Connecting People and Places

A Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) is a planning body composed of elected and appointed officials representing local, state and federal governments or other agencies having an interest or responsibility in the local transportation system. Federal law and regulations require the establishment of these Metropolitan Planning Organizations to oversee the transportation planning processes in all urbanized areas of the nation having a population of 50,000 or more persons as documented by the U.S. Bureau of the Census as part of the decennial census. The Williamsport Area Transportation Study (WATS) serves as the designated Metropolitan Planning Organization for the Williamsport Urbanized area established under a legal agreement with PennDOT approved in 1968. The WATS jurisdictional boundary was further extended in 1991 to encompass the entire geographic area of Lycoming County. Therefore, the federal transportation planning and programming process within Lycoming County is undertaken by WATS, including the development and approval of this Long Range Transportation Plan.

The MPO is responsible for creating a Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP), a Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), and a Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP). An MPO can be a regional, multicounty organization or a single county. The Williamsport Area Transportation Study (WATS) is the single county MPO covering Lycoming County. Lycoming County encompasses a land mass that is geographically larger (1,246 square miles; 796,387 acres) than any other county in Pennsylvania and is even larger than the State of Rhode Island. The multi-modal transportation network connects a small core urbanized area with outlying suburban areas and a large rural area.  The transportation system consists of highways and bridges, public fixed route transit, shared ride van service, freight railroads, a commercial service airport, a general aviation public use airport, and multiuse trails.

The role of WATS MPO is to develop transportation policies, programs and projects which move people and goods in a safe, efficient manner, promote economic development, protect the environment, and preserve Lycoming County’s outstanding quality of life amenities.

Federal law and regulations require the development of Long Range Transportation Plans (LRTP) as part of statewide and metropolitan planning programs. The plan explores transportation system investment needs and outlines a strategy regarding how best to address the needs. It also serves as the official plan for a metropolitan area. Federal funding for certain types of transportation capital project improvements (highways, bridges and public transit) cannot be approved unless these projects are identified in the LRTP adopted by a Metropolitan Planning Organization. This plan will fulfill the federal requirement for the development of a Long Range Transportation Plan for the Williamsport metropolitan area, the County of Lycoming, and WATS MPO. Federal regulations require that Long Range Transportation Plans:

• Consider all transportation modes

• Cover at least a 20 year time period

• Consider ten key planning factors

• Be fiscally constrained

• Provide for public participation

• Be updated at least every five years in air quality attainment areas such as Lycoming County

WATS MPO is organizationally structured with two Committees; a Technical Committee and a Coordinating Committee with functions and membership defined by the MPO bylaws (Appendix A).  In addition, WATS bylaws provide for two advisory committees.

The purpose of the Technical Committee is to oversee the development of detailed transportation planning documents, special studies and other technical analysis that documents multi-modal transportation issues and needs and provide advice and recommendations to the Coordinating Committee. All action items presented to the Coordinating Committee are first reviewed and approved by the Technical Committee.

The PennDOT Center for Program Development and Management Representative serves as Chair of the Technical Committee.

The Technical Committee voting members are designated by their respective member organizations and serve without term limits at the discretion of their member organizations. Each member organization designates the individual serving on the Technical Committee as their voting member at the beginning of each calendar year and provides written documentation to the WATS MPO Chairman for WATS MPO files maintained by the Lycoming County Planning and Community Development Department. Member organizations designate an alternate voting member that may vote on behalf of the designated member in the case where the designated voting member is unable to attend a specific meeting.

Non-voting members of the Technical Committee receive WATS reports and meeting notices and agendas and participate in WATS discussions, but serve without a vote.

Committee Membership

Seven Voting Members:

• PennDOT Center for Program Development and Management Representative
• PennDOT Engineering District 3-0 Representative
• Lycoming County Planning and Community Development Director
• Lycoming County Planning Commission Member
• River Valley Transit General Manager
• Williamsport Regional Airport Executive Director
• City of Williamsport Engineer/Community Development Director

Four Non-voting Members:

• Federal Highway Administration
• Federal Transit Administration
• PA Department of Community and Economic Development
• Fullington Trailways (Intercity bus service provider)

The purpose of the Coordinating Committee is to review and act upon the recommendations of the Technical Committee and serve as the official policy decision-making body of the WATS MPO.

The PennDOT Engineering District 3-0 Executive serves as Chair of the Coordinating Committee.

Again, the Coordinating Committee voting members shall be designated by their respective member organizations and serve without term limits at the discretion of their member organizations. Each member organization designates the individual(s) serving on the Coordinating Committee as their voting member(s) at the beginning of each calendar year and provides written documentation to the WATS MPO Chairman for WATS MPO files maintained by the Lycoming County Planning and Community Development Department. Member organizations also designate an alternate voting member that may vote on behalf of the designated voting member in the case where the designated voting member is unable to attend a specific meeting.

Non-voting members of the Coordinating Committee receive WATS MPO reports and meeting notices and agendas and participate in WATS MPO discussions, but serve without vote.

The WATS MPO Coordinating Committee may establish advisory committees, ad hoc work groups, special purpose task forces or steering committees to gather specialized experience, technical advice and input that may be needed to help carry forth transportation planning related activities under the jurisdiction of the WATS MPO transportation planning process. The WATS MPO has established a Transit Advisory Committee that is comprised of WATS members, transit providers and various social service organizations to provide input and recommendations to the WATS MPO on public transit issues and needs in Lycoming County.

Committee Membership

Eleven Voting Members:

• PennDOT Engineering District 3-0 Executive
• PennDOT Deputy Secretary for Planning
• Two Lycoming County Commissioners
• Mayor, City of Williamsport
• Council Member, City of Williamsport
• River Valley Transit Authority Executive Director
• SEDA-COG Joint Rail Authority Executive Director
• Williamsport Regional Airport Executive Director
• Lycoming County Association of Township Officials Representative • Lycoming County Borough Representative

Transit Advisory Committee

The primary purpose of the transit advisory committee is to review transportation services provided by the fixed-route provider River Valley Transit and the shared-ride operator STEP, Inc. for all passengers, especially for individuals with disabilities.

 Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee

The WATS MPO approved a bylaws amendment in September 2017 creating a new Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee to provide input to the technical and coordinating committees on prioritization of bicycle and pedestrian projects in Lycoming County.

The administrative duties of the WATS MPO are conducted by the Lycoming County Planning and Community Development Department. The primary staff contact for the Department on WATS MPO administrative matters is the Lycoming County Transportation Planning Supervisor who acts as WATS Secretary.

The Lycoming County Planning and Community Development Department is responsible for the following primary WATS MPO administrative duties.

• Develop and conduct all transportation planning work tasks contained in the WATS MPO approved Unified Planning Work Program contract that is executed between the County of Lycoming and PennDOT. The County of Lycoming subcontracts with the River Valley Transit Authority to perform the Federal Transit Administration funded UPWP transit planning work tasks undertaken by River Valley Transit.
• Schedule, publicly advertise and convene all WATS MPO public meetings in accordance with the WATS MPO approved Public Participation Plan. All official business of the WATS MPO takes place at publicly advertised meetings to ensure opportunity for public comment. Prepare and distribute meeting agendas and related materials.
• Ensure that all WATS MPO adopted plans, programs and policies are implemented.

All WATS MPO administrative records and files are maintained at the Lycoming County Planning and Community Development Department, 48 West Third Street, Williamsport, PA 17701.

WATS MPO administrative related costs borne by the County of Lycoming and the River Valley Transit Authority are reimbursable in accordance with the WATS MPO approved UPWP related contract terms and conditions executed between the County of Lycoming, PennDOT and the Authority.

 Click here  to review the WATS MPO adopted bylaws for a more complete description of the WATS MPO roles and responsibilities, governance structure and administrative duties and processes.

This plan has been intentionally structured in such a way to facilitate a data-driven, problem-solution approach to planning.  The general structure of the plan will mirror that of the statewide Long Range Transportation Plan  Pennsylvania 2045  (2021).

Chapter Two of this plan will first provide an overview of the transportation planning environment of Lycoming County in regards to state and federal government planning priorities, local planning priorities, demographic and economic development trends, and potential environmental impacts.

Chapter Three of this plan will provide an inventory of existing transportation assets and services, assess the overall condition and adequacy of these transportation assets and services and us this as a basis to identify deficiencies and needs.

The fourth and final chapter of this plan will begin by summarizing the planning goals, objectives and needs identified in Chapter 2 and system deficiencies identified in Chapter 3.  Based on these factors, strategic directions for Lycoming County transportation investment over the next 20 years will be set. The strategic directions of the plan will also include a scenario analysis providing for different recommended implementation strategies based on three different potential futures for Lycoming County.

