PA remains missing link in Continental 1 Corridor (U.S. 219 - Toronto to Miami) (Philadelphia: construction, costs)

[Evergrey]

Pa 'missing link'in Continental 1

Pa 'missing link'in Continental 1

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

We are all one big region and the world is getting smaller.

That was the message Meg Lauerman, project manager for Continental 1, gave Tuesday at a luncheon sponsored by the Greater DuBois Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development and the DuBois Rotary Tuesday at the DuBois Country Club. She said that regionalism and jobs go hand in hand with a major highway.

Lauerman said about 50 years ago, the Route 219 Association started and groups started meeting and said, "We need a decent highway."

About ten years ago, regionalism and lowered costs and the idea of working together came about and they said, "Here we are in the downtrodden part of the country. We don't have much, our population is falling and we don't have the political clout because our population is falling, but if we work together, we do have it, we do have the population and that strong voice."

And that is how the idea of Continental 1 came about, she said. It is a 1,500-mile highway that is 86 percent complete and will provide a direct route from Toronto, Canada, to Miami, Fla.

"All that is missing is that one piece," she said. "And the lion's share of construction is right here in Pennsylvania."

Continental 1 - Direct route from Toronto to Miami that brings business growth and faster, safer travel.

[pcity]

That green line seems to be drawn rather arbitrarily. Truck traffic already can reach Buffalo (and go on to Toronto) using 79 North to 90 East in PA and NY.

[villageidiot1]

This is an completely ridiculous idea. Route 219 is a great four lane highway from the PA Turnpike at Somerset to a few miles north of Route 422 near Ebensburg. The remainder is two lane road. Route 219 is an underutilized highway. Approximately 25 miles to the east is Interstate 99, which runs from the PA Turnpike north to Tyrone, and then northeast to Interstate 80 near Bellefonte. It carries much of the traffic to and from Penn State. Interstate 99 does not go south of the Turnpike but Route 220 to Interstate 68 and Cumberland is a decent highway.

As the last poster pointed out, Interstate 79 runs north and south approx. 75 miles west of Route 219 with Interstate access to Buffalo and on to Toronto. What economic advantage would result from extending a four lane Route 219 from Interstate 68 to Buffalo?

Western PA's biggest highway problem is Interstate 376 and lack of a beltway, or at least an alternative route from Monroeville to the Pittsburgh Airport.

[Craziaskowboi]

Couldn't somebody get from Toronto to Miami by driving over to Detroit and taking I-75 down? They're really stretching to justify upgrading U.S. 219 to a limited-access highway. I wouldn't mind it being a four-lane highway like U.S. 22, but it doesn't need to be limited-access. Reconstruct I-376 in Pittsburgh, I-83 in Harrisburg and I-76 in Philadelphia to current AASHTO code first, and then worry about rural upgrades.

[pman]

just someone looking for a handout, nothing to see here. as for beltways, the city should fight that every step of the way. city killers

[Evergrey]

I grew up in a town near 219, so I've been bombarded with "developments" regarding the push for Continental 1 my entire life.

All one has to do to see how superfluous this project would be... is to look at a map and see I-79 "right next" to 219... and how it now adequately serves the Toronto-Florida corridor. In fact, the Continental 1 Corridor ends up at I-79 in Morgantown, WV anyways! Do we really need two Buffalo-Morgantown interstate highways???

Continental 1 makes no sense strategically as a Canada-Florida route, and is only advocated by communities along 219 who have no ideas for economic development.

But... as we've learned from the Mon-Fayette Expressway... some highway dreams never die.

Originally Posted by pman

just someone looking for a handout, nothing to see here. as for beltways, the city should fight that every step of the way. city killers

Agreed. Pittsburgh is lucky not to have one. The lack of a beltway is one reason Downtown has retained such job density.

And the 219 group is looking for a handout. It's a pathetic, outdated attempt at boondoggle spending to provide dubious economic benefits to a hopeless low-population rural area.

Originally Posted by Gnutella

Couldn't somebody get from Toronto to Miami by driving over to Detroit and taking I-75 down?

No. You take the QEW : I-90 : I-79 to go from Toronto to Miami. A Torontonian would only head to Detroit for destinations west of Columbus, such as Atlanta or Nashville. I-79 handles all Toronto traffic to points "due south", such as: Pittsburgh, Charlotte, Florida.

US-219 north of I-80 is the critical link between Toronto and Washington, DC, however.

[2nd trick op]

Originally Posted by pcity

That green line seems to be drawn rather arbitrarily. Truck traffic already can reach Buffalo (and go on to Toronto) using 79 North to 90 East in PA and NY.

Not to mention the possiblity of I-95 / I-83 / US 15 via Williamsport. Let's call this appeal what it is -- just another ploy for money from the taxpayer, via Uncle Sugar.

[PeterRabbit]

"We need a decent highway."

I-80 has an exit for Dubois. Isn't it a decent highway?

[ki0eh]

Originally Posted by Evergrey

US-219 north of I-80 is the critical link between Toronto and Washington, DC, however.

A lot of this traffic uses I-390 south from Rochester, then US 15 (future I-99 in part) from Corning NY south to Frederick, MD (some divert to the longer I-180 between Williamsport and I-80, with various ways to skirt Harrisburg because the signed US 15 route through the Harrisburg "West Shore" suburbs is unreal) or maybe even Leesburg VA now because the Dulles toll road is a lot faster route than I-270.

While hiking the Quehanna Trail I had to wait to cross the road for cars with Ontario plates. So some of this Golden Horseshoe-DC area traffic actually makes it onto the Wykoff Run Rd in southern Cameron County through the Quehanna Wild Area, part of a surprising direct route from Harrisburg to Buffalo through such shining lights as Smethport, Emporium, and Snow Shoe. (And of course Pine Glen, that was going to be the mid-Atlantic's Los Alamos for developing nuclear powered aircraft.)

[bradjl2009]

That map makes no sense. Why would it go through US-219 through rural Central PA then go onto I-79 in WV instead of just taking I-90 to Erie then getting and staying on I-79 there?