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Offi cials in Berks say widen Route 222: Roads panel: 4 lanes needed between Blandon, Kutztown
Nov 21, 2009 (Reading Eagle - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
Berks County officials say the best hope for Route 222 is to expand the road to a four-lane highway between Blandon and Kutztown. Members of the Reading Area Transportation Study have voted unanimously to support a Pennsylvania Department of Transportation study on widening the two-lane road.
That study also will look at making intersection improvements at Route 73, R o u t e 6 6 2 a n d L o n g Lane.
Route 222 traffic frequently backs up at the Route 662 and Route 73 intersections, and Long Lane is a dangerous crossing, transportation offi cials said.
PennDOT could not say how much it would cost to expand Route 222 to four lanes or how long it would take.
Upgrading the intersections would cost about $25 million, but that figure could vary depending on how the projects are designed.
In all likelihood, the intersections would be the first to see upgrades, Berks County transportation planner Alan D. Piper said Thursday. Those improvements would be compatible with expanding the road to four lanes.
Berks County has enough money in its highway improvement budget to complete engineering work for the intersection upgrades, Piper said.
As the county continues its highway planning process over the next four years, money will have to be set aside for construction, he said.
State Rep. Jerry P. Knowles, a Schuylkill County Republican who represents part of Berks, said that any improvements to Route 222 must alleviate traffi c backups.
The problems at Route 222 and Route 73 are among his constituents' top concerns, Knowles said.
"I'm not trying to be a fly in the ointment, but I don't want to see us spend $30 million and it doesn't improve it," he said.
Transportation officials said the project would reduce travel time and lessen the bottleneck that occurs during rush hour.
Berks County business leaders have said the lack of a four-lane, limited-access highway between Interstate 78 and Reading is hampering economic development. But PennDOT has said the state cannot afford to build a new highway.
Contact Darrin Youker: 610-371-5032 or dyouker@readingeagle.com.
To see more of the Reading Eagle, or to subscribe, go to
http://www.readingeagle.com. Copyright (c) 2009, Reading Eagle, Pa. Distributed
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