Next week, PennDOT will hold public meetings on the latest developments for the controversial State College Connector Project.
Officials say the project is aimed at bettering traffic conditions through eastern Centre County, but there’s still plenty of opposition.
New signs, plenty of them, have been posted along Route 45, not far from the corridor for PennDOT’s three alternatives for the project.
The plan aims at connecting Potters Mills with southern Centre County, a roughly 13-mile stretch, and all three road construction options are near the current Route 322.
These signs, in particular, are aimed at a possible link from the connector roadway to Route 45, but there are concerns that a new link road will mean increased traffic and safety issues on Route 45, which is a two-lane highway through the heart of Penns Valley.
Those concerns added to the worries about what happens to prime farmland in the connector project zone, with some farmers simply saying it will put them out of business.
Last month, PennDOT’s project manager for the connector says even though it’s been on the drawing board for decades, the project is still in the early phases.
“As we move into this next phase, where were doing the detailed environmental studies, we’ll have a better idea. We’ll meet with individual property owners. Like I said before, when we are in the detailed study, that’s where we will be able to adjust alignments in our new study to assess the impact.”
PennDOT’s State College Connector Project public meetings are set for next Wednesday and Thursday, October 19th and 20th, and they will be held at the Mount Nittany Middle School beginning at 5 p.m. each day.