Then, the plan will outline the project programming process and a staged 20 year transportation capital improvements program will be developed in a manner that is fiscally constrained. The plan’s public involvement process and Title VI environmental justice outreach efforts will be documented.

First, we will provide a brief overview of existing Federal and State regulations and policy guidance documents related to the development of Long Range Transportation Plans to ensure that the WATS Long Range Transportation Plan is adequately addressing all planning requirements and considers related guidance to ensure consistency between County and local planning and federal and state law and policy direction. It is important to fully recognize and understand that  federal and state laws and policy guidance related to long range transportation planning have been constantly evolving in a manner that is strengthening the overall linkage between land use, transportation, environmental preservation and community livability while giving MPO/RPO transportation planning agencies the necessary tools to conduct a more effective transportation planning and programming process that also promotes strong public involvement in decision-making.

In 1962, Congress established requirements that transportation planning in the United States be conducted in a “comprehensive, continuous, and coordinated” manner. This 3-C process eventually was further formalized with the enactment of the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1973 mandating the creation of Metropolitan Planning Organizations, (MPO’s) in each urbanized area with a population of 50,000 or greater as defined in the U.S. Census.

However, it wasn’t until the passage of the  Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act, (ISTEA)  of 1991 that transportation planning requirements along with the roles of MPO’s in transportation planning and decision-making was significantly strengthened. The ISTEA law enabled States and MPOs, in cooperation with transit agencies, to develop regional metropolitan transportation plans that reflect unique state and local priorities. The purpose of the law was to improve the linkage between overall transportation planning and the programming of federal funds for specific transportation projects in a more formalized way that addressed transportation and its related impacts, however ISTEA regulatory requirements were broadly defined, non-prescriptive and lacked sufficient specific guidance to define core elements of long range transportation plans. Therefore, MPO plans varied widely in content and implementation.

 In 1998, Congress enacted the  Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, (TEA-21) . Although, many regulatory requirements were similar to ISTEA, better guidance was provided for the development of long range transportation plans with related planning regulations published in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 23. The Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit Administration re-examined planning regulations, however major changes to ISTEA were not deemed to be necessary and were never instituted.

 In August, 2005 a new act was passed entitled the  Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act - A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU)  which clarified the content required to be in an MPO Long Range Transportation Plan.

 In 2012, a new transportation reauthorization bill was signed into law entitled  Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21) . This legislation continues metropolitan and statewide transportation planning processes and incorporates performance goals, measures, and targets into the process of identifying needed transportation improvements and project selection. 

 On December 4, 2015, President Obama signed the current transportation reauthorization bill the  Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act .  This bill continued the outcome-based performance measures of MAP-21 and clarified the nature of how the goals would be assessed.  As a Metropolitan Planning Organization, the Williamsport Area Transportation Study has the option either to accept and support the statewide targets established by PennDOT or to set our own performance targets.  The Williamsport Area Transportation Study Metropolitan Planning Organization will opt to accept and support the statewide performance targets developed by PennDOT. The FAST Act also expanded the scope of metropolitan planning to include improving transportation system resiliency and reliability, reducing or mitigating stormwater impacts from surface transportation infrastructure, and enhancing travel and tourism. The FAST ACT contained 10 “Planning Factors” that serve as the primary general guidance parameters

The 10 Planning Factors of the FAST Act

1. Support the economic vitality of the metropolitan area, especially by enabling global competitiveness, productivity, and efficiency
2. Increase the safety of the transportation system for motorized and non-motorized users
3. Increase the security of the transportation system for motorized and non-motorized users
4. Increase the accessibility and mobility for people and for freight
5. Protect and enhance the environment, promote energy conservation, improve the quality of life, and promote consistency between transportation improvements and State and local planned growth and economic development patterns
6. Enhance the integration and connectivity across and between modes for people and freight
7. Promote efficient system management and operation
8. Emphasize the preservation of the existing transportation system
9. Improve the resiliency and reliability of the transportation system and reduce or mitigate stormwater impacts of surface transportation; and
10. Enhance travel and tourism.

 On November 15, 2021, President Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), into law. IIJA-BIL extends the same planning guiding planning factors as the FAST Act as well as adding the following guidance for MPO planning processes:

1. Every MPO is required to use at least 2.5% of their metropolitan planning funding (PL funds) toward planning activities to increase safety and accessibility OR to develop a Complete Streets Prioritization Plan.
2. Encourages MPOs to increase consideration of housing patterns and coordination with officials responsible for housing as part of the transportation planning process.
3. Allows MPOs to use social media and other web-based tools to encourage public participation in the transportation planning process

 Additionally, IIJA-BIL requires USDOT to provide better tools to MPOs to study travel demand and modeling and evaluate the effect of highway and transit investments on the use and conditions of transportation assets.

 Statewide transportation planning in Pennsylvania takes the form of a Long Range Transportation plan along with two associated plans: a Strategic Highway Safety Plan and a Freight Movement Plan. Pennsylvania adopted updates to all three documents in November 2021.

 Pennsylvania 2045

In November of 2021, PennDOT completed its  current statewide long range transportation plan, strategic highway safety plan, and freight movement plan entitled Pennsylvania 2045 . This document balances presenting a consistent long-term vision with providing the flexibility to accommodate new issues and influences that arise in the near term.  The structure of the document has informed the structure and direction of this WATS long range plan.

 Pennsylvania 2045 is built around six long term goals with associated objectives for each goal.  They are presented below: 

 The  Strategic Highway Safety Plan  is a guidance document specifically developed to outline Pennsylvania’s progress towards safer highways. It is important to recognize the areas of focus in that document identified to reduce fatalities and serious injuries. The strategic highway safety plan identifies three primary safety focus areas that the Commonwealth will pursue to increase highway safety as well as 15 additional safety focus areas.

 The primary focus areas for safety as well as implementation strategies to improve in each focus area are:

 1. Lane Departure Crashes account for 52% of fatalities and 42% of serious injuries

Lane Departure Crashes Implementation Strategies

• Modify Roadside clear zone in the vicinity of hazardous fixed object
• Reevaluate passing zones
• Implement lane departure related infrastructure improvements
• Utilize the HSM to identify/evaluate proposed improvements
• Incorporate new technologies/counter measures

2. Impaired Driving is a factor in a third of highway fatalities

Impaired Driving Implementation Strategies

• Shift focus to include drugged driving
• Utilize data to drive safety decisions
• Increase impaired driving education/training for law enforcement
• Increase effectiveness of media, communications, and educational efforts
• Support Impaired Driving cases via judicial process

3. Pedestrian Safety is an issue because 1 out of 8 highway fatalities is a pedestrian

Pedestrian Safety Implementation Strategies

• Implement pedestrian related infrastructure improvements
• Utilize data-driven approaches to pedestrian safety
• Safe system approach to integrate safety in planning, design, construction, operation and maintenance of transportation networks
• Increase use of new technologies to support pedestrian safety
• Implement legislative changes to promote increased pedestrian safety Increase pedestrian safety education and outreach materials for all modes of travel
• Consider other motorized micro-mobility modes and identify safety risks

Additional Traffic Safety Focus Areas

• Speeding & Aggressive Driving
• Seat Belt Usage
• Intersection Safety
• Mature Driver Safety
• Local Road Safety
• Motorcycle Safety
• Bicycle Safety
• Commercial Vehicle Safety
• Young & Inexperienced Drivers
• Distracted Driving
• Traffic Records Data
• Work Zone Safety
• TSMO
• Emergency Medical Services
• Vehicle-Train Safety

 In addition to federal and state guidance, a variety of local plans and studies have been completed and adopted that inform the direction and priorities for future transportation projects in Lycoming County.

Comprehensive Plans

 The current  Lycoming County Comprehensive Plan  was adopted by the Lycoming County Board of Commissioners in 2018 in conformance with the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code (MPC), Act 247 of 1968 as reenacted and amended. This plan serves as a policy document that provides guidance to the County and local municipalities in areas such as land use, transportation, housing, infrastructure, and community development. The plan projects future growth trends based on data and careful analysis and proposes the best possible policies and implementation tools to accommodate expected growth.

