I-80 and I-99 INTERSTATE CONNECTION Appendix F Letters of Support

26 80 Exit 161 Bellefonte

INFRA Grant Application I-80 AND I-99 INTERSTATE CONNECTION Appendix F Letters of Support

November 2017

34TH DISTRICT DISTRICT OFFICES SENATOR JAKE CORMAN BELLEFONTE OFFICE SENATE BOX 203034 DritJ i’ab THE STATE CAPITOL 236 MATCH FACTORY PLACE HARRISBURG, PA 17120-3034 BELLEFONTE, PA 16823 717-787-1377 (814) 355-0477 FAX: 717-772-3146 FAX (814) 355-6046

COMMITTEES LEWISTOWN OFFICE

RULES & EXECUTIVE NOMINATIONS, CHAIR 31 WEST THIRD STREET LEWISTOWN, PA 17044 (717) 242-2410 FAX (717) 242-4775

TOLL FREE: 1-800-828-7300 WEBSITE: jokecormon.Com ênat iii 11rutu1gtuauta October 17, 2017

Secretary Elaine L. Chao United States Department of Transportation 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, D.C. 20590

Dear Secretary Chao,

It is my understanding that the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) has applied for funding from the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) program in order to complete the 1-99/1-80 Interchanges project in Centre County, Pennsylvania. The purpose of my letter is to recommend favorable consideration of this request.

The project is an integral infrastructure improvement in my district and is intended to replace the functionally obsolete 1-80 Exit 1 61 (Bellefonte) Interchange with a modern interchange that will complete a key missing link on the National Highway Freight Network. The project will also provide for safer travel between the two interstates.

Centre County is one of the fastest growing counties in Pennsylvania — the only county in Pennsylvania that is growing in population. We are fortunate to sit in an economic hub for over ten other counties. In addition, the County is a centrally-located transportation hub for the nation’s mid-Atlantic region. Completion of a modern connection will improve and enhance the economic position of Centre County and Pennsylvania on a national level.

It should be noted that environmental clearance was obtained for the project in 2002 and right-of-way acquisition has been completed, but PennDOT needs additional funding to construct and finalize the improvements. This project is a key transportation link needed to sustain the economic health of communities across Central Pennsylvania and will provide safer travel for residents and visitors alike.

I am very happy to support this application. Your consideration of this matter is appreciated. Please do not hesitate to contact me should you have any additional questions.

Sincerely,

Jake Corman

JDC/mjw cc: The Honorable Patrick Toomey, United States Senator The Honorable Robert Casey, United States Senator The Honorable Glenn Thompson, United States House of Representatives The Honorable Bill Shuster, United States House of Representatives Secretary Leslie Richards, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Ms. Karen Michael, District 2-0 Executive, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Mr. Tom Zilla, Principal Transportation Plamier, Centre County MPO Mr. Jeff Luck, Chair, Centre County MPO

MICHAEL K. HANNA, SR. 29 BELLEFONTE AVENUE DEMOCRATIC WHIP LOCK HAVEN, PENNSYLVANIA 17745 n 420 MAIN cAPrroL PHONE: (570) 748-5480 P.O. BOX 202076 TOLL-FREE: 1 (800) 845-7846 HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA 17120-2076 PHONE: (717)772-2283 n 519 DELLSTREET BELLEFONTE, PENNSYLVANIA 16823-4839 PHONE: (814) 353-8780 fliawfi COMMONWEALTH PENNSYLVANIA HARRISBURG October 13,2OL7

Secretary Elaine L Chao US Department of Transportation 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20590

RE: PA Department of Transportation's Infrastructure for Rebuilding America Program Grant Application

Dear Secretary Chao: I serve the 76th Legislative District of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. The Interstate B0 Bellefonte Exit 161 in Marion Township lies in the Centre County portion of my rural district. This exit provides the current access to Interstate B0 from PA Route 26. In close proximity to this area is the official terminus of Interstate 99. The small stretch of roadway between I 99 and I B0 (SR 26) was never designed to handle the high volume of traffic it now has, thus making it very dangerous.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is applying for federal grant funding through the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America Program to replace the functionally obsolete I B0 Exit 161 Interchange with a modern interchange that will make a seamless connection between I B0 and I 99. The interchange will complete a missing link on the National Highway Freight Network.

This interchange is essential for a number of reasons, a few of which I will highlight below.

First and foremost is for safety reasons. This area is traveled by passenger vehicles, commercial trucks, Amish buggies and bicyclists and has seen a high number of crashes, causing injuries, death, and property damage.

