What’s next for the State College Area Connector project? Feedback sought at upcoming meetings
Centre County residents will have two opportunities this week to hear updates and possible routes for the State College Area Connector project that has been in the works for more than a decade.
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, along with the Federal Highway Administration, will host meetings from 1-8 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday to give the public an opportunity to review the State College Area Connector Planning Environmental and Linkage study. The meetings will be held at the Wyndham Garden State College, 310 Elks Club Road, Boalsburg.
The goal of the SCAC project — which Gov. Tom Wolf said in 2019 could cost about $670 million — is to improve a 13-mile stretch of U.S. Route 322 from the Seven Mountains to State College. The public meetings are planned to include information about environmental and community features, the range of alternatives studied to date, and preliminary alternative improvements.
The SCAC initial study area encompasses 70 square miles and identified that high-peak hour traffic volumes cause congestion on U.S. Route 322 and state Routes 45 and 144 roadways and intersections, according to a PennDOT newsletter. The roadway configurations and traffic conditions that currently exist contribute to safety concerns, it states, and the roadway network lacks continuity.
As part of the process, PennDOT initiated a Planning and Environmental Linkage (PEL) Study that will help inform planning decisions and streamline the project delivery process, according to PennDOT.
At the public meetings, PennDOT will explain the PEL study process, present the range of alternatives, discuss the screening process and preliminary results, and solicit public comments.
“What we’re looking for is to get a real sense of what the concerns are, what people have to say about a potential project through there. ... All we’re doing at this point is setting potential alternatives or potential corridors,” Marla Fannin, community relations coordinator/press officer for PennDOT district 2, said.
Nine alternatives listed on the project site include corridors on routes 144 and 322. During a meeting on Monday, Harris Township officials discussed concerns about two of the proposed alignments that would have an interchange on Discovery Drive, on top of the township’s new maintenance facility.
In talks with PennDOT, Harris Township Manager Amy Farkas said PennDOT didn’t have the facility mapped when they did the alignment mapping and they’re working on updates. In a statement posted on the township’s Facebook page, the supervisors opposed all alignments along Route 322, saying that could force businesses and the church within the industrial zoned area to move out of the township.
“These alignments would forever alter the character of our community. Additionally these alignments would remove all of our industrial zoned property. There is no additional location in the township where land could be rezoned industrial to accommodate any relocation of impacted properties,” the statement read. The supervisors endorsed one of the alignments along Route 144.
Responding to concerned residents on Monday, supervisors encouraged people to attend the meeting and share their input.
Fannin echoed that to the Centre Daily Times and said feedback is a huge part of the meeting. PennDOT will be using the feedback gathered to help them move forward.
Transportation projects advance through five phases before they are able to be used by the traveling public, PennDOT’s website states. The steps include the PEL study, preliminary engineering/environmental studies, the final engineering design right-of-way acquisition and construction. The project is in step 4 of the PEL study; the PEL study step is not anticipated to be completed until spring 2022.
Construction may not begin until 2027 and won’t be completed for several years after. In the Facebook statement, Harris Township supervisors urged PennDOT to complete safety improvements started on Route 322 in a “timely fashion.”
“Doing nothing or waiting for full funding is not an option, as this is one of the most unsafe roads in the state,” the post read.
Information on the project can also be viewed online at www.penndot.gov/scac. The information presented at the meetings will be the same both days and people can go to the meeting at any point within the meeting hours.
Written comments from the public regarding the State College Area Connector PEL Study may be submitted by mail to PennDOT District 2-0, Attention: Dean D. Ball, P.E., 70 PennDOT Drive, Clearfield, PA 16830. Comments may also be submitted by email to deball@pa.gov or online via the study website. All comments on the public meeting materials must be received by Oct. 3.
