Does Route 220 in the Linden/Woodward Township corridor need a traffic study?

Some residents of Woodward Township think so, and the members of the Woodward Township Board of Supervisors are getting the ball rolling with positive results.

Board Chairman Jeffrey Stroehmann had “some good news” regarding Route 220 at the board’s most recent meeting — “PennDOT (Pennsylvania Department of Transportation) graciously offered to apply on Woodward Township’s behalf for a grant to do a study.”

Stroehmann said he received a recent call that the grant for the study was approved and was about to move forward.

“PennDOT is the host of the grant, (the Lycoming County supervisory board) is the administrator and Woodward township is the beneficiary,” Stroehmann said.

“Many Woodward Township residents have expressed concerns about increased traffic volume on township roads following the completion of the Route 220 safety project. In response, the township supervisors have initiated this study,” he said.

“I think everybody in this township…recognizes that there is more traffic on our secondary roads since the completion of the project. (There is more) movement toward…the back roads to avoid multiple interactions with the corridor and traffic.”

Lycoming County Transportation Planner Emily Mrochko explained, in a telephone interview, the specifics of the grant. It is part of the PennDOT Connects Supplemental Funding, which is a division of the department that works with local communities and provides the funds for the grant — about $100,000.

During the meeting, Strohemann said that since Lycoming County received the grant, a request for proposal was put out. Mrochko, in that same phone call, confirmed it had been awarded to and “awarded it to Stahl Sheaffer Engineering” who will conduct the study.

Stroehmann said the engineering company will “begin the task of studying the impact of the Route 220 safety corridor on our township roads. There were 12 to 15 intersections identified as of-interest and that’s basically intersections to the north of Route 220.”

He added that the study will be more “intensely” to the northeast part of the township and it will move “toward the west.”

“We should have results late-2027,” he said.

“When the study is finished, we should have a good comprehensive study on how our roads have been impacted and recommendations on what we need to do to improve or to accept or to change anything as a result of the study,” Stroehmann said.

Speaking of Route 220 safety issues, Stroehmann said that members of the board of supervisors were hoping to meet with representatives from the Williamsport Area School District, along with persons from the local fire company and the PennDOT regarding school bus stops.

“(We) primarily wish to discuss several concerns as brought up by the fire company and residents regarding movements on the buses on Route 220 and possibly on the secondary roads, but primarily the interaction of the buses in public safety on the Route 220 border,” Stroehmann said.

The next meeting will be 6 p.m., Dec. 10, at 89 Moore Road, Ext. Suite 1, Linden.