineering, the idiocy that is the York Split, but now it is getting out of hand. As of 7 years ago, basically nothing has been done to resolve any of the lingering issues with this roadway.

Ok, that’s enough for now. At least I made it home before midnight.