Northern Tier Long Range Transportation Plan Table of Contents PURPOSE AND OVERVIEW .......................................................................................4 BACKGROUND & METHODOLOGY........................................................................5 TRENDS, ISSUES & OPPORTUNITIES .....................................................................6 SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC PATTERNS & TRENDS.................................................................13 FEDERAL PLANNING FACTORS............................................................................20 FEDERAL PLANNING FACTOR #1 - ECONOMIC VIABILITY..............................................20 FEDERAL PLANNING FACTOR #2 – SAFETY AND SECURITY...........................................21 FEDERAL PLANNING FACTOR #3 – ACCESSIBILITY AND MOBILITY OPTIONS FOR PEOPLE AND FREIGHT...............................................................................................................22 FEDERAL PLANNING FACTOR #4 – ENVIRONMENT, ENERGY CONSERVATION AND QUALITY OF LIFE .........................................................................................................22 FEDERAL PLANNING FACTOR #5 – TRANSPORTATION CONNECTIVITY...........................23 FEDERAL PLANNING FACTOR #6 – SYSTEM MANAGEMENT AND OPERATION................24 FEDERAL PLANNING FACTOR #7 – SYSTEM PRESERVATION ..........................................25 EXISTING MODAL CONDITIONS...........................................................................25 AVIATION.....................................................................................................................25 Bradford County Airport .........................................................................................25 Grand Canyon Airport.............................................................................................26 Skyhaven Airport .....................................................................................................28 Blue Swan Airport ...................................................................................................28 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport ..........................................................28 Elmira-Corning Regional Airport............................................................................29 Greater Binghamton Airport/Edwin A. Link Field...................................................29 BICYCLE/PEDESTRIAN ..................................................................................................30 ROADWAY NETWORKS .................................................................................................33 Networks..................................................................................................................33 BRIDGES.......................................................................................................................35 RAIL FREIGHT ..............................................................................................................37 Norfolk Southern .....................................................................................................38 CPRail.....................................................................................................................40 Wellsboro & Corning Railroad ...............................................................................40 Towanda-Monroeton Shippers Lifeline, Inc.............................................................41 Reading, Blue Mountain & Northern Railroad........................................................41 PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION ............................................................................................42 INTERCITY BUS ............................................................................................................45 OTHER TRANSPORTATION CONCERNS .............................................................46 ACCESS MANAGEMENT ................................................................................................46 1 Northern Tier Long Range Transportation Plan Cross Access Drives ................................................................................................46 Shared Parking Areas..............................................................................................47 Driveway Spacing....................................................................................................47 CONGESTION MANAGEMENT ........................................................................................47 ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ............................................................................................48 INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS (ITS)...........................................................50 BEYOND THE BORDERS ................................................................................................50 Binghamton .............................................................................................................51 Elmira......................................................................................................................51 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre ............................................................................................52 Steuben County, NY.................................................................................................53 Williamsport ............................................................................................................54 FINANCIAL PLAN.......................................................................................................56 COUNTY CATEGORIZED CANDIDATE PROCESS/PROJECTS .............................................60 CONCLUSION - IMPLEMENTATION .....................................................................64 2 Northern Tier Long Range Transportation Plan Acknowledgements The Gannett Fleming project team expresses its appreciation to the following individuals for their guidance, insights and participation toward the successful completion of this long-range plan. Their active review of our preliminary documents, constructive dialog and enthusiasm for this effort is greatly valued. Brian Baker, NTRPDC Richard Biery, NTRPDC Dave Bubniak, NTRPDC Mike Castellano, Wyoming County citizen Erick Coolidge, Tioga County Commissioner Gary Connelly, PENNDOT 3-0∗ Steve Gayle, Broome Metropolitan Transportation Study Kerry Gyekis, Tioga County Susan Hazelton, PENNDOT District 4-0 Mike Hufnagel, Sullivan County Fred LaVancher, Tioga County citizen Tony Litwin, Wyoming County Commissioner John Logan, Bradford County citizen Jeffrey Loomis, Susquehanna County Commissioner** Mike Mausteller, PENNDOT District 3-0 Vivian McCarty, Endless Mountains Visitor’s Bureau*** Norman Miller, Sullivan County citizen William Ord, Susquehanna County Bob Raves, PENNDOT Central Office Betty Reibson, Sullivan County Commissioner Dean Roberts, PENNDOT Central Office Nancy Schrader, Bradford County Commissioner**** Matt Smoker, FHWA Raymond Stolinas, Bradford County Robert Templeton, Susquehanna County Anthony Ventello, Central Bradford Progress Authority Paul Weilage, Wyoming County Gannett Fleming Consulting Team Brian Funkhouser, Project Manager Keith Chase, Quality Assurance Patrick Anater, Project Planner Josie Boyer, Project Planner ∗ Retired, March 28, 2003 ** Replaced Commissioner Cal Dean *** Retired, July 19, 2003 **** Replaced Commissioner John Sullivan 3 Northern Tier Long Range Transportation Plan Purpose and Overview In January 2000, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PENNDOT) unveiled PennPlan, its current long-range transportation plan for 2000 - 2025. The new plan represented a significant break from previous Department efforts in that it took a corridors-based approach to transportation planning. As part of the planning effort, PENNDOT identified 28 corridors of statewide significance, including three in the Northern Tier planning region, in order to analyze significant trends, issues and opportunities for future consideration in regional and statewide transportation planning and programming. Through the development of Corridor Profiles, which examined issues across several planning areas, including transportation, socio-economic and environmental, the plan combined the hard data available at the federal and state level with important issues and perspectives from local transportation users and providers. The PennPlan profiles were developed to be dynamic, allowing for updates of data and new analysis as conditions change. In October 2002, the Northern Tier Regional Planning and Development Commission (NTRPDC) followed PENNDOT’s lead and began developing its own long-range plan using the PennPlan model. This direction was also consistent with federal policy which strongly promotes the need for and value of long range transportation planning. NTRPDC, under the auspices of the Rural Transportation Advisory Committee (RTAC) identified 15 corridors of regional significance as shown in Table 1. Table 1: Corridors of Regional Significance NORTHERN TIER Corridor Name Centered On Length (Miles) PA Route 6 Heritage US 6 157 Endless Mountains US 11/ I-81 27 Williamson Road US 15 37 North Branch US 220 73 Williamsport & Elmira PA 14 43 County Seat Connector PA 29 67 Cowanesque PA 49 29 North Sullivan PA 87 54 Owego Turnpike PA 167 30 Lackawanna PA 171 39 Philip P. Bliss PA 187 46 Central Tioga PA 287 36 Elmira Connector PA 328 14 PB&E PA 414 62 Bluestone PA 706 34 4 Northern Tier Long Range Transportation Plan The