Concurrent with the development of the overall Lycoming County Comprehensive Plan, the Lycoming County Planning Commission engaged in an extensive comprehensive planning process with 26 municipalities to develop six individual Multi-Municipal Comprehensive Plans for the areas encompassing the designated future growth areas of Lycoming County. Plan development and review is conducted by Planning Advisory Teams (PATs) composed of local government elected officials, emergency services, school districts, community organizations, and other community stakeholders. The six adopted multi-municipal comprehensive plans consist of:

 Muncy Creek Multi-Municipal Comprehensive Plan 

• Hughesville Borough
• Muncy Borough
• Muncy Creek Township
• Picture Rocks Borough
• Shrewsbury Township
• Wolf Township

 Montoursville/Muncy Multi-Municipal Comprehensive Plan 

• Montoursville Borough
• Muncy Township
• Fairfield Township

 US-220 / Future I-99 Multi-Municipal Comprehensive Plan 

• Jersey Shore Borough
• Piatt Township
• Porter Township
• Woodward Township
• Nippenose Township [Added to Planning Area in 2015]

  US-15 South Multi-Municipal Comprehensive Plan 

• Brady Township
• Clinton Township
• Montgomery Borough
• Gregg Township (Union County)

 Greater Williamsport Alliance Multi-Municipal Comprehensive Plan 

• City of Williamsport
• South Williamsport Borough
• Armstrong Township
• Duboistown Borough
• Old Lycoming Township
• Loyalsock Township

 Lower Lycoming Creek Multi-Municipal Comprehensive Plan 

• Lewis Township
• Lycoming Township
• Hepburn Township
• Old Lycoming Township
• Loyalsock Township

Each plan is arranged around a series of “Issues” with a corresponding list of strategies, projects, and initiatives to address the issue.  During the 2016 comprehensive plan review process, the current adopted plans were found to still be valid but the issues identified within each plan were re-prioritized to better reflect current conditions. This process was conducted by Planning Advisory Teams within each multimunicipal planning area. Additionally, issues were linked between the multimunicipal plans by a set of broad, thematic statements that were derived from the more specific local issues.  These thematic issues were formulated as “problem statements.” The county and each of the multi-municipal planning area prioritized different issues with varying levels of impact or interrelationship with the transportation system. The county and five of the multimunicipal planning areas identified the following as a priority area to be addressed:

 Our multi-modal transportation system has deficiencies in safety, physical condition, and availability of facilities.

 Within each multimunicipal area that prioritized a number of projects were identified that were anticipated to help solve the problem identified in the issue statement.  These projects are listed below, classified by their current status in regards to completion.

The  Lycoming County Hazard Mitigation Plan  was last updated in 2015.  It includes extensive consideration of transportation crashes of various modes as a moderate human-made hazard within Lycoming County. The Hazard Mitigation Plan states that crashes will increase with any growth in the natural gas industry, citing a 2013 study by Resources for the Future that found that each new well drilled correlates with a 0.6% increase in fatal motor vehicle crashes.

The plan recommends a high priority for traffic safety because of the extremely high frequency of crashes and the potential impact on emergency services response times.  A specific recommendation of the plan is to focus on improving safety at “dangerous intersections” to mitigate the overall crash rate.

Non-motorized mobility is emphasized within the  Lycoming County Comprehensive Recreation, Parks & Open Space/Greenway Plan  because of the considerable overlap between the recreational and transport uses of trails, walkways, and bikeways. The plan identifies the following two “key issues” within Lycoming County open space, trails, and greenways needs that have significant importance for transportation planning:

1. Susquehanna Trail. A multi-county interconnected bikeway system along the Susquehanna River will provide an outstanding recreational experience and a non-motorized vehicle transportation alternative to reduce traffic congestion and maintain clean air which will contribute to an overall improvement in the quality of life in Lycoming County.  This initiative is now known as the Susquehanna Greenway trail.
2. Community walking and biking trails. Safe walking and biking trails in communities that connect schools, parks, and neighborhoods remains the highest priority recreation need for this region.

The recreation plan further emphasizes that development of this infrastructure will provide links between communities and safe routes to schools and parks for youth.

Transportation Systems Management and Operations (TSMO) is a set of integrated strategies used to increase the reliability and mobility of existing roadway infrastructure without adding capacity.  To meet statewide TSMO goals, Pennsylvania is divided into four regions each containing a Regional Traffic Management Center (RTMC).  WATS is located within the Central RTMC area. Each RTMC region produces a Regional Operations Plan (ROP) to identify specific projects to improve system reliability.

The Central ROP was fully updated in 2018 with an interim update completed in 2021. The following projects located within Lycoming County are currently identified as priorities within the Central ROP:

I-180 Market Street Interchange, Williamsport: Install queue warning system on westbound I-180 approaching the Market Street off-ramp. Add queue preemption to I-180 westbound off-ramp leg of the single-point urban interchange traffic signal and to the westbound off-ramp to Maynard Street. Timing improvements should also be included to improve excessive queue for northbound left turn from Market Street to I-180 westbound on-ramp.

US 15 southbound to I-180, Williamsport: Install Dynamic Curve Warning system on southbound US 15 ramp to eastbound I-180. Curve warning alerts will be broadcast via 1 full-color Type A DMS located upstream on southbound US 15. Side-mounted radar detection will be utilized to determine speeds.

US-15 Corridor, Williamsport North to Tioga County: Install CCTV cameras and Dynamic Message Signs at key locations along the US 15 corridor, between US 6 and Williamsport.

SR 2014 (Broad Street), Montoursville: Full traffic signal equipment upgrade at the SR 2014 (Broad Street) intersections with Walnut Avenue and with Willow Street. Add corridor to the Unified Command/Control network.

SR 2014 (East Third Street), Loyalsock Township: Full signal equipment replacement and retiming along SR 2014 (Third St.) in Loyalsock Township. This includes seven intersections spanning from Country Club Road to Northway Road. In addition, also retime signal at Third St. and Shiffler Ave. Consider installation of CCTV cameras at Faxon interchange (I-180 Exit 25) and connection of traffic signals to the Unified Command and Control network via this camera.

 Central Susquehanna Valley Transportation Project Special Impact Study

The  Central Susquehanna Valley Transportation project, or “CSVT” , is a major public works project currently under construction within the region. With full construction expected to be completed in 2027, the CSVT project is anticipated to create major impacts to the highway system south of Lycoming County. While the project will improve highway safety, lessen congestion, and reduce travel time for freight haulers and the public, it will naturally create unintended consequences beyond the project area.

 The purpose of this special study was to evaluate the overall land use and transportation system impacts resulting from the completion of the Central Susquehanna Valley Transportation Project on the growth areas of Lycoming County. Focus was placed on the Interstate 180 corridor from the Lycoming/Northumberland County line to its connection with US 15 as well as the US 15 corridor between the Lycoming/Union County line and its connection with Interstate 180. As a result of this study an action plan was developed to help ensure orderly land development patterns, smart growth and a safe and efficient multi-modal transportation system that is responsive to changed traffic patterns.

 The following priority transportation projects within the scope of this LRTP were identified in the Impact Study:

 As of the 2020 United State Census, Lycoming County had a population of 114,188.  It is notable that the demographic analysis conducted for the 2018 WATS LRTP update forecast a population of 114,166 in 2020. After reviewing population trends within each of Lycoming County’s 52 municipalities, the most likely scenario for Lycoming County to 2050 will be a modest continued population loss.  By 2050, it is projected that Lycoming County will have around 111,000 persons.  This scenario will be considered the “neutral” scenario for the purposes of this plan. In addition, future transportation system needs for the county will consider two additional scenarios of more rapid population decrease and a modest increase in population.

 While Lycoming County decreased in population overall by 1,923 persons between 2010 and 2020, it must be noted that the decrease was not uniform. Of the 52 municipalities in Lycoming County 19 municipalities increased in population (by 1,485 persons), 32 decreased in population (by 3,408 persons), and one municipality (Jackson Township) saw no change.

For the past 20 years, population growth within Lycoming County has centered on the I-180 corridor east of Williamsport to Muncy.  This includes the townships of Loyalsock, Fairfield, Muncy, Muncy Creek, Wolf, and Moreland and the boroughs of Montoursville and Hughesville.

One of the most striking demographic trends in Lycoming County as been the aging of the population and the loss of youth population.  From 1970 to 2020 the proportion of the population under the age of 18 has decreased from 34% to just 20%.  This is also reflected in Pennsylvania Department of Education Data showing a steady decline in students in Lycoming County (the total of public school enrollments, private/nonpublic school enrollments, and homeschooling) from 2015-2019. Over the last 10 years, there has been a steady decline in the birth rate in Lycoming County along with an increase in mortality as the population ages.  Taken together, these factors provide a second scenario for future population change in Lycoming County where there is 22% overall decrease in population from 2020 to 2050.

Another important element of understanding and attempting to forecast population change in Lycoming County is population trends in the City of Williamsport. Williamsport currently accounts for 24% of the total population of Lycoming County.  As previously illustrated, Lycoming County population had a net decrease of 1,923 persons from 2010 to 2020.  Breaking this down to the municipal level, 19 municipalities gained a total 1,485 persons and 32 municipalities lost a total 3,408 persons. 48% of the loss of population was in the City of Williamsport which lost 1,627 persons between the 2010 census and 2020 census. However, looking at the population trend for Williamsport between the decennial census counts reveals an anomaly that should be addressed. 

