SIGNS ALONG Route 322 in Potter Township show the concern that some area residents have over PennDOT’s State College Area Connector Project.
BOALSBURG — Before two scheduled public meetings this week about the Route 322 State College Area Connector Project, Harris Township supervisors spoke out about the three proposed potential routes that PennDOT is considering. Meanwhile, a group of concerned citizens announced plans to independently explore other options for the project with the public.
The long-talked-about project looks to provide the “missing link” four-lane highway to connect from Potters Mills to State College.
A Planning and Environmental Linkage study conducted by PennDOT in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration evaluated existing and projected transportation needs within a 70-squaremile area in the U.S. Route 322, state Route 45 and state Route 144 corridor, where the existing road network and configurations cause safety concerns and lack continuity.
In September, PennDOT narrowed nine options for the connector route down to three options in the current Route 322 corridor in Potter and Harris townships to create a four-lane highway from Seven Mountains into the State College area.
That eliminated alternatives in the Route 144 corridor — routes that would have gone over Centre Hall Mountain.
PennDOT had public meetings scheduled for 5 to 8:30 p.m. Oct. 19 and 20 at Mount Nittany Middle school that were to include a presentation with updates on data collection and current recommendations as well as a question-and-answer period with the audience.
HARRIS TOWNSHIP
In advance of the meetings, Harris Township supervisors issued a statement that read, “As it stands now, there are no winners with the three alignments that are moving forward. Residents will lose their homes and their livelihoods. Farms will be lost. The unique rural character of our area will be forever altered.
“While we acknowledge the safety issues that exist along the Route 322 corridor, we are opposed to using a limited access superhighway to address these concerns,” the Harris Township supervisors wrote.
“We fail to see how the proposed superhighway will accomplish any of the stated safety goals for this project — lower speeds and safer highway design.”
During a joint meeting between Harris and Potter township supervisors last month, residents voiced concerns about how the proposed routes could damage their property values, force them to sell their homes and create additional safety problems.
PennDOT’s study found that the recommended routes would “minimize” residential and business relocations. But representatives of the agricultural community say family-owned farms in the corridor are at risk of being bisected or lost entirely.
“We urge PennDOT to reconsider the design of this roadway. Instead of a limited access superhighway, we urge you to design a context sensitive roadway,” Harris Township supervisors wrote.
“To us, that means a four-lane divided highway with minimal medians, roundabouts or other left hand turn alternatives and, most importantly, a reduced speed limit through the corridor.”
They pointed to the Route 41 project in Chester County, where instead of previous plans for a limited-access four-lane alignment, PennDOT is “moving forward with a context sensitive design that incorporates roundabouts and other safety features,” largely in response to community opposition.
Route 41 is a 22-mile highway that runs along a two-lane undivided road in largely rural areas, similar to the Route 322 corridor through Potter and Harris townships.
“If roundabouts and context sensitive design can be used in other parts of Pennsylvania, why is it not being considered here?” the supervisors wrote.
They also questioned why the Centre Region’s Climate Action Goals and Pennsylvania’s Climate Action Plan were not considered in the PEL study but instead will be used as part of the environmental review for the project, calling it “flawed and contrary to good planning” to not consider them now.
The PEL study is a multi-step process and 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.
The supervisors wrote that the study should also account for other projects in the state that will affect truck traffic through Centre County — like the Central Susquehanna Valley Thruway in Snyder, Northumberland and Union countiesand questioned how impacts to residents, businesses and agriculture will be weighted in PennDOT’s decision-making.
“Greater transparency is needed to improve the public’s confidence in the state’s ability to plan and build the appropriate roadway for our area,” the supervisors wrote.
Construction on the project — which has current estimated costs ranging from $432 million to $517 million — would not be expected to begin until at least 2028 and would take about six years to complete.
But community members need more answers long before then, according to the Harris Township supervisors.
“We urge PennDOT to consider the residents, businesses and farmers along this corridor who now must live in limbo while the project proceeds to environmental review. These residents are unable to make decisions about their homes, businesses and farms until PennDOT makes a decision on the roadway alignment,” they wrote.
“Property values are being impacted while PennDOT makes everyone play a waiting game. For the good of our community, we urge you to be transparent, to communicate with impacted residents and to move forward in a timely fashion.”
EXPLORING OPTIONS
On Oct. 30, the Centre County Historical Society and Hamer Center for Community are sponsoring a design charrette in partnership with the Department of Landscape Architecture at Penn State to explore alternative design option for Route 322 and Penn-Brush Valley. The event will be led by Dan Marriott, an associate professor of landscape architecture at Penn State, and will run from 2 to 5:30 p.m. at Calvary Church, 150 Harvest Fields Drive, Boalsburg.
Space is limited. Registration can be completed at centrehistory.org/research-explore/connector/ or by calling 814-234-4779.
According to a press release, the session will engage interested organizations and residents in developing a broader vision for the future of the highway corridor and valley.
“In addition to the many different safe roadway design options available for 322 — beyond a limited-access freewaythe charrette will consider the opportunities such a project can offer to unite rather than divide the communities of the valley,” Marriott said in the press release.
“Using examples from Pennsylvania and other states, the charrette will explore traffic calming measures, pedestrian and bike access, programs to help sustainable farming, and recreation and wildlife corridors designed to minimize the negative impacts of 322. The afternoon will allow you to work closely with neighbors and experts to consider options for the future.”
Penn State landscape architecture faculty and students will be available to assist community members. The goal is to create a specific list of community goals to “not only influence the design of 322, but also establish clear design expectations for safe multimodal transportation, planning and economic development, (and) heritage and land conservation.”
