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Better surfaces, safer travel promised

Several highway construction projects are on the drawing board for area transportation officials over the next four years.

The largest — worth $38.8 million — is the Route 220 corridor between Woodward and Piatt townships west of Williamsport and east of Jersey Shore, according to Mark Murawski, Lycoming County transportation supervisor.

Next year, work on construction to improve access by adding right turns and jug-handles to turn opposite directions could begin, Murawski said.

To assist in funding the project an additional $20 million in discretionary funding was allocated by the state Department of Transportation, said T.J. Cunningham, a spokesman for PennDOT.

Residents soon will begin to see utility relocations on West Fourth Street, between Hillside Drive and the Route 15 entrance.

A $6.2 million project is set for bids to go out in 2020 to repair Third Street from Campbell east to Basin streets, Murawski said.

Next year construction is expected at the routes 220 and 405 interchange at Hughesville/Wolf Township. The purpose of the $2.3 million project is to improve congestion issues and make it safer for traffic to turn north or south.

A project on Fairfield Road at the interstate exchange has received $2.9 million of Appalachian Regional Commission funds. Improvements could begin in 2019, officials were told.

The resurfacing of West Fourth Street from Lycoming Creek, east to Campbell Street is scheduled to be discussed in 2024.

Funding for the Central Susquehanna Valley Thruway traffic-impact study was approved by PennDOT. The project will get $70,000 in state funds and require a consultant to be hired by bid, Murawski said.

Commissioners are to vote soon on using $30,000 of natural gas impact fees for a match, said Kurt Hausammann Jr., county planning director.

Hausamman said the consultant selected will be able to look at the effects of traffic not only on Interstate 180 and impacts on the city and region but also Route 15.

He anticipates economic consequences with development pressure at stops along Interstate 180 and, if there is a decrease in traffic on Route 15, a potential for that to be conducive to industrial development on that corridor.

The proposed study is timed perfectly with the release of the county comprehensive plan scheduled for this summer, he said.

The bypass and bridge is planned to eliminate traffic congestion in key locations at Lewisburg and Shamokin Dam. The thruway is scheduled for completion in 2024, Cunningham said.

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