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Massive ‘thruway’ project on hold
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SELINSGROVE — The nearly half-billion-dollar “thruway” project designed to alleviate traffic congestion along Routes 11-15 on the “strip” north of here is officially on hold, PennDOT announced Friday.
In separate sessions Thursday, PennDOT had briefed public officials and property owners who would be impacted by the project.
Sandra Tosca, district executive for PennDOT’s District 3-0, based in Montoursville, cited financial constraints, “runaway inflation” and a need to maintain the existing
transportation system as reasons for stalling the Central Susquehanna Valley Transportation (CSVT) project.
State Rep. Merle Phillips, R-108, of Sunbury, was disappointed with the news, and said the decision to put the project on hold was handled poorly.
“By putting it on hold, it takes the incentive away to work on it,” he said. “There is a money problem, but we don’t put it on hold or stop everything; that’s not the way to do it.”
Phillips noted Friday he had a meeting earlier in the day and traveled along Routes 11 and 15 to get there.
“It was atrocious,” he said about the traffic. “It takes a half-hour to get several miles.”
News of the delay comes just as excitement builds over the opening of the Monroe Marketplace, where a Target is scheduled to open in October and a Dick’s Sporting Goods, and a new location for Giant will also be located. The new mall is located in the heart of the busy highway, about one mile south of Veterans Memorial Bridge in Sunbury.
PennDOT’s options
In a press release from PennDOT Friday morning, Tosca said the final design on the northern section of the thruway, from Route 15 near County Line Road to Route 147 just south of Montandon, is 33-percent complete, but the design has not been initiated on the southern section, from the Selinsgrove Bypass to Route 15 near County Line Road. To date, 47 properties have been acquired by PennDOT for the project, and acquisition offers made on 20 others. PennDOT has made no offers on the remaining 50 parcels anticipated to be necessary for the project.
Three factors affecting project funding were outlined by PennDOT as:
• The “unprecedented inflation costs” for basic highway construction materials such as asphalt and steel. PennDOT District 3-0 officials earlier this year reported a 27.5-percent increase in asphalt in the first quarter, and a 49.7-percent rise in structural steel.
• Pennsylvania’s transportation funding crisis, in which there are 6,000 state-owned bridges that have been deemed “structurally deficient,” with an average age of 50 years and an estimate of $11 billion needed to repair them; and 9,000 miles of state highways in poor condition.
• The funding needs for CSVT total $390 million in 2008 dollars. This includes $40 million to complete all design, right-of-way acquisitions and utility relocations, and $350 million for construction.
The project is located in the SEDA-COG planning region, which receives a $24.6 million bridge and highway allocation annually. Should all of SEDA-COG’s allocation go toward CSVT to the exclusion of any other bridge or highway needs in the region, it would take 16 years to finance, which would have a devastating impact on the transportation system, PennDOT reported.
There is no funding for CSVT in the federal Draft 2009-2012 Transportation Improvement Program. Further, there are no other dedicated funds identified for the project, according to PennDOT.
Other funding options were discussed, including the addition of the Routes 11-15 corridor from Harrisburg to I-80 (which includes the CSVT project area) to the Appalachian Development Highway System (ADHS), and public-private partnership options. The ADHS option is currently not viable, as the route must be added to the system via legislative action, which is being pursued by local legislators. Public-private partnerships would also require legislative action at the state level, PennDOT said.
Phillips believes the best option is for the highway to become part of ADHS.
Now what?
Considering the funding facts, three options were considered for the future of CSVT, PennDOT reported:
• Stop the project. This would require paying back of all federal funds expended, selling the acquired right-of-way and terminating all agreements. Reactivation of the project in the future could not be done quickly.
• Redirect SEDA-COG transportation funding to CSVT. Funding would have to come out of SEDA-COG’s annual allocation to the “exclusion and long-term deterioration” of the region’s transportation infrastructure.
• Place CSVT in a holding status, the chosen option. PennDOT said the acquired rights of way will be retained, and design will be brought to “logical completion to allow for reactivation.”
The holding status will allow additional time to pursue other funding options without losing the current investment in CSVT, PennDOT reported, and it will allow the project to be reactivated relatively easily.
Tosca said PennDOT understands the public frustration as it pertains to the rights of way that have been acquired, which in some cases involved very contentious debates, and said PennDOT is committed to assisting property owners.
“Where offers have been made, they will stand with the owner’s option to continue the acquisition process,” Tosca said. “No further offers will be made; however, those property owners can request acquisition.”
