Expiring federal transportation bill stalls long-term county transportation planning

With the federal transportation bill expiring in September, planning for future transportation projects by both the state Department of Transportation and the Lebanon County Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) is on hold.

Federal transportation funding likely will be flat going forward, Jon Fitzkee, senior transportation planner for the county, told MPO Policy Committee members at a Feb. 19 meeting.

“There is discussion on potential draft legislation for a new transportation bill, but we’ve been told Congress likely will pass a continuing resolution in October,” said Fitzkee, summarizing information shared at a recent bimonthly planning partners call he attended.

The good news is that a continuing resolution will keep current funding and funding categories at the same levels. The not-so-good news: continuing resolutions typically vary in time length which makes long-term planning challenging.

In the interim, projects already in the pipeline are moving forward, Fitzkee said. These include:

• Reconstruction of Lingle Avenue in Palmyra and South and North Londonderry townships to reduce flooding events with a project let date of early 2028.
• Installation of a traffic light at Orange Street and Cornwall Road with a project let date of June.
• Safety improvements including a potential roundabout at state Route 343 and Kimmerling/Kochendorfer roads in North Lebanon Township.

Fitzkee also updated the committee on the Route 72/Cornwall Road special planning study to investigate concerns such as congestion, safety and signaling in that corridor where significant development is occurring. Comments from a public meeting and survey are being analyzed to identify people’s needs and concerns about the corridor so as to inform future Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP) projects. The special planning study will be completed by the end of June, Fitzkee said.

Two intersections have been added to the MPO’s TIP, Fitzkee said. These are Airport Road and Route 117 in South Londonderry Township and Cornwall Road and Route 419 in Cornwall Borough, he said. These had been identified as priorities for safety and congestion in the MPO’s long-range planning, he added.

He also informed the committee that the MPO in November submitted a request for $90,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds for Phase 6C of the Lebanon Valley Rail Trail. This section of the LVRT runs from U.S. Route 422 to the Lebanon Valley Mall. He also noted the 30^th anniversary of the LVRT will be celebrated on June 6 at the Lebanon Expo.

In other business, the policy committee:

• Reelected Sherry Capello and Mike Kuhn as committee chair and vice chair, respectively.
• Elected Mike Booth, North Londonderry supervisor, as committee secretary.
• Recognized Jim Mosca, chief of program development at the PennDOT Central Office, for his continued support of Lebanon County transportation improvements. Mosca is retiring from PennDOT after 35+ years.
• Approved annual safety-performance targets that address transportation-related fatalities and serious injuries, with Fitzkee noting that many of the MPO’s recent major improvements were the result of road-safety issues.

The next scheduled meeting of the LEBCO MPO Technical Committee is 11:30 a.m., April 16. Meetings are held in Room 207, Lebanon Municipal Building, 400 S. 8^th St., Lebanon, and are open to the public.