For economic reasons, Centre County is one of the fastest growing counties in Pennsylvania by percentage. A safer, more efficient and reliable roadway system will help retain existing businesses and attract new businesses. The project will significantly improve safety and travel time for employees using

@ recycled paper Secretary Elaine Chao October 13,20L7 Page 2

I 80 and I 99 to reach their places of employment, which will enable companies to recruit workers from a larger area. In addition, Centre County is a centrally located transportation hub for both Pennsylvania and the nation's Mid-Atlantic Region. The interchange will improve the flow of goods and services through the area. The project will provide more efficient access to two designated Keystone Innovation Zones (Penn Eagle and Innovation Park) and two Keystone Opportunity Zones (Benner Commerce Park and Titan Energy Park) in Centre County.

Centre County is home to a growing travel and tourism industry. Huge numbers of travelers come to Centre County for year round special events and attractions, including Penn State football, many other athletic events and tournaments, cultural events and musical entertainment in our area's top venues. It is also world renown for its beauty and natural resources that bring folks from far and wide. The interchange will improve travel time and safety for travelers.

The environmental clearance was obtained for this project back in 2002 and right of way acquisition has been completed. The funding to construct the improvements has been the major hurdle in completing this much needed transportation infrastructure project. I am in full support of this grant proposal and sincerely hope that Penn DOT's request for funding for this important project in my legislative district will be granted. I would like to thank you for your time and attention in reviewing the application and look forward to safer traveling between Interstates B0 and 99 along a modern high speed interchange.

Very Truly Yours, //(r/* MIKE HANNA State Representative/Democratic Whip 76th Legislative District

MKH/tla

Cc: Senator Robert P Casey, Senator Patrick J Toomey, Congressman Glenn Thompson

October 11, 2017

US Department of Transportation Attn: Secretary Elaine L Chao 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE Washington, DC 20590

Dear Secretary Chao:

I am writing to express our support for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s (PennDOT’s) Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) funding application for the construction of the I-99/I-80 Interchange in Centre County, PA. The proposed project will update the obsolete and unsafe I-80 Exit 161 Interchange (at Bellefonte) to modern interchange facilities and access roads, resulting in safe and congestion-free travel between the two interstate highways.

The proposed project will provide additional benefit in support of PennDOT’s effort to implement a technology evaluation corridor along I-99 and I-80. The technology evaluation corridor is a collaborative project between PennDOT’s Bureau of Planning and Research, Bureau of Maintenance and Operations, Engineering District 2-0, and Penn State University to plan and develop I-99 and I-80 as a test bed for new technology, including connected and autonomous vehicle testing. The initial phase of this project is already funded and underway to identify national best practices that will help shape the implementation of the program. Because the existing at-grade intersections limit the utility for proposed testing, the completion of the high- speed interchange at Bellefonte has been identified as an integral part of the test bed.

To move technology forward and support development into the future, we hope that you will view PennDOT’s application favorably and award funding to make this project a reality.

Sincerely,

Eric T. Donnell, Ph.D., P.E. Director

Oct. 4, 2017

Secretary Elaine L. Chao U.S. Department of Transportation 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20590

Dear Secretary Chao:

The Chamber of Business & Industry of Centre County (CBICC), along with the public and private investors comprising the Centre County Economic Development Partnership, fully supports the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s application to the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) grant program for funding to complete the I-99/I-80 Interchanges project in Centre County, PA. The project will replace the functionally obsolete I-80 Exit 161 (Bellefonte) Interchange with modern interchange facilities and access improvements that will eliminate heavy traffic congestion between the two interstates that negatively impacts commerce, tourism, and new business investment into the region.

Congestion at the current I-80 east- and westbound ramps at the Bellefonte interchange, particularly during morning and evening rush hours, and on holiday and Penn State football weekends, hinders efficient traffic flow, and poses considerable safety risks and costly delays for motorists.

This is particularly concerning for the Centre County region because our economy is primarily people- based, from the 11,000 plus workers traveling here from neighboring counties each day for employment, to the tens of thousands of students that attend the main campus of Penn State University, to the 100,000+ plus visitors that converge on Centre County during college football weekends.

Additionally, Centre County is centrally located as a transportation hub for both Pennsylvania and the Mid-Atlantic Region. It is a strategic geographic region in the heart of the nation’s manufacturing corridor, with eight multi-state major metropolitan areas easily accessible by just a four to five hour drive. Completion of the high-speed interchange will greatly improve and enhance Centre County’s transportation system to the benefit of our county and the surrounding region.

