The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation recently released several proposals to renovate and widen U.S. Route 322, a major route from State College to Pittsburgh, as possible solutions to the growing traffic dilemma.

The stretch of highway that will be affected runs from Mifflin County to the Mount Nittany Expressway, west of Oak Hall. Six different plans have been proposed.

The southernmost option would place the highway at the base of the Tussey Mountain Ski Resort.

A second option widens the highway through Potters Township, turns northward over a mile of Brush Valley Road finally passing north of Oak Hall before reaching the Mount Nittany Expressway.

Another plan calls for simply widening the roadway, turning Route 322 into a four-lane limited access highway.

These plans will affect anywhere from eight and a half to 14 miles of highway.

All of the options will run in and around the existing U.S. Route 322, some running parallel to the highway to the north or south, said a representative from the South Central Centre County Transportation Study (SCCCTS) office.

SCCCTS has set up an office at Penn State's Innovation Park to provide the public with information.

Some students who use the existing highway look forward to the new options that could help solve traffic problems.

John Siminerio (junior-accounting) is a Penn State student who uses route 322 to travel home to Pittsburgh on breaks.

He says that widening the highway will help the flow of traffic.

"Getting back to PSU after winter break was a nightmare," Siminerio said. "If widening the highway will shorten my drive, I'm all for it."

However, neither State College residents, nor the State College Borough Council has a voice in the decision to renovate the highway.

"The borough council has no say," said council member Elizabeth Goreham. "The whole project has been under a cloud of secrecy; the citizens were shut out."

Goreham is adamant about making sure that the valley is being protected and valued. "Some of the current renovation options will destroy historic farm land in the valley," she said.

Goreham also mentioned that the public was shut out of an initial meeting and they are concerned that the spread of information is being stunted.

"I know we need more transportation options for our community and I am in favor of widening the existing highway in order to make it safe, but we must consider all options carefully," Goreham said.

Steve Fantechi, the PennDOT project manager, said the plans were drawn up to solve the current and future traffic problems that drivers may face along the route.

"We did a study on traffic volume and an origin and destination study, where we stop cars and ask them where their origin and their destination are, when we put these two together we were able to come up with a model of the traffic patterns in 20 years," Fantechi said. "We need solutions now to avoid having problems in 20 years."

Non-traditional options, such as park and ride lots with buses, are being looked into along with a series of around 30 ideas, Fantechi said.

"The six proposed paths unveiled to the Community Advisory Committee were a subset of the approximate three dozen ideas" said the SCCCTS. "Nothing has been finalized yet."

Since last April, in order to find the best solution for all parties, the project has been reviewed by environmental agencies, gaming organizations and community groups, Fantechi said.

On Feb. 6, there will be another Community Advisory Committee meeting to continue discussion on the fate of U.S. Route 322.

The public is welcome to attend.