BOALSBURG — And then there were three.
Recently, PennDOT narrowed the nine options to three for the State College Area Connector project, which will provide the “missing link” for U.S. Route 322 as it comes into Happy Valley.
The three preferred alternatives are all in the current Route 322 corridor in Potter and Harris townships.
These rule out any Route 144 corridor routes that would have gone over Centre Hall Mountain.
On Oct. 19 and 20, PennDOT tentatively plans to hold two public meetings about the project at Mount Nittany Middle School in Boalsburg.
Efforts to connect Route 322 at Seven Mountains and southern Centre County with a four-lane highway date back nearly two decades, but the project was scrubbed in 2004 when funding was pulled.
In 2019, Gov. Tom Wolf announced the state’s commitment to finally move the project forward, with an estimated cost of about $670 million.
With the completion of the four-lane realignment of U.S. 322 at Potters Mills Gap last year, the connector would complete a four-lane highway from the State College area to Harrisburg.
In April, public meetings were held to discuss the project’s Planning and Environmental Linkage Study and hear community input.
The nine original options — six in the current Route 322 corridor and three in the Route 144 corridor — have been whittled down to the three remaining Route 322 options. These options have varying routes in the corridor.
According to information provide by PennDOT in advance of the meeting, the total estimated cost of the project falls between $432 million and $517 million. The options vary as each makes its way through the Route 322 corridor.
PennDOT studies concluded that all of the Route 322 options would cut truck traffic on local road networks by 72% and total traffic on local roads by 53%, while Route 144 options would only cut truck traffic by 56% and total traffic by 43%.
