These are Lancaster County’s most dangerous intersections

• By Chris Reber/LNP | LancasterOnline

Lancaster County’s most dangerous intersections are located in West Hempfield Township, East Hempfield Township and Manheim Township, based on three different types of analysis that include recently released data from the state Department of Transportation.

Using that data, LNP | LancasterOnline determined the most dangerous intersections based on number of crashes, number of fatalities and the rate at which crashes occur.

Of the 5,580 reported crashes in Lancaster County last year, 42% took place at intersections. Crashes at intersections accounted for one third of the 49 fatal crashes reported in the county during the same period.

 

 

No Lancaster County intersection had a higher crash rate between 2020 and 2024 than Prospect and Fairview roads in West Hempfield Township. However, a drop in crashes last year shows that a string of changes aimed at improving safety may be having an effect.

A total of 98 crashes took place within 200 feet of the intersection during the five year period ending in 2024. That number is on par with crash-prone intersections that see four to five times more traffic than the intersection’s average of 7,609 vehicles per day.

Fairview Road dead ends at a stop sign on a section of Prospect Road with a sharp curve. While Prospect is posted with a 40 mph speed limit, the recommended speed for the curve is 15 mph.

Speed and/or wet roads factor into the majority of crashes at the intersection, according to PennDOT data.

“If you’re coming into that curve too fast and the ground is wet, and you’re not staying in your lane, you’re going to have an accident,” said West Hempfield Township Manager Andrew Stern.

Just one of the crashes between 2020 and 2024 caused serious injury, and none were fatal. Stern said that could be due to speeds on Prospect Road being relatively low overall, even if they are too fast to navigate the intersection.

The township has pushed for changes to Prospect Road, which is a state road. PennDOT banned large trucks and reduced the speed limit on the road. Last summer, PennDOT had “high-friction surface treatment” applied to the pavement. The year’s total number of crashes plummeted to 7, down from 38 the year before.

“The anti-skid surface has significantly increased the safety and decreased the accidents,” Stern said.

Other intersections with an elevated crash rate include Temperance Hill Road and Lexington Road in Penn Township, Duke Street and New Street in Lancaster city, and Meadow View Road and Elizabethtown Road in Rapho Township.

MULTIPLE FATALITIES: Lancaster Road (Route 72) and Lititz Road

Tragic fatal crashes in February and March 2022 directed the spotlight onto this intersection near Root’s Country Market in East Hempfield Township. Three years later, a long-awaited stoplight is currently being installed at the intersection.

Lititz Pike has stop signs at the intersection, which also includes Becker Road. Lancaster Road (Route 72), does not, and its speed limit is 55 mph.

In February 2022, a southbound tractor trailer on Route 72 struck a car traveling through the intersection on Lititz Road. A 10-year-old girl riding in the car was killed.

The following month, a northbound tractor trailer struck another vehicle traveling through the intersection on Lititz Road. A 75-year-old woman in the vehicle that was struck died.

In both incidents, the drivers of the struck vehicles were cited for stop sign violations. The truck drivers were found to have been driving below the speed limit and committed no traffic violations that contributed to the crash.

They were the only fatalities among 38 total crashes reported within 200 feet of the intersection between 2020 and 2024.

Shortly after the fatal crashes, PennDOT added signs near the intersection and began discussing more permanent changes. They included a roundabout, which remains in the planning stages, along with another one at the nearby intersection of Lancaster Road and Graystone Road.

In the meantime, East Hempfield Township began studies for the traffic signal, which it previously requested that PennDOT install more than a decade ago. The traffic light is expected to be up and running by this fall.

Other intersections that have seen multiple fatal crashes since 2020 include Kirkwood Road and Noble Road in Colerain Township, Railroad Street and Gristmill Road in Earl Township, and Main Street and River Road in Conestoga Township.