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Local task force presses PennDOT clarity after Route 45 segment appears in SCAC plans
Summary
Residents and the Rethinking 45 task force told the Harris Township Board of Supervisors they need clarity about PennDOT’s handling of PA Route 45, including whether the segment between Boll/Bow Avenue and the US‑322 interchange was removed from, then returned to, the State College Area Connector (SCAC). They asked the board to seek explanation and public‑comment opportunities tied to the NEPA/DEIS timeline.
Eliza Penny Packer, speaking as spokesperson for a local Rethinking 45 task force, told the Harris Township Board of Supervisors that residents of Liberty Hill and Ashworth Woods are concerned about PennDOT materials showing a proposed expansion of the US‑322 interchange and a five‑lane configuration for Earlystown Road.
Packer said the group understands that PennDOT announced in January 2024 that PA Route 45 would be studied separately from the State College Area Connector (SCAC) but that the segment between the 322 interchange and Bull Avenue may now have been returned to the SCAC project. “If that’s the case, we’re not here tonight to argue this decision. What we are asking for is clarity on the record about when that decision was made, why it was made, and how impacts to PA 45 in this area will now be evaluated including what public input opportunities exist,” she said.
Several residents and board members described specific local concerns: loss of safe pedestrian and bicycle connections, reduced walkability to Bowell Avenue, greater traffic speeds and safety risks at local intersections, increased noise, and the scale of a proposed interchange and single‑point urban interchange (SPUI) design shown in PennDOT presentation materials. Miles Guralnick and other speakers noted the DEIS and NEPA process will provide a formal public‑comment window expected in the first quarter of 2026; Guralnick said the DEIS will include traffic data and analysis the public can review.
Board members and residents urged the township to compile organized comments and letters to show community concerns in the MPO and PennDOT records. Several supervisors recommended coordinated letter‑writing and neighborhood outreach to ensure a record during the 30–45‑day comment period anticipated when the DEIS is released. The manager noted staff can help assemble contacts and suggested the board consider writing a formal letter to PennDOT that captures the township’s specific requests for process clarity and mitigation measures.
The presentation included examples shown to residents by PennDOT (an illustrative SPUI video and interchange cross sections) and a request that PennDOT explain how concepts shown in recent SCAC materials will be handled relative to the January 2024 announcement separating the PA 45 study. Residents asked for confirmation of timelines and the datasets supporting interchange and lane‑count decisions.
Next steps: the township indicated it will support residents in coordinating comment letters and may draft a board letter to PennDOT asking for process clarity and public‑engagement details; the DEIS/NEPA public‑comment period was identified as the formal moment to submit technical objections or data challenges.
