The McKean County commissioners are looking to Harrisburg to
amplify the region’s voice for the construction of Continental 1,
the future four-lane highway from Canada to Key West, Fla.

On Monday, Commissioner Chairman John Egbert said the
commissioners had a conference call with Pennsylvania Department of
Transportation Secretary Allen Biehler, relaying their desire for
officials in Harrisburg to vocalize their support for the project
to the policy-makers in Washington.

Egbert said the process actually began with a letter he crafted
and gave to Secretary of State Pedro Cortes during a visit to the
courthouse in August. The letter was then delivered to Gov. Ed
Rendell’s office, who in turn, instructed Biehler to contact the
commissioners.

“We are looking for their vocal support,” Egbert said. “We need
to know they (Congress) are hearing noise from Harrisburg. The only
way to do this is to keep your face right in front of them.”

Egbert said the commissioners will be making a stop in
Harrisburg the week of Nov. 20 to discuss the issue with Biehler
and, they hope, Rendell. The commissioners will visit the capital
following a County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania
session in Hershey that week.

The Continental 1 project has been in the works for several
years, with funding being a main issue in getting the ball rolling.
At this point, New York state is further ahead in the process, with
work slated to begin soon on a portion of the two-lane U.S. Route
219 from Springville to Ashford Hollow.

Once completed, Continental 1 would slice through the heart of
McKean County – including by Bradford – on its way to a connection
with Interstate 95 below the Mason-Dixon line.

Completion of the project would also spur development and
provide an outlet for tourists traveling to the Pennsylvania Wilds
Region, a conglomerate of 11 northcentral Pennsylvania counties
touting tourism and various sites, a pet project of Rendell. The
highway would also provide a vital link between Interstate 86 in
the Southern Tier of New York and Interstate 80.

Egbert said the commissioners made it clear to Biehler they
understood that funding for the project this year was out of the
cards, but when the next federal Transportation Equity Act (TEA) is
due for renewal, officials would like Continental 1 to be
considered for future funding. The act is renewed every six
years.

“We said we are not looking for money right now, but when it
becomes available, we want a slice of the transportation bill,”
Egbert said. “There are lots of highways in contention and any
number of them are well funded and have been in there for probably
as long as we have.

“The funding is needed just to support the lobbying effort in
Washington,” Egbert added, noting Continental 1 has a lobbying firm
based in Maryland.

For federal highways, 80 percent of the funding comes from
Washington, with 20 percent coming from the state.

Federal funding has come the region’s way over the past year for
such projects as the proposed Route 219 Johnsonburg bypass. Further
projects include the restoration of the Route 219 bypass through
Bradford and a truck bypass around downtown Ridgway. The projects
are designed to ease the flow of traffic – especially trucks –
through the region.

“We gave it (Continental 1) another nudge forward and are going
to keep doing it,” Egbert said.