N. Annville Twp. supervisors discuss Clear Spring Rd. closure, solar proposal

This article was funded by LebTown donors as part of our Civic Impact Reporting Project.

Clear Spring Road in North Annville Township will continue to be closed through the end of 2025 and into 2026.

When the road will potentially reopen, however, is still unknown, but North Annville Township supervisors did give a brief update on the railroad bridge replacement project on Monday. 

The road has been closed since May 7 due to structural deficits found in the bridge during a routine inspection. The bridge crosses the Norfolk Southern Railroad just north of the Clear Spring Road and U.S. Route 422 intersection in North Annville Township.

Read More: Clear Spring Road in N. Annville Twp. closed indefinitely due to bridge defects

In providing an update during the road report, supervisor Adam Wolfe said township officials recently met with railroad representatives to receive a project update.

Clear Spring Road is a two-mile stretch of highway that connects state Route 934 to the north with U.S. Route 422 to the south, and is one of the more heavily used roadways in the township.

“We did have a meeting with Norfolk Southern Railroad. They said that they intended to have the majority of their engineering work done by the middle of this month, and then they have to submit their engineering plans to the Public Utility Commission for I think a 20-day review period,” Wolfe told township residents at Monday’s meeting. “And then after that, the project would go out for bids for 90 days.”

The plan must be submitted to the PUC for approval because the commission regulates railroads in Pennsylvania. Wolfe added that construction would tentatively start “somewhere around wintertime.”

“They said they are treating it as a priority. They know it’s a problem for the area to have that bridge shut down. They said they’re moving at warp speed in the railroad world,” Wolfe added.

It would appear, based on Wolfe’s comments, that the bridge is going to get a major makeover.

“They did say they intend to replace all four of the retaining walls instead of just the two bad ones … so that’s what they intend to do as far as their project. They do not know yet how long the construction portion will take. That’s pretty much what we found out from the report,” he said.

The structural defects were discovered during a biennial inspection on April 28 by Lebanon County’s engineering firm Wilson Consulting Group. The county offers their engineering firm to do bridge inspections as a service to all local municipalities.

North Annville is responsible for the road surface while Norfolk Southern is in charge of maintaining the bridge’s superstructure and substructure. The bridge, 71 feet long and 31 feet wide, was built in 1937.

After the meeting, Wolfe told LebTown that rebuilding all four walls is a major project and that the road will most likely be closed for the foreseeable future.

Lebanon Solar I proposal

In other township business, township solicitor Paul Bametzreider said Lebanon Solar I has not filed an appeal of the state court’s decision with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, meaning the original proposal for a large solar farm in the township is now dead.

“The appeal period has passed and there was no request for permission to file an appeal with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, so the matter with Lebanon Solar, as we know it, has come to a conclusion,” Bametzreider announced. “So you can strike it off the agenda.”   

In late May, LebTown reported that the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court had sided with North Annville Township and a township resident by denying a developer permission to build a giant solar panel farm on agricultural land off state Route 934, ruling that it did not file an appeal on time.

Lebanon Solar I, a subsidiary of multi-national energy conglomerate Enel Green Power, applied to township zoning authorities in 2021 for conditional-use approval to build a 1,200-acre solar farm, later reduced to 858 acres, spread over 12 contiguous properties that are zoned agricultural.

Read More: Appeals court sides with North Annville Township & resident in solar farm dispute

Bametzreider’s announcement that the original proposal is now over brought some applause from township residents in attendance at the meeting.

Nuisance ordinances

In a separate matter, supervisors briefly discussed several ongoing nuisance complaints, including ones involving high grass on landowner’s properties. It was noted that the township needs to address tall grass in its nuisance ordinance, and an audience member said his farm has tall grasses.

Officials said a new ordinance would address residential properties only and would not target agricultural operations. Bametzreider suggested that supervisors set a height of no more than 12 inches for residential grasses within the township.

There was also discussion about a separate nuisance complaint for a property owner who has stored numerous boats, including by one estimation around 55, on his property. 

Bametzreider said the boats must be stored within a structure and added it mattered whether they have current registrations.

A comment noted that the landowner wants more time to erect a rolling gate, which brought a comment that he was going to construct one to hide his violations. Bametzreider noted that the property in question is not zoned to maintain what he called a salvage yard operation.  

Other North Annville Township business

In other actions, supervisors unanimously voted to: 

• Grant a land development plan for the Jay Zimmerman property to construct three poultry barns, gravel driveways, gravel pads, and the associated stormwater management BMPs (best management practices). 
• Issue a deferral for the Blue Scope Steel stormwater review since the discharge pipe is in Annville Township.
• Accept the North Annville Fire Company’s box cards request through the end of this year.
• Approve the June 9 meeting minutes and June 9 treasurer’s report.
• Read and approve paying the monthly bills.

North Annville Township supervisors meet the second Monday of each month at 7:30 p.m. in the social hall of the former Union Waterworks Fire Company, 2875 Waterworks Way, Annville.