 American Community Survey population estimates for Williamsport are typically very accurate with an error range of about +/- 25 persons. Using these annually updated numbers reveals a staggering drop-off in population for the City of Williamsport occurring in a single year from 2019 to 2020. In fact, almost half of the 1,627 person population decrease between the 2010 and 2020 Census appears to have happened in a single year.

There is strong evidence to believe that this large single decrease is not a permanent population loss.  The City of Williamsport hosts two college campuses: Lycoming College and the Pennsylvania College of Technology. When the 2020 census was conducted, many colleges had started moving to remote instruction due to COVID-19.  Therefore, it seems reasonable to conclude that many of the 808 persons who “left” Williamsport between 2019 and 2020 were in fact college students who otherwise would have been counted.  A sample of nearby communities also hosting colleges of various sizes show a very similar sudden drop in population between 2019 and 2020.

To try and account for this feature of 2020 census data, a third population projection scenario will be used for examining potential future transportation system needs in Lycoming County that is identical to the “neutral scenario” except for the key difference that it assumes a flat population for the City of Williamsport. Making this single change to the model produces a modest population increase of 527 persons from 2020 to 2050.

The three population change scenarios previously identified will be referenced again in Chapter 4 (Implementation) of this plan as we pull together system condition, planning context, and demographics to determine the likely future multimodal transportation needs of Lycoming County.

 Racial and Ethnic Composition 

The racial and ethnic composition of Lycoming County in the 2020 Census are provided on the following tables:

Persons of Hispanic or Latino minority ethnicity comprised 2.1% of Lycoming County’s population according to the 2020 Census which is considerably lower than the Pennsylvania statewide 8.1% Hispanic or Latino minority population figure.  However, this represents a significant increase since the 2010 census when Hispanic or Latino persons were 1.3% of Lycoming County’s population.

 2016-2020 American Community Survey (ACS) Estimates for Other Demographics

American Community Survey (ACS) is a demographics data collection program managed by the US Census Bureau.  ACS collects information annually from a sample of the population to produce estimates of carious community characteristics.  It is considered the best available authoritative source for community data.  It is important to note that ACS measures are estimates and not counts.

 Limited English Proficiency

According to ACS 2016-2020 5-year estimates, there were 107,838 persons in Lycoming County aged five years and older. Lycoming County has significantly lower proportions of the population speaking languages other than English at home or speaking English less than “very well” than the statewide and national estimates.

Disability

In terms of the total Civilian Non-institutionalized population of Lycoming County, there are 110,518 persons residing in the County, where 17,568 persons (15.9%) have a physical or mental disability. The 65 years and over age group of this population grouping is estimated at 19,120 persons with 34% having a physical or mental disability. Lycoming County population disability percentages are slightly higher than the state-wide disability estimates of 14% of the population with a disability and 33.3% over age 65 with disability. The estimated proportion of the population of Lycoming County living with a disability is significantly higher than the estimated proportion nationwide at 12.7%.

Poverty

There are an estimated 107,234 persons in Lycoming County for whom poverty status is determined. Of this number, 14,574 persons (13.6%) were determined to be falling below the poverty level which is slightly higher than the Pennsylvania 12% poverty level estimate and lower than the national estimate of 12.8%.

Households

There are an estimated 46,160 households and 30,030 families in Lycoming County. The average household size is 2.33 persons. The average family size is 2.82 persons.

Commuters

Commuters in Lycoming County overwhelmingly rely on motor vehicles driven alone for commuting to work. An estimated 4% of workers age 16 and over have no vehicle available in their household. Commute times in Lycoming County are extremely short compared to state and national averages and over half of commuters in Lycoming County have commutes shorter than 20 minutes.

Age Structure

Lycoming County’s population has aged significantly in just 10 years and all indications are that this pattern could continue (see page 10). Lycoming County has a lower proportion of the population that is youth and a larger proportion of the population that is senior than Pennsylvania or the United States as a whole.

Environmental Justice

Presidential Executive Order 12898 specifies that minority and low-income populations must be considered in Environmental Justice analysis and these populations were identified using data from the 2020 Decennial Census and 2019 data releases from the American Community Survey, (ACS).  The following definitions are used for the purposes of this analysis:

Minority:  Any individual or group that self-identifies as a member(s) of the racial categories of Black/African American, Asian American, American Indian/Alaskan Native, Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander and the ethnic category Hispanic/Latino.

Low-income:   Households at or below the federal poverty level.

As indicated earlier in this chapter, Lycoming County comprehensive planning efforts include six multi-municipal growth area plans along with a countywide plan encompassing the non-growth area covering the remaining geographic portion of the County. The portion of the county outside of the growth areas is referred to as the special resource protection area. Part of the development of the comprehensive plans and the review has been development of Future Land Use maps. These maps were all updated in late 2016-early 2017 to reflect current conditions and the evolving community vision for future land use patterns. Future Land Use categories are defined as the general type of community character desired for areas within the planning area. These categories are used to guide growth and future development. The land use categories are split into those used to characterize lands for desirable and suitable growth (growth areas) from lands to be used for rural use applications (rural resource areas). The primary determining factor for whether or not an area is designated a “growth” area or a “rural resource” area is the existing or planned presence of necessary infrastructure to support development. This includes public water, public sewer, other utilities, and especially transportation infrastructure. Other considerations include specific property occupancy types and density of development. The following table lists and defines the land use categories used during the most recent comprehensive plan:

In addition to these six future land use designations, there are three land use special overlays to provide special protection or development guidance for specific resources or locations. The overlays are:

Periodically, zoning district boundaries are compared to the future land use areas and the overlays. Comparing the desired uses from the future land use categories and overlays, as shown in the previous tables, to existing land use and current zoning illustrates where zoning ordinance revisions will need to be implemented to enable the future land use pattern to happen.

Economic Development and Employment Trends

Historically, Lycoming County developed in response to demand for lumber. More recently, steel fabrication, manufacturing, plastics-related industry, outdoor recreation and tourism, and natural gas extraction have become more prominent. Agriculture has also been a constant, major component of the region’s economy. Approximately 29% of Lycoming County is currently zoned for agricultural use. The Williamsport metropolitan area serves as an administrative and services hub for north central Pennsylvania and hosts major elements of federal, state, and county governments, including courthouses and the county prison and to major educational and healthcare facilities. Comparing US Census Bureau County Business Patterns data from 2012 to 2020 reveals some patterns in employment and business development. The manufacturing sector of the Lycoming County economy has been decreasing both in numbers of business establishments and in the number of paid employees continuing a trend highlighted in the last WATS LRTP update. Despite these overall decreases, manufacturing is a large and critical component of the local economy and Lycoming County is home to one of the top freight generating areas in the state of Pennsylvania in the Reach Road industrial area in the city of Williamsport. With the growth of online retail, “brick and mortar” retail trade is also declining both in the number of firms and the number of employees.

While retail trade and manufacturing have declined both in the number of firms and number of employees, there has been continued growth in employment in the transportation and warehousing sector and large gains in health care and hospitality. Growth in the hospitality sector is especially important for Lycoming County because of its potential for attracting outdoor recreation tourism. 

 Outdoor Recreation and Tourism

As noted in the 2018 LRTP, Lycoming County serves as a convenient gateway to the  PA Wilds region , a tourism promotion region in northcentral Pennsylvania.  According to Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources data, Lycoming County has 295 miles of hiking trails, 202 miles of biking trails and routes, and about 250,000 acres of public lands.  There are 16 public boat launches according to Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission information. Lycoming County also has vast tracts of state forest and state game lands and world class hunting and trout fishing opportunities. The county also contains numerous historic and cultural resources, not the least of which is the annual Little League World Series and the headquarters of Little League International. Because of its central location in the northeast, Lycoming County would be a natural site for large events such as sports tournaments and music festivals.

 Agriculture

Every five years, the United States Department of Agriculture conducts a “ Census of Agriculture .” The most recent census results available during the preparation of this plan were acquired in 2017.  The results of that census reinforce the importance of agriculture to the economy of Lycoming County.  In the 2017 Census of Agriculture, Lycoming County had 1,043 farms with a total area of 186,130 acres.  This represents a stunning 23% of the total land area of the county. The total value of agricultural products produced in Lycoming County in 2017 was $63,713,000 up from $53,381,000 ten years prior (a 19.4% increase).  The major commodities produced in 2017 in Lycoming County by value were grains, greenhouse/floriculture, dairy products, and hogs/pigs. As part of the central region of the Commonwealth, Lycoming County as identified in the Pennsylvania Comprehensive Freight Movement Plan as an area where growing international demand for United States food products would produce slow and steady growth in the agriculture industry with strong ties to a growing segment of the economy devoted to producing prepared foods.

