April 5, 2019 - ChaddsFordLive.com

Roadwork for April 6-April 12

PennDOT has announced the following road projects, which are weather-dependent and could affect residents in the greater Chadds Ford area during the week of April 6-April 12. Motorists are urged to allow extra time if they are traveling through one of the construction zones. Work schedules are subject to change.

• PennDOT has announced that Brandywine Creek Road is scheduled to close in both directions between Green Valley Road and Powell Road on Monday, April 15 for the start of work to stabilize, restore and improve flood-damaged sections of the highway in Newlin Township. Brandywine Creek Road has been closed to westbound traffic since March 2017 due to the instability of slope areas along the highway located near the West Branch of Brandywine Creek. During construction, westbound and eastbound motorists will use Route 162 (Embreeville Road/Telegraph Road) and Strasburg Road to access Brandywine Creek Road. The closure will be in place through the end of construction scheduled in summer 2020.

• Barrier installation continues to cause indefinite lane closures on Brandywine Creek Road, between Green Valley and Powell roads, in Newlin Township.

• Power line replacement will cause lane closures on Pocopson Road at Parkerville Road in Pennsbury Township through June 1.

• Lane restrictions with flagging are scheduled on Newark Road— between Daniel Drive and Maple Lane in New Garden Township — through Friday, April 13, for tree clearing operations related to a project to improve traffic flow and safety at the intersection of Newark Road and Hillendale Road. Motorists are advised to allow extra time when traveling through the work zone because slowdowns will occur during construction.

• Motorists will encounter periodic lane closures on Route 1, between Greenwood and Lenape roads in Kennett Township — near Longwood Gardens — for overhead bridge repairs through the end of May.

• Utility work will cause lane closures and detours on Gay Street— between High and Church streets in West Chester — through April 26.

• Roadwork continues on the Conchester Highway. Merion Drive — between Marlborough Lane and the Conchester in Concord Township — will be closed through May 31 to allow crews to complete widening on the eastbound side of the Conchester Highway. During the closure, motorists will be detoured on Marlborough Lane, Cambridge Drive and Conchester Highway. Residents will continue to have access to properties on Merion Drive up to the intersection.

• Reconstruction on the Conchester Highway continues to have Merion Drive— between Marlborough Lane and Cambridge Drive — closed and detoured through April 30.

• Road reconstruction will close Spring Valley Road— between Conchester Highway and Concord Road — in Concord Township through April 30, 2020. Detours will be posted.

• Lane restrictions on the Conchester Highway, between Routes 1 and Clayton Park Drive will continue through Oct. 20, 2020 for reconstruction and widening.

• The Route 82 — Creek Road— bridge in Kennett Township remains closed indefinitely. Construction to replace the bridge is expected to begin Monday, March 18.

About CFLive Staff

See Contributors Page https://chaddsfordlive.com/writers/

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Review: A good laugh at ‘Scoundrels’

Arts & Entertainment

If you liked the 1988 movie “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,” make sure you check out the latest offering from Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center in West Chester.

Even if you aren’t familiar with the story – popularized in the film with Steve Martin and Michael Caine – the version of “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” by Uptown’s Resident Theatre Company will make you a fan.

“Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” opened March 29 to a packed house. Mark Woodward deftly plays Lawrence Jameson, the older, more debonair con man who sweet-talks women in the French Riviera into giving him their money. His accomplice is the police chief, played as the comic foil by Jonathan Hadley, who often warns Lawrence about the tricky American con man named The Jackal.

One woman Lawrence cons is Muriel (Sarah Solie), who believes him to be a prince. He also convinces her to give him his jewelry by smoothly telling her that the jewelry detracts from, rather than adds to, her beauty.

Lukas Poost plays Freddy Benson, the younger, more inexperienced con man who challenges Lawrence. Andre believes him to be the infamous Jackal.

Some of this performance’s best scenes are when Lawrence and Freddy work together – especially when Lawrence recruits Freddy to be his “crazy” younger brother in the hopes of scaring off Jolene Oaks (Philippa Lynas), an Oklahoman determined to bag her prince. Lynas is wonderful as the spunky Southern gal who shoots at Lawrence’s feet to get him to dance.

In one scene, Lawrence and Jolene visit Freddy in his “room,” where he calls her mother and tries to disgust her – much to the delight of the audience, which was howling with laughter. Once she is scared off, Freddy and Lawrence go back to trying to best each other. Their bet involves an ingénue named Christine Colgate (Bailey Seeker) and which man can get his hands on her $50,000 first. But exactly who is conning whom?

Seeker, Woodward, and Poost bring their roles to life, playing them with an ease that showcases their acting talents and makes their characters believable.

Throughout the performance, Muriel keeps popping up, and eventually Andre the police chief is dispatched to ward her off. The characters of Andre and Muriel – and their storyline – are such an unexpected delight. Hadley and Solie play their parts perfectly, and by the time their characters get around to playing “cops and robbers,” the audience is cheering for them to find their happy ever after.

While there is plenty of adult humor in the performance, it is subtle and a definite crowd-pleaser.

“Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” is one of those performances you can see again and again and still not tire of it.

The show runs through April 14.

“Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” has performances on the following dates:

Friday: 8 p.m.
Saturday: 3 and 8 p.m.
Sunday: 3 p.m.
April 11: 7 p.m.
April 12: 8 p.m.
April 13: 3 and 8 p.m.
April 14: 3 p.m.

For more information or to purchase tickets, go to uptownwestchester.org or call 610-356-2787.

About Monica Fragale

Monica Thompson Fragale is a freelance reporter who spent her life dreaming of being in the newspaper business. That dream came true after college when she started working at The Kennett Paper and, years later The Reporter newspaper in Lansdale and other dailies. She turned to non-profit work after her first daughter was born and spent the next 13 years in that field. But while you can take the girl out of journalism, you can’t take journalism out of the girl. Offers to freelance sparked the writing bug again started her fingers happily tapping away on the keyboard. Monica lives with her husband and two children in Kennett Square.

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Judge PennDOT in online survey

Along the Ford

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is accepting winter services feedback through an online survey. The public can take the survey through May 7 at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PennDOTWinter.

“We are proud of our winter operations and communications,” PennDOT Secretary Leslie S. Richards said. “This survey will help measure public expectations and identify educational opportunities.”

The 10-question survey asks how often respondents travel during poor weather, how they rate PennDOT’s winter service, and how they rank snow-removal priorities. Respondents are also asked how they receive PennDOT roadway information, and whether or how they use the state’s 511PA traveler information services. During the winter, www.511PA.com offers its standard traffic and incident information while adding PennDOT plow-truck locations, winter roadway conditions, and other services.

At any time, motorists can check conditions on more than 40,000 roadway miles by visiting www.511PA.com. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information, and access to more than 860 traffic cameras.

511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and Android devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following regional Twitter alerts accessible on the 511PA website.

As construction season begins, information on projects occurring or being bid this year is viewable at www.projects.penndot.gov. Visit the “Regional Offices” page at www.penndot.gov to sign up for travel alerts in a specific area.

About CFLive Staff

See Contributors Page https://chaddsfordlive.com/writers/

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