SEDA-COG MPO adopts transportation plans

LEWISBURG — The SEDA-Council of Governments (SEDA-COG) Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) adopted two of its major transportation plans that impact an eight-county region that includes Clinton, Columbia, Juniata, Mifflin, Montour, Northumberland, Snyder and Union counties.

The adoption of the 2017-2020 Transportation Improvement Program and the 2016-2040 Long Range Transportation Plan signals the successful completion of a 12-month planning effort that engaged the MPO’s Long Range Transportation Plan steering committee/advisory group, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, the Federal Highway Administration, county officials, transit operators, and other key stakeholders in addition to the general public.

Public engagement was more substantial in this update than in previous years because of the early, interactive process, said Jim Saylor, SEDA-COG’s transportation planning director.

“We experienced a significant increase in the amount of public feedback received than we have during previous update cycles,” Saylor said. “This is due in part to the collaborative efforts of PennDOT and the State Transportation Commission. We also engaged the public earlier in the planning process, which resulted in a more productive and ongoing dialogue. We’re very pleased with the outcomes of this effort, and we anticipate continuing this practice with the next update.”

The Transportation Improvement Program is the regionally agreed-upon list of priority projects, all located in the SEDA-COG MPO region. The program has a total of 250 projects to be addressed over the next four years.

State funding will cover nearly 70 percent of the Transportation Improvement Program project costs, which total around $415 million. The local funding match is less than 1 percent, while the federal funding level is at 30 percent.

The 2040 Long Range Transportation Plan envisions how investments in the region’s transportation infrastructure should be allocated to address regional priorities as well as federal and state goals. The total estimated cost of the projects in this plan is $792.3 million. Significant projects listed in the plan include the Central Susquehanna Valley Transportation project, State Route 150 reconstruction in Clinton County, US Route 22 resurfacing in Juniata County, Kish Creek bridge replacement in Mifflin County, US Route 11 traffic signal enhancements in Montour County, US Route 15 traffic signal enhancements in Union County, and a local bridge bundling project in Columbia County.

The final adopted versions of both plans will be available later in July on the SEDA-COG website at www.seda-cog.org.

Paper copies also will be available during business hours at the SEDA-COG office at 201 Furnace Road in Lewisburg.