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‘Beneficial’: Officials tour county, review potential projects for SEDA-COG 25-year plan

LOCK HAVEN -- Local officials were able to get a glimpse into multi-modal hopes in Clinton County to help improve transportation and continue to see growth in the area.

A bus tour was held recently for elected officials and their representatives including on the local, national and state level as well as members of PennDOT and other groups. The tour was organized by Clinton County Planner/Engineer Stephen Gibson and the Clinton County Economic Partnership.

Dan Harger, CCEP Board member and transportation committee chair and Gibson helmed the majority of the tour which saw stops throughout the county.

Prior to the start of the tour, Gibson thanked Susquehanna Trailways for providing the tour bus free of charge.

The tour, Gibson said, served as a way to showcase to elected officials what projects the county would prioritize and request be included on SEDA-COG's Long-Range Transportation Plan (LRTP).

The LRTP is a requirement for federal and state funding and spans across 25 years, with this plan expected to be put in place by 2025.

"The (LRTP) is currently being 'drafted' by SEDA-COG's Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) and their consultant," Gibson told The Express. "The county is a member of the SEDA-COG MPO." Gibson noted the county's planning director serves as a voting member on that board.

Harger said bus tours were a way to ensure collaboration and that area officials are on the same page about the needs of the county.

"I started these tours years ago and they've been successful. When you can form a consensus and take the time to present the projects in the best way it's very beneficial," Harger said.

The bus trip included nearly a dozen stops and ranged from Lamar Township -- where the county hopes to construct a high speed interchange at Route 220's connection with Interstate 80 -- to Western Clinton County bridges that are seeing an uptick in traffic due to outdoor recreation.

"The most critical, expensive long term project is updating the connection of 220 to Interstate 80," Gibson told The Express. "The bottleneck on 220 in Lamar is becoming very busy and potentially unsafe with new heavy industrial traffic."

Harger told tour participants the high speed interchange has been on the county's radar for many years, and its need has grown as industrial companies such as Croda and First Quality continue to expand.

During the stop, Harger pointed out multiple trucks that were actively working their way from 220 onto the interstate, showcasing Gibson's point of creating a "bottleneck."

Harger further noted the ability to create four lanes of traffic is there, it would just take time and funding resources to make it happen.

The need for the interchange was emphasized with stops at the William B. Garbrick Memorial Park -- where Croda, Inc. is located -- and the Central Pennsylvania Auto Auction where, across the road, a potential truck stop could be housed in the future.

Another major point of interest for the county, Gibson said, was creating safer foot traffic along Hogan Boulevard in Bald Eagle Township. The tour took participants to the area where Gibson showed the lack of sidewalks and walkways along the busy strip.

Gibson noted to The Express the lack of crosswalks, sidewalks, stream crossings and additional signage in the area were issues identified through a study by Gannett Fleming in 2022.

It was further showcased in 2023 when the bridge between Bald Eagle Township and Flemington Borough was closed to foot traffic for a time and individuals struggled to get to their jobs or get home each day.

"Currently, there is no safe way for non-motorized transportation -- foot, bike, motor chair" to travel between the municipalities, Gibson said.

Other issues in the area, he said, pertain to upgrades to roadways that can help expand and attract industrial and commercial businesses in the area.

"The state of Pennsylvania is taking Multi-Modal transportation very seriously," he said.

Other stops on the tour included stops in Renovo along state Route 120, specifically the bridge which crosses near Good Neighbor Crafthouse.

Gibson and Harger noted, with ATV activity increasing in the area -- including the Central Mountain ATV headquarters nearby -- improving the bridge for traffic is on the county's list of improvements for the LRTP.

The proposal would make it easier for both regular vehicles and ATVs/UTVs to share the roadway safely.

Outside of Renovo, the trip showcased where improvements could be made for traffic flows in Lock Haven near First Quality's entrances along with those along McElhattan Avenue in Wayne Township where First Quality and its sister facility Neutek are located.

"What we looked at... is pretty much what we -- as Clinton County -- will request to be added to the long term plan," Gibson told The Express.

He further noted SEDA-COG and PennDOT will also have their own projects that they will request be included in the LRTP. Those, he said, may look at a larger, statewide, plan that goes beyond just Clinton County.

Though Gibson noted there are a multitude of projects that could be included on the LRTP within the county, there are certain projects that can find other funding sources.

"We, as a county, make our case for the longer term, more expansive projects we'd like to see done as the local residents to support issues we see everyday," he explained.

Typically, he said, smaller projects are listed in annual funding allocations such as future paving projects in other areas of the county like Beech Creek and Loganton.