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McKean County Planning Commission to hold Kinzua Bridge Byway Corridor Management Plan meeting for municipal officials and land owners
By ADAM VOSLER
Era Reporter
a.vosler@bradfordera.com
SMETHPORT — The McKean County Planning Commission will hold a Kinzua Bridge Byway Corridor Management Plan meeting for municipal officials and land owners at 6:30 p.m. Thursday in the Mount Jewett firehall off Gallup Avenue.
The meeting will allow participants to review the drafted plan for Route 3011, also known as the Kinzua Bridge Byway.
“The purpose of the management plan is to help to preserve the natural characteristics along the highway,” said Debbie Lunden, planning director.
This entails protecting and enhancing visual quality, maintaining resources quality, educating locals as well as visitors about its history and culture, and promoting tourism and economic development potential.
The byway is a 9.7-mile strip that connects U.S. Route 6 and Route 59 from Mount Jewett to Ormsby.
In 2001, it was designated by state Legislature as a member of “Pennsylvania Byways,” which parallels the National Scenic Byways Program and opens up an additional funding avenue. Designated “Pennsylvania Byways” are required to have a management plan in place.
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation designates byways at the request of local communities; Kinzua Bridge Byway was designated for its natural and cultural heritage, according to the planning commission. The land offers hunting, hiking, fishing, scenic views and other benefits for its users.
“Once you become designated as a Pennsylvania Byway, you are eligible for national byway funding,” Lunden said.
No funding is currently scheduled to come the commission’s way, according to Lunden. The commission did receive $578,000 in 2005 to improve a 3-mile area from U.S. Route 6 to the Kinzua Bridge State Park, where crews widened the road and paved road shoulders to make it accessible for bikes and pedestrians.
Eventually, the commission will put in an application to improve the road from the state park to Route 59, according to Lunden.
Officials from Hamlin Township, Keating Township and Mount Jewett Borough are expected to listen in on Thursday’s talk, in addition to land owners along the byway.
“We have actually sent invitations to some to the largest land owners,” Lunden said.
Gannett Fleming Inc. of Harrisburg, which prepared the management plan for the commission, will help sponsor the meeting.
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