Centre County Metropolitan Planning Organization

Surface Transportation Reauthorization

Request for Member Designated Project
“US Business Route 322 (State Route 3014) Atherton Street Drainage/Repaving Project
– Section 153”

* Required

Sponsor Point of Contact

Project Sponsor: (state DOT, MPO, transit agency, local government, territory, Tribal
government or other public entity)*

Centre County Metropolitan Planning Organization (CCMPO)

Name:*
Thomas P. Zilla

Title:*
Principal Transportation Planner

Phone Number:*
814-231-3050

Email Address:*
tzilla@crcog.net

Project Information:

County of Project:*
Centre County PA

Project Title: *
US Business Route 322 (State Route 3014) Atherton Street Drainage/Repaving Project –
Section 153
PennDOT MPMS #101960

CCMPO TIP link: www.crcog.net/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={B3B86E3E-E9B4-

468F-988E-CEF6F72BB4D0}
STIP link: talkpatransportation.com/how-it-works/tip

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Location of Project (Full Address):*
State Route 3014 Atherton Street from Curtin Road to Westerly Parkway, State College
Borough, Centre County PA
Type of Project:*

Highway
Transit
Bike/Pedestrian
Multimodal
Other:

Project Description (Please include description of the benefits of the project. In addition, if
available please include a link to additional project information):*

This project is the third of four sections of Atherton Street to be completed. Deteriorated
drainage facilities in all sections have resulted in roadway collapses and flooding, causing
serious hazards for vehicles, pedestrians and bicyclists in one of the most heavily traveled and
congested corridors in Centre County.
The project includes replacement of water, sewer, and communications lines; stormwater
pipes, inlets and curbing; signal, sidewalk, crosswalk and streetscape improvements; and
resurfacing of the roadway.
Benefits include greater safety for vehicles, pedestrians and bicyclists by eliminating roadway
collapses, improving drainage to minimize water ponding on the roadway, integrating new
pedestrian and bicycle crossings, and upgrading traffic signal systems. Repaving the corridor
will help Centre County and PennDOT meet federal pavement performance measure targets,
as this is the last section of National Highway System roadway in Centre County with
substandard pavement.

Amount Requested: *
$5,500,000

Total Project Cost: *

Preliminary Engineering: $740,000
Final Design: $1,058,877
Right of Way Acquisition: $608,500
Utility Relocation: $15,000
Construction: $17,500,000

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Construction Phase includes costs shared with State College Borough and the State College
Borough Water Authority for sewer and water utility work, Penn State University-funded
work, and pedestrian/streetscape improvements funded with $935,000 in federal
Transportation Alternatives Program funds awarded to State College Borough.

Sources of Local and/or State Matching Funds*

State 581 bridge matching funds: $3,737,784
State College Borough: $2,188,838
State College Borough Water Authority: $1,153,617
Penn State University: $148,486

Project Phase:*

Planning and Environmental Review

Final Design
Capital purchase or lease (including bus purchases)
Construction
Other:

NEPA Category of Action: *

Categorical exclusion
Environmental assessment
Environmental impact statement
Undetermined

Status of Environmental Review:*

Pre-review
Categorically excluded
Notice of intent published
FONSI issued
Draft EIS published
Final EIS published
ROD Issued
Other:

Categorical Exclusion, Bridge and Roadway Programmatic Agreement, concurrence provided on

June 18, 2018. The NEPA document is currently being reevaluated due to the clearance
approaching three years since the initial concurrence date, and to include more recent design
plans/information for the State College Borough Streetscape and Intelligent Transportation
System (ITS) advanced signal system elements.

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A description of the process that will be followed to provide an opportunity for public
comment on the project:*
All four sections of the Atherton Street project have been vetted through multiple public
involvement efforts over several years associated with the Centre County MPO’s LRTP and
TIP, most recently with the adoption of the new 2021-2024 TIP in June 2020 and adoption of
the new LRTP 2050 in September 2020. PennDOT has also held project-specific public
meetings and briefings with State College Borough Council about Section 153 in the past few
years. Additional project-specific meetings will be held by PennDOT as the project advances
to construction.

Has the funding received federal funding in the past?*

Yes
No

Has the project applied for U.S. DOT discretionary grants in the past?*
Yes
No

Is the project on the state, Tribal, or territorial transportation improvement program?*

Yes
No

Is the project on the metropolitan transportation improvement program, if applicable?*

Yes
No

If funding is provided for this project, can it be added to the STIP/TIP in a reasonable
timeframe?*
Yes
No

Additional Documentation:

Local Support (support letters, testimonials, etc.)*

The Atherton Street Drainage/Repaving project has been a high priority project for the
CCMPO for many years, because of the safety implications associated with frequent
underground pipe failures that collapsed the roadway, and periodic flooding events caused by
deteriorated drainage systems. The project was vetted by local elected officials and the public
through public involvement processes for the LRTP and TIP. The CCMPO demonstrated its
support for the project by committing over $12 million (27%) of the federal and state funding
comprising its total 2021-2024 TIP allocation for Section 153.

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In addition, State College Borough and the Borough Water Authority have committed
substantial financial resources to the project, which could be offset by the award of
discretionary federal funding.

State College Borough, and four surrounding townships have supported the inclusion of
funding for advanced signal system upgrades in the entire Atherton Street corridor, including
Section 153.

Letter of support/commitment from PennDOT is pending and will be forwarded upon

receipt by the CCMPO staff.

Documentation from relevant federal agency that the project is eligible for funding under title
23 (Highways) or chapter 53 of title 49 (Public Transit):*

NA - project is on LRTP and TIP.