LANCASTER TWP — An overheight truck that caused a lane of northbound I-79 to close will cause more headaches for Lancaster Township motorists.

PennDOT announced Monday the closure of East Lancaster Road between Route 19 and Yellow Creek Road, a stretch of 1.5 miles, beginning Nov. 1 and extending through mid-April 2020.

But the board of supervisors said Monday there is more woe than that.

Benjamin Kramer, township manager, said the closure through spring would allow the contractor to install a steel support to the interstate. To permanently repair the I-79 bridge, however, the township road will face an additional closure, through the end of summer 2020, to shortly follow.

The proposed detour, routing motorists down Route 19 and onto Little Creek Road, would add an additional six miles to get to the other end of the township.

Two business are on the soon-to-be closed road, and Kramer said one of them, Insight Pipe Contracting, is communicating with PennDOT over the detour because its trucks cannot follow it. The road also has a salvage yard and a compressor station.

“They have some concerns about making the bend where Yellow Creek (Road) becomes Little Creek (Road),” Kramer said.

The repair to the interstate comes after an overheight truck struck and damaged the bridge Oct. 4, according to PennDOT. Although Nov. 1 is the expected closure date, PennDOT will inspect the overpass daily and shut down East Lancaster Road if any signs of deterioration are present, Kramer said.

Supervisors thanked John Meyer, a resident who brought to their attention his concern over road conditions, for his telling them.“There's things that are in this township that we don't see all the time, especially the supervisors, and, whenever somebody brings up a concern, we look at that as, 'Let's take care of these at one time,'” Chairman Joe Plesniak said.Plesniak discussed the township's presence in the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors' magazine, which featured its website. He praised Kramer for his ability in setting up and working on the site.“There's some people that don't think that we need a township manager, but we do need a township manager,” Plesniak said. “And this is one of the ... many benefits of having a township manager.”