Meetings this week on State College Area Connector project. Here’s what to know
Two meetings will be held this week to give residents a chance to hear updates about the State College Area Connector project in southern Centre County.
The project has been in the works for more than a decade and could cost upward of $800 million. The project’s long-stated goal is to improve a 13-mile stretch of U.S. Route 322 from the Seven Mountains to State College.
When are the meetings?
Two open house public meetings will be held this week. The first is from 3-8 p.m. Tuesday at Calvary Church, 150 Harvest Fields Drive, Boalsburg. A second meeting will be held 3-8 p.m. Wednesday at the Centre Hall Fire Station, 134 N. Witmer Ave., Centre Hall.
People may attend any time between the posted hours, and information presented at each meeting will be identical.
Information on the project can also be viewed online at www.penndot.gov/scac.
What will be presented?
The meetings will provide an update on the data collection efforts, traffic analyses and Build Alternative corridor refinements related to the State College Area Connector Planning and Environmental Linkage study, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
Six of the nine proposed routes for the State College Area Connector would bring the project through the Route 322 corridor, including one alternative that would upgrade the existing highway. The other three potential options would run in the vicinity of state Route 144.
How else can I provide feedback on the project?
Comments on the Planning and Environmental Linkage study will be accepted throughout the duration of the study on PennDOT’s website.
What’s next?
The planning and environmental linkage study is the first of five phases in advancing the project. PennDOT hopes to have a draft report completed by mid-summer that would recommend moving forward with two or three routes, department spokeswoman Marla Fannin recently told the Centre Daily Times.
The final study would be followed preliminary engineering and environmental studies, final engineering design, right-of-way acquisition and construction. The latter is slated to begin in 2027 and is expected to take upward of four years to complete.
