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Township residents worry about Route 220 safety study

Linden locals are abuzz about the state Department of Transportation’s plans to address safety concerns along the section of Route 220 from Linden to Jersey Shore.

During their Wednesday night meeting, the Woodward Township Supervisors discussed the department’s upcoming meeting, which they hope will shed some light on the plan. The meeting, which is open to the public, will be held from 6 to 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Woodward Township Fire Hall.

At the meeting, the department will display the results of a recent safety study conducted on the roadway, and will include such data as traffic volume and crash statistics, according to Judith Carpenter, township secretary.

Engineers were particularly interested in the number of access points along the corridor, which begins at the West Fourth Street Interchange in Woodward township and ends just west of Route 287 in Piatt Township. Whereas, a highway’s only access points are the entrance and exit ramps, the corridor has more than 250 access points.

The department may need to consolidate some of those access points in order to maintain safety along the six mile stretch of road. However, locals were worried that they may also close the roadway’s crossover lanes.

“A lot of people are thinking they may close those crossover lanes and we’ll have to go all the way down to Williamsport if we want to turn around,” said James Arvin.

“We don’t have many crossover lanes as it is. I just don’t want to have to go down to [the] Harvest Moon [restaurant] to turn around and head to Jersey Shore,” he added.

Supervisors admitted that they have not yet seen the findings of the study.

“I’m just as in the dark as anybody. I haven’t seen what they’ve come up with,” said Wayne Robinson, the township’s roadway superintendent.

“Route 220 is PennDOT’s road,” he added.

Vice Chairman Thomas Franz noted that the department had mentioned fixing the road several years prior.

“I remember they had another meeting one and a half, maybe two years ago, saying they were going to do something about that road. Then we didn’t hear much more about it,” Franz said.

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