Environmental, Natural, and Cultural Resources

Lycoming County is rich in scenic and natural resources, including mountains, woodlands, wildlife, vegetation, agriculture and water sources. These resources form unique and scenic landscapes. Natural resources are discussed in two broad categories: water resources and land resources. The major development centers of the county are located along the West Branch of the Susquehanna River. An abundance of open space lands exists adjacent to developed communities as well as within the floodplain. Projects in Lycoming County are assessed in their potential impact to these resources using the PennDOT OneMap online mapping tool.

Transportation System Resiliency

In 2005, Lycoming County was the first county in the Commonwealth to work with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and PA Emergency Management Agency to prepare and adopt a comprehensive Hazard Mitigation Plan. The Plan was most recently updated in 2021. This plan identifies and prioritizes hazards that may affect the County and its municipalities, assesses vulnerability to these hazards, identifies mitigation actions that can reduce that vulnerability and develops strategies for implementing needed actions, including parties responsible for plan implementation. WATS staff have been involved in all countywide hazard planning activities to ensure that the impacts of various hazards on the transportation system are considered.

Flooding

The most common hazard occurrence that causes long term and costly recovery is major damage to transportation facilities attributed to major floods. Floods are generally categorized based on the annual probability of a certain severity flood event. “Floodplain” is commonly understood to be all areas with at least a 1% annual probability of seeing a flood event. In Lycoming County, there have been three flood events of a scale meeting or exceeding the 1% annual probability extent since 1996: the January, 1996 flood, the September, 2004 Tropical Storm Ivan flood and the September, 2011 Tropical Storm Lee flood. This last flood cause nearly $ 50 million in public transportation infrastructure damages. Heavy rain events in 2016 caused severe localized flooding in the north central part of Lycoming County and caused damage to many roads and bridges. In 2016, Lycoming County completed a multiyear effort to update and enhance local flood data. One outcome of this effort was an updated flood risk database that was used to assess the flood risk to all road segments in Lycoming County. The resulting analysis was then provided to PennDOT and used in an innovative extreme weather vulnerability pilot study along with Philadelphia and Allegheny County. This study produced a database showing the future flood risk to both state and local roads at the segment level and gives WATS the ability to analyze the road system in terms of future high flooding risk countywide.

Landslides and subsidence

Lycoming County is characterized by a terrain of mountains and valleys. The West Branch of the Susquehanna roughly bisects the county into two geologic regions with the northern part of the county dominated by shale and sandstone that can be prone to landslides and the southern part of the county featuring limestone bedrock dotted with karst features and prone to subsidence events. Since the 2018 update to the WATS LRTP, there has been a pronounced increase in incidence of landslide and subsidence events impacting Lycoming County roadways. Warrensville Road (SR 2039) was closed for several years while a multimillion-dollar repair project was completed. Multiple slides on Little Pine Road (SR 4001) in Cummings Township have impacted access to Little Pine State Park and threatened one of the few roadways connecting communities in the rural northwest corner of Lycoming County. To assist in planning for future events, WATS has produced a database identifying karst areas as well as all areas of the county with steep slopes ( 35%+ grade, derived from 2017 statewide LiDAR elevation data) and "high erosion risk" soil types. PennDOT District 3 also maintains a list of all known active slide locations for monitoring. It is highly likely that due to increased rainfall in the winter and spring under current most likely climate forecasts, that slide and subsidence events are likely to increase in Lycoming County over the next 25 years.

This Chapter of the WATS Long Range Transportation Plan provides a description of the existing multi-modal transportation system in Lycoming County encompassing highways and bridges, public transportation, airports, railroads, and active transportation facilities. There are no waterway or inland ports located in the County. An inventory of current transportation assets by transportation mode will be provided, including a current physical condition and operational performance needs assessment. This data driven inventory and assessment is important to properly address transportation asset management needs and to improve operational performance of the overall system in terms of public safety, security, efficiency and cost effective movement of people and goods.

Highway Designations / Classification System

According to PennDOT data, there are 2,098 linear miles of publicly owned roadways throughout Lycoming County. PennDOT owns 903 linear miles, (43%) of public roadways in Lycoming County. In addition, there are 1,195, (57%) of locally-owned roadways owned by 52 different local municipalities included on the PennDOT Liquid Fuels System. Other agencies own the remainder of roads in the County, notably DCNR who own and operate many miles of state forestry roads that provide critical connections in the most rural parts of the county. Lycoming County government only owns two roads which are County Farm Road at the Lysock View county complex housing the Department of Public Safety (911 center), Pre-Release and county farm and an entrance road to the White Deer Recreation Complex. There are federal designations and classifications established for highway systems in the nation as noted in the following sections.

 Road Functional Classification System

The Federal Highway Administration, PennDOT and Metropolitan & Rural Planning Organizations cooperatively establish and update maps that delineate various road classifications which group roadways along a spectrum based on the type of highway service provided. The idea is that our roadway network must simultaneously meet two contradictory goals: mobility and access.  The functional classifications indicate where a particular road exists along the spectrum between pure mobility (e.g. limited access, high speed highways intended for long distance travel) and pure access (e.g. low speed neighborhood streets). The hierarchy of functional classifications established by the Federal Highways Administration, from the most mobility-centric to the most access-centric is as follows:

Interstates: “Limited access, divided highways offering high levels of mobility while linking the major urban areas of the United States”

Other Freeways and Expressways: “Directional travel lanes are usually separated by some type of physical barrier, and their access and egress points are limited to on- and off-ramp locations or a very limited number of at-grade intersections”

Other Principal Arterials: “Serve major centers of metropolitan areas, provide a high degree of mobility and can also provide mobility through rural areas.  Abutting land uses can be served directly.”

Minor Arterials: “Provide service for trips of moderate length, serve geographic areas that are smaller than their higher Arterial counterparts and offer connectivity to the higher Arterial system.

Major and Minor Collectors: “Gather traffic from Local Roads and funnel them to the Arterial network.  Major Collector routes are longer in length, have lower connecting driveway densities, have higher speed limits, are spaced at greater intervals, have higher annual average traffic volumes, and may have more travel lanes than Minor Collectors”

Local Roads and Streets: “Not intended for use in long distance travel, except at the origin or destination end of the trip, due to their provision of direct access to abutting land”

The only federally designated Interstate highway in Lycoming County is Interstate 180 which is 19.5 miles long between US-15 in the City of Williamsport and the Lycoming/Northumberland County line. I-180 continues through Northumberland County terminating with Interstate 80, the longest coast to coast east-west Interstate highway in the nation connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

Of the PennDOT managed highway system in Lycoming County, the majority of road mileage (63%) is classified as either local roads or collectors. The remaining mileage is classified as arterial or interstate/freeways underscoring the vast rural nature of the county-wide road system. Of the total road system, approximately 499 linear miles of roadway (25%) are on the approved federal-aid system.  The National Highway System, (NHS) consists of roadways important to the nation’s economy, defense and mobility including the Interstate Highway System as well as other roads important to National defense. The NHS is developed by the US Department of Transportation in cooperation with States, local officials and metropolitan planning organizations, such as WATS. Originally, I-180, US-15 and a portion of US-220 were identified as NHS routes. MAP-21 created an Enhanced NHS where a portion of SR 2014 was added to the system.

A portion of federal funding authorized under MAP-21 is dedicated to the maintenance, preservation and upgrade of the National Highway System referred to as the National Highway Performance Program, (NHPP).

 PennDOT classifies its roadway assets into four Business Plan Networks which conveniently categorize roadways in a way that incorporates both the relative hierarchical functional role and the funding eligibility of the roadway:

Business Plan Network 1 – Interstate

Business Plan Network 2 – National Highway System (NHS), Non-Interstate

Business Plan Network 3 – Non-NHS with Average Daily Traffic, (ADT) greater than 2,000

Business Plan Network 4 – Non-NHS with Average Daily Traffic, (ADT) less than 2,000

Roadway Condition Assessment

Details of pavement conditions in Lycoming County are only known on PennDOT owned roadways. Comprehensive pavement condition data and assessments are not available on locally owned roadways as 52 different local municipalities own these roads and each has their own asset management data and approach to maintenance and preservation of roads under their ownership. To meet the goals of federal transportation legislation beginning with MAP-21, PennDOT has developed Performance Measures Annual Reports for State-owned Highways as a key tool to assist in proper asset planning and management – collectively known as PM-2. These reports are used by PennDOT and MPO/RPO planning partner agencies, including the WATS MPO to provide key measures to formulate investment decisions in meeting pavement asset management needs.