On the Net: www.csvt.com. (The site will be updated by Friday to reflect these changes, PennDOT reported.)
In separate sessions Thursday, PennDOT had briefed public officials and property owners who would be impacted by the project.
Sandra Tosca, district executive for PennDOT’s District 3-0, based in Montoursville, cited financial constraints, “runaway inflation” and a need to maintain the existing
transportation system as reasons for stalling the Central Susquehanna Valley Transportation (CSVT) project.
State Rep. Merle Phillips, R-108, of Sunbury, was disappointed with the news, and said the decision to put the project on hold was handled poorly.
“By putting it on hold, it takes the incentive away to work on it,” he said. “There is a money problem, but we don’t put it on hold or stop everything; that’s not the way to do it.”
Phillips noted Friday he had a meeting earlier in the day and traveled along Routes 11 and 15 to get there.
“It was atrocious,” he said about the traffic. “It takes a half-hour to get several miles.”
News of the delay comes just as excitement builds over the opening of the Monroe Marketplace, where a Target is scheduled to open in October and a Dick’s Sporting Goods, and a new location for Giant will also be located. The new mall is located in the heart of the busy highway, about one mile south of Veterans Memorial Bridge in Sunbury.
PennDOT’s options
In a press release from PennDOT Friday morning, Tosca said the final design on the northern section of the thruway, from Route 15 near County Line Road to Route 147 just south of Montandon, is 33-percent complete, but the design has not been initiated on the southern section, from the Selinsgrove Bypass to Route 15 near County Line Road. To date, 47 properties have been acquired by PennDOT for the project, and acquisition offers made on 20 others. PennDOT has made no offers on the remaining 50 parcels anticipated to be necessary for the project.
Three factors affecting project funding were outlined by PennDOT as:
• The “unprecedented inflation costs” for basic highway construction materials such as asphalt and steel. PennDOT District 3-0 officials earlier this year reported a 27.5-percent increase in asphalt in the first quarter, and a 49.7-percent rise in structural steel.
• Pennsylvania’s transportation funding crisis, in which there are 6,000 state-owned bridges that have been deemed “structurally deficient,” with an average age of 50 years and an estimate of $11 billion needed to repair them; and 9,000 miles of state highways in poor condition.
• The funding needs for CSVT total $390 million in 2008 dollars. This includes $40 million to complete all design, right-of-way acquisitions and utility relocations, and $350 million for construction.
The project is located in the SEDA-COG planning region, which receives a $24.6 million bridge and highway allocation annually. Should all of SEDA-COG’s allocation go toward CSVT to the exclusion of any other bridge or highway needs in the region, it would take 16 years to finance, which would have a devastating impact on the transportation system, PennDOT reported.
There is no funding for CSVT in the federal Draft 2009-2012 Transportation Improvement Program. Further, there are no other dedicated funds identified for the project, according to PennDOT.
Other funding options were discussed, including the addition of the Routes 11-15 corridor from Harrisburg to I-80 (which includes the CSVT project area) to the Appalachian Development Highway System (ADHS), and public-private partnership options. The ADHS option is currently not viable, as the route must be added to the system via legislative action, which is being pursued by local legislators. Public-private partnerships would also require legislative action at the state level, PennDOT said.
Phillips believes the best option is for the highway to become part of ADHS.
Now what?
Considering the funding facts, three options were considered for the future of CSVT, PennDOT reported:
• Stop the project. This would require paying back of all federal funds expended, selling the acquired right-of-way and terminating all agreements. Reactivation of the project in the future could not be done quickly.
• Redirect SEDA-COG transportation funding to CSVT. Funding would have to come out of SEDA-COG’s annual allocation to the “exclusion and long-term deterioration” of the region’s transportation infrastructure.
• Place CSVT in a holding status, the chosen option. PennDOT said the acquired rights of way will be retained, and design will be brought to “logical completion to allow for reactivation.”
The holding status will allow additional time to pursue other funding options without losing the current investment in CSVT, PennDOT reported, and it will allow the project to be reactivated relatively easily.
Tosca said PennDOT understands the public frustration as it pertains to the rights of way that have been acquired, which in some cases involved very contentious debates, and said PennDOT is committed to assisting property owners.
“Where offers have been made, they will stand with the owner’s option to continue the acquisition process,” Tosca said. “No further offers will be made; however, those property owners can request acquisition.”
On the Net: www.csvt.com. (The site will be updated by Friday to reflect these changes, PennDOT reported.)
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