Accomac Road in Hellam Township collapses

Accomac Road in Hellam Township is closed after a portion of the road collapsed Sunday night, Sept. 9.

Mike Crochunis, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, said PennDOT engineers knew the road was at risk of collapse after the Aug. 31 storms, and the agency had been monitoring the road and checking its stability every four hours.

The road is still open to emergency vehicles and residents in passenger cars who need to get to their homes, Crochunis said, but larger vehicles and nonlocal traffic will not be permitted to use the road for safety reasons. A PennDOT foreman and a Hellam Township police officer will be on the scene to enforce the closure, Crochunis said. 

York County spokesman Mark Walters said there's now a stream running along the remaining portion of the road, which is the width of a single lane.

Three other state roads are closed because of flooding:

• Route 616/Main Street in Shrewsbury Township between Route 851 in Railroad and Glen Valley Road in Shrewsbury Township
• Conewago Creek Road between Bowers Bridge Road and North George Street Extended in East Manchester Township
• Laurel Road between Collins School Road and the intersection of Brogueville and Cramer roads in Chanceford Township.

Crochunis said these three roads aren't damaged to the extent of Accomac Road, but PennDOT will have to wait for the water to recede to assess any additional damage.