 The state highway system in Lycoming County has met performance measure targets on both the interstate and overall National Highway System every year since 2017. The primary performance measures to assess roadway pavement conditions consist of International Roughness Index (IRI) data. IRI is a worldwide standard for measuring pavement smoothness. This index measures pavement roughness in terms of the number of inches per mile that a laser, mounted in a specialized van, jumps as it is driven across the roadway system. The lower the IRI number, the smoother the ride. IRI pavement conditions are then classified as excellent, good, fair or poor for each of the four Business Plan networks.

There are very few road segments in Lycoming County with high traffic volumes and low pavement quality.

Operations

When assessing the adequacy of the roadway network, it is important to look beyond pavement conditions when identifying improvement needs. There also needs to be a focus on improving highway safety and promoting efficient traffic flows to manage congestion. It is essential to utilize data driven methods to evaluate highway safety and efficiency and to determine appropriate strategies to enhance overall system performance. First, it is important to note that there has been a continued trend of a decrease in traffic volume in Lycoming County that supports the demographic modeling showing a continued decrease in population.

WATS has supported the PennDOT Transportation Systems Management and Operations (TSMO) initiatives to program low-cost technology solutions to optimize infrastructure performance. This has included the development of Regional Operations Plans (ROPs) as described in Chapter 2.

Congestion management is broadly tracked and monitored through the PM-3 performance measures. Of these measures, three apply to WATS: Percent of Person-miles Traveled on the Interstate System that are Reliable, Percent of Person-miles Traveled on the Non-Interstate NHS that are Reliable, and Interstate System Truck Travel Time Reliability Index. Historically, interstate reliability has been excellent on I-180 in Lycoming County. However, the other two measures have been trending marginally worse (although better than the overall statewide measures). It is anticipated that implementation of projects in the Central Region ROP and the CSVT Impact Special Study identified in Chapter 2 will have an impact in addressing these trends.

Highway Safety

The FAST Act federal legislation placed high significance on highway safety mandating the development of State Strategic Highway Safety Plans, dedicated federal funding for a Highway Safety Improvement Program, (HSIP) to drive investment decisions by States in cooperation with MPOs and RPOs, and requiring state DOTs to set specific performance targets related to safety – these performance measures are collectively known as PM-1.

As stated in Chapter 2, the three primary focus areas of the current Pennsylvania Strategic Highway Safety Plan are lane departures, impaired driving, and pedestrian involved crashes. We are proud to report that even when taking overall traffic volume decreases into consideration, the rates of these crash types have been declining in Lycoming County. The overall crash rate in Lycoming County has also been declining steadily.

FHWA has established five performance measures to track progress toward improved highway safety. These are reported as the five-year rolling averages of the following measurements:

1.     Number of Fatalities

2.     Rate of Fatalities per 100 million Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT)

3.     Number of Serious Injuries

4.     Rate of Serious Injuries per 100 million VMT

5.     Number of Non-motorized Fatalities and Non-motorized Serious Injuries

While most crash statistics for Lycoming County show a trend of improvement, these incremental improvements have been insufficient to meet the aggressive target setting. In an attempt to find additional focus areas where infrastructure improvements within the scope of this plan could assist in meeting safety performance measure targets, four other crash types were studied.

As is apparent from the data, intersection and speed related crashes have been in steady decline so a focus on countermeasures in these areas would be beneficial but not have an outsized immediate impact on overall rates. However, when looking at crash rates involving young drivers and mature drivers we see concerning trends. After years of declining crash rates involving young drivers, there has been a recent increase. As noted in the 2018 WATS LRTP the rate of crashes involving mature drivers has increased. While driver education efforts are outside the scope of this plan, an effort that could benefit these groups of drivers that could be pursued within the scope of WATS in the expansion and promotion of transit service to these groups.

Bridges

The bridge system is of extreme importance to the transportation system serving Lycoming County. As stated in Chapter 2, Lycoming County is the largest county in Pennsylvania in terms of geographic square miles and also has over 2,200 miles of river, creeks and tributaries where the highway system must cross which creates the need for many bridges. There are 729 bridges either owned by PennDOT, Lycoming County or local municipalities that are 8 feet in length or greater. A total of 515 bridges (70%) are PennDOT-owned structures. Local municipalities and Lycoming County own 214 bridges. It should be noted that other bridges exist and are owned either by railroads, other government agencies (such as PA DCNR which owns 76 bridges), or are privately owned. Those bridges are not addressed in this plan as funding sources for those bridges are typically outside the jurisdiction of the WATS transportation planning process.

In terms of the overall state of repair regarding the bridges in Lycoming County, the situation is better than the Commonwealth as a whole. In terms of federal performance measures, bridges are assessed in terms of the percentage of National Highway System bridge deck area in poor condition. As of 2021, WATS had no National Highway System bridge deck area in poor condition.

Lycoming County served as a PennDOT pilot by conducting a first ever inventory of all smaller locally-owned bridges between 8 and 20 feet in length in 2010. Although other MPO/RPO planning partners are also conducting similar inventories of small local bridges in their regions, Lycoming County is the only County that has also decided to systematically inspect the condition of these 8-20 foot long small local bridges using NBIS standards even though Federal law does not require inspection of these structures. The County uses its Liquid Fuels funding to perform these inspections with no federal or municipal reimbursement of bridge inspection costs. All inspection data for locally-owned bridges in Lycoming County 8 feet in length or greater is entered into the PennDOT Bridge Management System 2, (BMS2) database. Therefore, the quality and comprehensiveness of bridge inspection data available regarding bridges in Lycoming County is the best in PA since no other planning region has NBIS quality data for locally owned bridges between 8-20 foot span lengths. Quality and complete bridge inspection data is essential to accurate assessments of bridge conditions.

Lycoming County is served by an excellent public transportation system consisting of fixed route bus service, community shared ride service, intercity bus service, and ride hailing services. This section of the plan will provide an overview of each type of transit service that is provided.

 Fixed Route Bus Service

River Valley Transit (RVT) is the only fixed route bus service provider in Lycoming County. The system is comprised of a fully accessible fleet of 40 buses consisting of standard 35 and 40 foot long transit coaches, including 18 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses.

The RVT primary service area includes most of the growth areas of Lycoming County serving over 70,000 residents. Approximately half (54%) of the current urbanized area of Lycoming County is within 1,000 feet straight-line distance of a transit stop. Parts of 21 of Lycoming County’s 52 municipalities are within the urbanized area which includes 77% of the county’s total population.  It is estimated that half of the population of this urban core of the county is with 500 ft straight line walking distance of an RVT transit stop. In total, approximately 43,750 people (38% of the total county population) is within ideal walking distance of a transit stop.

 RVT Ridership Characteristics and Trends

Fixed route transit ridership in Lycoming County peaked in 2012 with 1,406,478 riders. Since then, there has been a small decline in ridership, however any analysis of ridership trends is heavily impacted by the effect of COVID-19 lockdowns and suspensions of service in 2020 and into 2021. A key component of RVT ridership is senior citizen riders who have no declined as a source of riders to the same extent as overall ridership.

River Valley Transit Plus, under contract with STEP, Inc. provides complimentary demand responsive van service as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, (ADA) since 1992. This service continues to meet the needs for individuals with disabilities in the RVT service area and has transported more than 40,000 passengers since its inception. Ridership had been declining during the past decade as programs have been initiated by other agencies to transport persons with disabilities along with increased ADA eligible passenger use of RVT low-floor buses equipped with lift ramps. RVT has seen a large steady increase in ADA ridership in recent years. RVT also provides special transit services to support a wide variety of activities and community events throughout their service area including Lycoming County Fair, Little League World Series, Williamsport Crosscutters minor league baseball games, Penn College Earth Science Center, Lycoming College Homecoming and other college functions along with charter services using a process that complies with FTA regulations.

RVT Fares

Below is the RVT fixed route fare structure. RVT traditionally has one of the lowest transit fare structures in Pennsylvania in order to ensure accessible and affordable public transit service to those that need it. However, it must also be recognized that fare increases will be necessary in order to keep pace with increasing operating costs. The RVT goal is to raise fares when needed with only minimal disruption of ridership, and thus RVT has moved to a policy of more frequent, incremental increases in selected categories rather than more dramatic across-the board fare hikes which have tended to drive more patrons away from the system.

Recently, RVT has started to move toward app-based fares which will provide a much more convenient option for purchasing fares for those with access to a smartphone.

