The long-anticipated complete overhaul of the U.S. Route 219
Bradford Bypass will begin next spring, according to Pennsylvania
Department of Transportation officials.

The project – which will include the complete resurfacing of the
6.93-mile highway and the removal and replacement of a handful of
bridges – was supposed to go out for bid this month, however, the
process has been pushed back to December, PennDOT Community
Relations Coordinator Marla Fannin said.

“Whenever you get to the final design phase, any number of small
things could push a bidding date back,” Fannin said. “This won’t
affect the ability to see the project start in the spring of 2006.
We have every expectation the project will be bid on in
December.

“It (project) has an extremely high priority for getting out the
door to bid,” Fannin added.

The first phase of the project spanning from the Owens Way
Extension to Foster Brook comes with a price tag of $44 million,
which includes $2 million in federal funding. The second phase –
slated to be let out for bid in December 2007 and cost $37 million
– will begin in 2008 and cover an area from Foster Brook to the New
York state line toward Limestone, N.Y.

All told, the project will likely take four years to complete –
with each phase being done in two-year increments during the
construction season.

“This is a very important project for us to complete,” Fannin
said.

In September 2004, the bypass underwent $99,000 in repairs,
including pot hole patching and paving of sections of roadway. The
work was intended to keep the highway in the best possible
condition until the larger rehabilitation project begins.

The project is part of the state’s Twelve Year Transportation
Program.

State Rep. Martin Causer, R-Turtlepoint, said the Route 219
project “is long overdue.”

“It’s something that’s been needed for a long time, and I’m glad
they (PennDOT) are going to finally get started on it,” Causer
said. “We have all seen the problems that it’s had in the past,
especially with the bridges.”

On a larger scale, the project’s development goes hand-in-hand
with local officials’ desire to establish Continental 1, an
international four-lane highway from Canada to Florida. Across the
border in New York state, a 6.8-mile portion of Route 219 from
Springville south to Ashford Hollow is also set for construction
next year as part of the Continental 1 project.

The McKean County commissioners and the Continental 1 board have
both been working to secure federal funding for the county’s
portion of the project, and have been seeking vocal support from
state officials for the effort, including from Gov. Ed Rendell and
the Secretary of Transportation Allen Biehler.

“We need Continental 1 and have been pushing for it a long
time,” Causer said. “It’s critically important for us to have a
connector between interstates 80 and 86. Just look at DuBois.
Interstate 80 is a huge economic driver for them.

“Right now, the very best thing we can do is continue to improve
on what we already have,” Causer continued. “Every step forward is
one in the right direction. We need to continue pushing for
improvements and voicing the need for a four-lane highway. It’s key
to the economic development of our area and the county.”

The lawmaker said he will continue to tout the highway’s
benefits in Harrisburg, adding “We have a good, solid group working
on that effort. Ultimately, a lot of the funds are going to be
federal dollars, but we need to have the state’s transportation
leaders solidly behind the plan.”

Also slated to start next year is the $35 million Route 219
Johnsonburg bypass, which will also be done in two phases.

Resurfacing and drainage improvements began over the summer in
preparation of the more detailed work, which will direct the
highway from Johnsonburg’s business district to the west side of
the Clarion River. The second phase will be located in Horton
Township.

The project will be coupled with the impending Osterhout Street
project in Ridgway, which will bypass trucks around the borough’s
downtown.

Officials said the two projects will help to significantly
relieve congestion from truck traffic and improve safety along that
stretch of the highway.