PennDOT to Hold Public Meetings for State College Area Connector Project

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation will hold two public meetings this week to provide updates and receive feedback from the public about a study on improving the highway connection from Potters Mills Gap into the State College area.

The public meeting/open house to review the State College Area Connector Planning and Environmental Linkage (PEL) Study and potential routes will be held 1-8 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday at the Wyndham Garden – State College Mountain View Ballroom, 310 Elks Club Road in Boalsburg. The same information will be presented both days and residents can come at any time within the scheduled hours.

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.

Since then, PennDOT and the Federal Highway Administration have undertaken the PEL study “to inform planning decisions, streamline the project delivery process, and… serve as a public platform to discuss and prioritize transportation issues,” according to PennDOT. The study will not be finalized until next year.

The initial study area examined 70 square miles in the U.S. Route 322, state Route 45 and state route 144 corridor, determining that high peak traffic volumes cause congestion and “unacceptable levels of service,” on those roadways and intersections.

Existing road network and configurations cause safety concerns and lack continuity, according to PennDOT.

The SCAC study aims to identify a range of alternatives that would reduce congestion, improve mobility, safety and continuity and support regional land use goals.

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.

Nine alternatives identified in the study include upgrading the existing 13-mile stretch of 322 to Boalsburg and new alignments in the 322 and 144 corridors.

Harris Township’s Board of Supervisors said in a statement that they do not support any alignment that would bring the new road through Boalsburg because they a significant amount of the traffic is destined for I-99 and I-80 and an alternative along the Route 144 corridor would provide the most direct route.

“The purpose behind this project is the need to find a safe route to get the heavy truck traffic from Seven Mountains to the I-80/I-99 corridor,” the supervisors’ statement said. “The Township is actively involved in climate change efforts with the Centre Region Council of Governments. We urge PennDOT to consider the direct route to the I-80/I-99 corridor, as this will greatly reduce the overall carbon footprint of this project.”

Supervisors also voiced concern that mapping used for the study is out of date and could have a substantial impact on Harris Township. It does not reflect, the statement said, the township’s new maintenance field, park and businesses on Discovery Drive — where one potential interchange is located — or new developments along Route 45, including Kaywood North and Rockey Ridge.

“Additionally, and perhaps most concerning, the mapping is using out of date information for our Agricultural Security Area (ASA),” the supervisors said. “We know that the location of conserved farms plays a significant role in the alignment of the highway.”

Alignments in the 322 corridor also would remove all of the township’s industrial zoned property and there is no other location that could be rezoned industrial to accommodate relocation of impacted businesses, according to the supervisors.

“We vehemently oppose all alignments along Route 322,” the statement said. “These alignments would forever alter the character of our community.”

The PEL study is a multi-step process that has recently completed step four: screening alternatives and determining impacts. It is expected to be completed in the spring of 2022.

It’s the first of five phases of advancing a transportation project. After the study is finalized, it will be followed by preliminary engineering and environmental studies, final engineering design, right-of-way acquisition and construction.

Construction is not expected to begin until at least 2027 and will take several years to complete.

Harris Township supervisors urged PennDOT to complete safety improvements already 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,” they said in the statement.

At the meetings on Wednesday and Thursday, PennDOT will review the PEL study process, present the range of alternatives and discuss the screening process and preliminary results. Residents will have the opportunity to view exhibits, ask questions of the study team and provide comment.

Display boards and other materials for the meeting are available on PennDOT’s SCAC project website.

Written comments can be submitted by mail to PennDOT District 2-0, Attention: Dean D. Ball, P.E., 70 PennDOT Drive, Clearfield, PA 16830; by email to [email protected]; or through the project website.

Comments on the public meeting must be received by Oct. 3.