For these reasons, I respectfully ask you to approve PennDOT’s application and recommend to Congress that this project receive funding.

Sincerely,

Vern Squier, CCE, PaCCE President and CEO - Chamber of Business & Industry of Centre County Centre County Economic Development Partnership

EMERGENCY SERVICES DIRECTOR BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS Willowbank Office Building JEFFREY A. WHARRAN MICHAEL PIPE, Chair 420 Holmes Street MARK HIGGINS Bellefonte, Pennsylvania 16823-1488 OPERATIONS & TRAINING OFFICER STEVEN G.c DERSHEM Telephone (814) 355-6745 JODY L. LAIR Fax (814) 355-6589 www.centrecountypa.gov ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT ABIGAIL M. RANIO

October 8th, 2017

Secretary Elaine L. Chao U.S. Department of Transportation 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20590

Dear Secretary Chao:

I am writing to express our support for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s application to the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) program for funding to complete the I-99/I-80 Interchanges project in Centre County, PA. The project will replace the functionally obsolete I-80 Exit 161 (Bellefonte) Interchange with a modern interchange that will complete a key missing link on the National Highway Freight Network, and provide for safer travel between the two interstates.

As the Director of the Centre County Office of Emergency Services and as the County Emergency Management Coordinator I am responsible for the coordination, response, mitigation and recovery from all incidents including hazardous materials. I also have related experience to this issue as a retired Pennsylvania State Police Officer, who worked in Centre County most of my career. I was also the Transportation Manager for the state’s largest heavy construction services company fleet for six years which is headquartered very near this interstate interchange. Throughout this work experience spanning the last thirty years, I have responded to at least a hundred motor vehicle crashes at this very location. There have been numerous fatalities, serious injuries, property damage and hazardous material incidents that were directly related to the inherent dangers of this site.

These interstate highways are the only interstates that transverse the central area of our state. Since the completion of I-99 and previously as State Route 26, the volume of traffic has significantly increased. Large portions of this traffic are commercial vehicles that pose a greater safety and environmental risk to our area and population. Centre County is larger than the state of Rhode Island but only has four school districts; therefore school buses travel great distances and are also part of daily traffic on the interstates and at this interchange. Since the interchange is currently controlled by stop signs at each ramp, during high volume traffic times the traffic

backlogs into the travel lanes of both interstates creating an extremely dangerous situation that often causes crashes to occur. The current design of the off-ramps of I-80 make a left turn to travel North on SR 26 almost impossible during peak traffic. This in turn causes motorist to travel in the opposite direction with many of them dangerously making illegal U-turns into oncoming traffic. Another inherent danger comes from commercial vehicle missing ramps and ending up on narrow secondary roads creating more safety issues including Amish buggy traffic that is present, further enhancing dangers. Please consider these dangers and risks when analyzing PennDOT’s application for you to fund this project. The addition of a high speed interchange at this location will significantly increase safety for our motoring public as well as the environment.

Sincerely,

Jeffrey A. Wharran Director – Centre County Office of Emergency Services Centre County Emergency Management Coordinator

Secretary Elaine L. Chao U.S. Department of Transportation 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20590

Dear Secretary Chao:

Howard Fire Company is responsible for calls that occur at the west bound off ramp at that interchange and it has become increasingly worse as time passes. The number and severity of incidents increases each year. This has placed an increasing work load on our volunteers and increased wear and tear on our apparatus.

The traffic back-up at this interchange has become phenomenal, forcing cars to back up for as much as a mile or more into the right hand travel lanes in both directions. Local traffic is forced to thread their way through the off ramp traffic causing delays for locals. This is entirely unsafe on a modern interstate highway and needs to be addressed sooner rather than later. The accidents at the off ramp intersection are as regular as clockwork and becoming more horrific.

Beyond the obvious safety concerns and the constant injuries and occasional loss of life, the economic impact on our area is also a problem. The Interstate system should be helping commerce. In this area, the long lines of traffic and congestion are hindering the smooth flow of commerce.

Environmental clearance was obtained for the project in 2002, right-of-way acquisition has been completed, but PennDOT needs funding to construct the improvements. This project is a key transportation link needed to sustain the economic health of communities across Central Pennsylvania, and provide safer travel for thousands of residents, daily commuters, and visitors. We encourage you to give careful consideration to PennDOT’s application. We hope that your evaluation team views PennDOT’s application favorably, and that this project is selected for a funding award.

Sincerely,

Mark Ott, President Howard Volunteer Fire Company