RVT Fixed Route System

RVT manages a bus network of 25 fixed routes operated in-house by RVT employees. Due to varying service levels within the fixed route transportation system, there is considerable variation among these routes in terms of scheduling operations, ridership, revenue. System performance on these routes changes over time. All RVT transit vehicles have electronic validating fareboxes which record passengers as the board and pay fares thus assisting RVT in providing more detailed analysis of performance of each route.

RVT Facilities

RVT owns and operate four properties to support its operations

Garage & Office Facility - In 2011, RVT completed a $ 12 million project to renovate and double the size of its garage and office facility located at 1500 West Third Street in the City of Williamsport. The new facility will meet RVT’s operational, administrative, and fleet maintenance needs for the foreseeable future. Numerous “green” technology features were incorporated as part of the project such as geo-thermal heating and cooling, time controlled lighting, rapidly rising and dropping garage doors to reduce heating and cooling costs, etc. In 2011, RVT was awarded $ 3.5 million through FTA’s Clean Fuels Program further retrofit this maintenance facility to create a fast-fill CNG fueling station that will accommodate CNG fueled vehicles that will accommodate RVT’s strategy to eventually replace all of its diesel buses with CNG buses to significantly lower its operating costs and reduce carbon emissions while capitalizing on the Marcellus Shale natural gas resources abundant in the County. This CNG fueling facility will be completed in September, 2013 which can be open for business to other municipalities, private companies and the general public.

Church Street Transportation Center - Opened in April 2012 the Church Street Transportation Center is a Williamsport Parking Authority parking deck facility. The four level building provides 350 parking spaces and houses Fullington Trailways, an intercity motorcoach company. The facility offers state-of-the art, self service ticketing and payment options, elevators and a security system. Park and ride facilities supporting RVT’s Downtown Connector and bus bays are included along with public art depicting the heritage of Lycoming County.

Trade and Transit Centre - The Williamsport Trade and Transit Centre was dedicated in 1999 as an intermodal transportation facility in the heart of the Williamsport Central Business District. This facility accommodates about 4,100 RVT riders daily and includes bus bays, a restaurant, community meeting room, and a community theater. The completion of this project led to a 16% increase in transit ridership of the RVT system so planning began in 2001 to further expand this facility as part of Trade and Transit Center II.

Trade and Transit Centre II - This expansion began with the demolition of the existing 300 vehicle Mid-Town Parking Deck which was in severely deteriorated condition. The new building greatly enhanced the utility and function of the existing Trade and Transit Centre by including a drivers lounge, second passenger waiting area, community room, additional commercial areas rented to small retail outlets, three additional bus bays. Additionally, a large open public square was created to enhance the walkable public space in the Williamsport Central Business District.

Community Shared Ride Program

Incorporated in 1966, the Lycoming-Clinton Counties Commission for Community Action (STEP), Inc. is a private, non-profit community action agency. Success Through Engagement and Partnership is achieved in two ways. First, STEP’s Programs engage individuals, families and communities in their own strategies for success - the customers become involved directly, and truly own that which they achieve. Secondly, because no single organization can “do it all”, success is achieved through partnerships with the complementary groups and entities that can also assist these individuals, families and communities. One of the many social services STEP, Inc. provides is shared ride demand responsive transportation services to the residents and visitors of Lycoming and Clinton Counties. According to STEP, their vision is “to provide safe, dependable and timely transportation services”.

Service Description

STEP Transportation provides door-to-door, shared ride service from 5:30 AM – 6:00 PM Monday through Friday except STEP observed holidays. The exception to this is for “life-sustaining” medical appointments funded by Medical Assistance such as Dialysis. Formerly until 2012, service was provided 24 hours daily/ 7 days per week, however due to limited funding resources and overall system ridership declines, service cut-backs were deemed essential to preserve the overall future financial viability of the system. Transportation is available for trips within the primary service area consisting of Lycoming and Clinton Counties with special services within Centre, Union, Northumberland, Columbia, Snyder, and Montour counties.  STEP services cover 5,004 square miles and serving a population base of 155,349 with 16.4% of the population comprising senior citizens aged 65 and older. Twice per day service to Geisinger Medical Center (GMC) is available with the van arriving at GMC at 8:30 am and 12:15 pm. departing at 12:00 pm and 4:00 pm. Transportation is also available to K&C Dentures in Lamar on Tuesdays and Thursdays.   Consumers must reserve their ride with STEP before 2:00 pm on the preceding business day.

 Through the Medical Assistance Transportation Program, (MATP), transportation is provided on an as-needed basis to serve medical appointments throughout the Commonwealth. STEP provides service throughout the Commonwealth for MATP consumers on specific days. Although all residents and visitors within Lycoming and Clinton Counties are eligible for transport by STEP, some consumers may be eligible in transportation sponsoring programs, such as Persons with Disabilities, Medical Assistance Transportation Program, Area Agency on Aging, Shared Ride and Employment Transportation Programs making fares more reasonable.

 STEP operates a vehicle fleet which is housed in two locations. The majority of vehicles are located at Fairfield Ford of Williamsport, with the remainder housed at the Clinton County Community Center. The vehicles were used to provide over 76,722 total shared ride passenger trips between July 2021-June 2022. Of these total trips, 30,242 were senior citizen (aged 60+) or 39% of total trips which declined over the past two years, primarily related to the pandemic.  There has been an actual increase in Program Year 21-22 of trips under the Persons with Disabilities (PwD) progeam and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Program which is operated through a contract with River Valley Transit Authority. Those trips totaled 12,254 trips or 16% of total trips. In addition, STEP Transportation provides contracted services to a number of organizations including UPMC Williamsport for Hospital Discharges and Geisinger Medical Center through a contract with Rabbittransit.  As part of the MATP Program, STEP provides Mileage Reimbursement and Transit Pass Assistance.

Fares

Transportation fares per one-way trip are based on ride sponsorships and a zone-based, miles-driven fare structure.

Ridership Trends

The impact STEP has on the communities it serves is tremendous as there are thousands of consumers who maintain their health and independence by using shared ride services. This also includes employed persons seeking transportation to and from employment and Pre-school children and their families being connected to school readiness activities through transportation services.

Lycoming County is served by two freight railroads, Norfolk Southern Railways and the Lycoming Valley Railroad. This section of the plan will further discuss both of these railroads which are a critical component of the region’s multi-modal transportation system.

Norfolk Southern Corporation (NS) is a Class I railroad in the United States, owned by the Norfolk Southern Corporation with headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. Since 1982, this company owns and operates over 19,300 route miles in 22 eastern states, the District of Columbia and the province of Ontario, Canada. In 1999, the system grew substantially with the acquisition of over half of Conrail. NS operates throughout the eastern United States; primarily hauling commodities categories including: agriculture, chemicals, metals, automotive, coal, and intermodal

 There are two other Class I railroads operating in the Commonwealth, (CSX Transportation and Canadian National), however Norfolk Southern is clearly the largest in terms of route miles operated and ton miles of freight hauled annually. There are seven different main lines operated by Norfolk Southern in Pennsylvania. The only line traversing Lycoming County is the Harrisburg-Buffalo, New York Mainline connecting at the southern end to the Harrisburg (Rutherford) large intermodal rail yard serving Central PA. Service from this facility includes seven-day-per week trains to/from Chicago, Elizabeth (NJ), Kansas City, Los Angeles, Norfolk, San Bernardino, and St. Louis. This facility handles Trailer-On-Flat-Car, (TOFC) and Container-On-Flat-Car, (COFC). In addition, 48 and 53 foot EMP containers are handed at the facility. The Harrisburg-Buffalo mainline can accommodate double stack intermodal unit trains and 286,000 pound car loadings. The next map depicts the 37 mile long Norfolk Southern rail system map within Lycoming County in blue and the Lycoming Valley shoreline rail line (red) to be discussed next.

Lycoming Valley Railroad   

The Lycoming Valley Railroad, (LVRR) is one of numerous Class III shortline railroads serving the Commonwealth and is the only shortline railroad located in Lycoming County. This 38 mile long shortline runs generally west between Avis (Clinton County) and Muncy, PA. The LVRR is part of the North Shore Railroad system with headquarters in Northumberland, PA.  The system has trackage rights via the Norfolk Southern line allowing LVRR to connect to the west with the Nittany and Bald Eagle Railroad at Lock Haven.

 The SEDA-COG Joint Rail Authority, (JRA) owns the Lycoming Valley Railroad as part of an overall regional shortline rail system encompassing six rail lines with nearly 220 miles of track, land, rights-of way, engine houses, and various bridges, crossings and other railroad related structures traversing through a nine-county area consisting of Lycoming, Union, Northumberland, Montour, Mifflin, Columbia, Clinton, Centre, and Snyder Counties. The entire JRA system provides rail freight service to approximately 95 shippers supporting over 12,000 good paying industrial jobs.  The Lycoming Valley Railroad alone boasts over 30 customers and in 2022 handled over 10,000 carloads.

