Sarah Harrington
(4/19) The State Highway Administration (SHA) Office of Traffic and Safety is taking action against the truck traffic issue in the Square of Thurmont. After much effort from Thurmont Officer William Dixon and Chief Administrative Officer Jim Hummerick, there is now a solution to the illegal truck turns that take place in the Square.
The town of Thurmont has been dealing with tractor-trailers making illegal turns in the Square for some time now. Due to the length of the trucks, they are unable to effectively make turns in the Square. The trucks often end up causing damage to the sidewalks and utility poles, and they often block traffic. The SHA has posted signs in the past regarding the weight of the
trucks. Unfortunately, the weight of the trucks was not the issue; rather, length was the issue.
Knowing that there needed to be restrictions on the length of the trucks, Dixon has been working to persuade the SHA that there needs to be a length restriction in the Square. After months of work, Dixon was able to succeed in getting the SHA on board.
The SHA Office of Traffic and Safety has made it clear that they will be joining their efforts to enforce the regulations for truck turns in the Square. The association has approved a new sign that will show the new length restrictions for trucks. The sign’s design makes it easily visible to drivers. The sign is a bright yellow one, accompanied by the "no turn" length
restriction signs.
The signs that are currently on the signal mast in the Square will be replaced with the new signs. There will be two standing signs that will be located on Westbound MD-77 and Southbound MD-550. Now that the signs have been approved, it will take a few weeks for them to be created so they are ready for installation. The estimated date of installation is sometime in June.
Once the signs are up, the Thurmont police will be enforcing the new length regulations.
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