 The JRA was created in 1983, under the PA Municipal Authorities Act of 1945 with each member County Board of Commissioners appointing two representatives to serve on the 18 member JRA Board. It should be noted that most of the rail-served companies are dependent on quality rail service offered by JRA and if such service were unavailable it is likely that many firms would close their doors or relocate to other areas having a substantial negative impact on the regional economy. In fact, the JRA and North Shore Railroad contract owner / operator arrangement has become widely recognized as a model for successful public-private rail partnerships on both the state-wide and national levels. Under the operator’s agreement, the JRA provides the North Shore Railroad with the exclusive right to use the railroad facilities owned by JRA in exchange for an operating fee based on 10% of gross freight revenue, 15% of track usage rights by other Railroads and 25% of car storage paid to JRA by North Shore Railroad. The operator is responsible for all equipment, personnel, and maintenance necessary to provide safe and adequate rail service to the railroad’s customers.

 The JRA Strategic Plan provides an excellent asset management tool and working strategy for future delivery of rail freight services to address the growing rail service needs of companies within their large geographic service area. The summary of the JRA strategic plan is illustrated below.

 SEDA-COG JRA Strategic Plan Summary

Vision:  To provide Central Pennsylvania with a world-class railroad enterprise that affords its customers and partners with the most reliable, efficient, and safest short line system.

Mission:  To preserve and foster rail service in Central Pennsylvania and to further economic development through the retention, improvement, and expansion of the infrastructure and the rail service it supports.

Core Values:

•          Excellence

•          Stewardship

•          Safety

•          Integrity

•          Leadership

Core Functions:

•          Rail System Preservation and Improvement

•          Economic Development

•          Collaboration

Guiding Principles:

•       Plan and implement regional rail system projects with member county needs, private shipper needs, Rail Service Operator and other stakeholder interests in balance

•       Conduct open public JRA Board meetings with a public forum agenda item at every meeting

•       Adhere to state Right-to-Know Laws

•       Exercise ethical procurement standards and procedures that go beyond that required by the Commonwealth

•       Commit to a professional Code of Conduct and Ethics Policy for Board Members, Staff and Operator

•       Maintain a culture of cooperative problem-solving and partnership with our local governments, utilities, shippers, economic development agencies and property owners

During the boom years of 2012-2014, the SEDA-COG shortline rail system saw double digit customer and volume expansion along the LVRR and the entire JRA system caused by the Marcellus Shale industry.    Rail traffic related to Marcellus shale gas declined precipitously starting in early 2015.  By 2016, Marcellus traffic had fallen to less than 5% of its peak in 2013.  In 2017, the LVRR has begun to see a solid recovery of non-Marcellus traffic, with incremental volume increases have occurred along the system as the LVRR’s existing customer business grew and the customer base grew through extensive marketing efforts and grant awards to improve new and existing rail serve infrastructure. 

 The following is a list of industries served by the LVRR

• Agriculture
• Aluminum Products
• Chemicals
• Coal
• Construction
• Finished Metals
• Food Products
• Lumber
• Marcellus Shale
• Plastics
• Railcar Repair Shop
• Scrap Steel
• Steel Products
• Aggregate

Rail yards are essential to all railroad operations and are comprised of a series of parallel railroad tracks for storing, sorting, loading/unloading, and maintaining railroad cars and / or locomotives. The JRA owns and maintains six rail freight classification yards within its network. The Newberry Rail Yard is the only JRA yard in Lycoming County, however it is the largest among all six yards in terms of acreage (109 acres) and rail traffic. In fact, the Newberry Yard accommodates up to 1,200 railcars making it the largest yard between the Norfolk Southern Harrisburg and Buffalo Mainline System. The aerial photo shows the vast scale of activity occurring at the Newberry Rail Yard

The JRA and its contract operator North Shore Railroad have excelled at its capital improvements program and maintenance-of-way program resulting in JRA owned trackage that is in good to excellent condition. The JRA retains a qualified railroad engineering consultant, Jannotti Rail Consulting, Inc. to conduct annual track inspections and prepare reports detailing existing conditions and recommending improvements on an annual basis to be performed by the contract operator. It should be noted that JRA maintenance-of-way standards exceed applicable Federal Railroad Administration standards. Similarly, the JRA utilizes the services of Stifler McGraw, Inc. to conduct routine JRA owned bridge inspections and overall these bridges are in a good state of repair. The JRA consistently improves the bridge infrastructure; investing over $2M in 2022 and 2023 on the LVRR.  

Beyond maintenance-of-way track maintenance and rehabilitation, bridge repairs and replacement projects, the SEDA-COG JRA has also aggressively pursued adding additional rail capacity through construction of numerous track sidings to serve industrial customer needs, upgrades to JRA switching, and lengthening of track runarounds. Total JRA track capital investments exceeded $5M, since 2020.

The PA Public Utility Commission, (PUC) is the regulatory body to approve any proposed alterations to railroad/highway grade crossings. The JRA and their operator have collectively upgraded over 25 rail-highway grade crossings system-wide since 2017. The JRA has also participates in Operation Lifesaver, which is a nationwide, nonprofit public information program dedicated to eliminating collisions, injuries and fatalities at rail/highway grade crossings and on railroad rights-of-way. In fact, the JRA was selected as one of only three nationwide demonstrations for the FRA’s Pilot Emergency Notification System, (ENS) Rail-Highway Grade Crossings. Since 2000, there have been 5 reportable crashes involving a train in Lycoming County, 1 of which were fatal.

Although there are no scheduled commuter rail passenger services available in Lycoming County or within the JRA network, the SEDA-COG JRA does successfully offer special rail excursions to the general public in cooperation with sponsoring area tourist promotion agencies, such as the Williamsport- Lycoming County Visitors Bureau. The JRA establishes a set of operational guidelines governing the sponsor’s advertising materials, print content on tickets and control of ticket sales in relation to seating capacity in cooperation with the sponsor and the rail operator. In 2022, there were 20 passenger excursion trips made in Lycoming County which represented 40% of all JRA excursions system-wide and the most offered within any county in the JRA service area. These excursions have proven very popular and have good public attendance.

The Williamsport Regional Airport is currently classified as a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) non-Primary reliever airport. 

 The Williamsport Regional Airport is located in the Borough of Montoursville approximately 5 miles east of the City of Williamsport. The airport was originally developed in 1929. On January 27, 1947 a joint resolution was adopted by the City of Williamsport and Lycoming County Commissioners creating the Williamsport Municipal Airport Authority incorporated under the 1945 PA Municipal Authorities Act. . The Airport Authority Board consist of seven members appointed by the Lycoming County Commissioners who are responsible for determining airport policy and directing the overall airport operations employing full and part-time staff. On July 21, 1947 the airport land and improvements were deeded by the City of Williamsport to the newly created Airport Authority.

There is a large land area (735 acres) and numerous physical facilities that are under Airport Authority ownership and control. This area is depicted on the official Airport Layout Plan, (ALP) approved by the Federal Aviation Administration

 Terminal Building

The Airport Terminal Building, completed in 2018, is a full-service single-story facility consisting of approximately 17,000 square feet of space. The public areas include seating restrooms, airline ticket counters, Car rental, baggage claim, a travel agency and office.  The secured facilities include baggage screening, passenger security checkpoint, and secure passenger hold room with access to two aircraft boarding areas, one with  a passenger loading bridge capable of servicing regional jets up to a 757.

Air Traffic Control Tower

The Airport has an air traffic control tower, originally constructed in 1959, to promote the safe, orderly, and expeditious flow of air traffic. The tower is operated through a contract operator, Midwest ATC and federally subsidized under the FAA Air Traffic Control Tower Cost Sharing Program with a county match. The hours of operation are from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. daily.

Runways and Taxiways

Runway 09-27 is the primary runway at the Airport. This grooved bituminous paved runway is 6,825 feet long by 150 feet wide and is in good condition. The runway pavement strength is single wheel 65,000 lbs., dual wheel, 100,000 lbs. and single tandem wheel, 190,000 lbs. The system includes a full parallel taxiway system leading to the main aprons and other aircraft parking facilities, so it is in excellent condition. This runway is served by high intensity runway lights. All runway pavement markings are in accordance with FAA standards for Airport Markings. All signage is in compliance with FAA Part 139 requirements.

 Runway 12-30 is the secondary runway at the Airport. This bituminous over concrete runway is scheduled for rehabilitation in 2023, current condition is fair.  A parallel taxiway is available for this runway leading to the main aprons and other aircraft parking facilities. All lighting, signs and pavement markings are in compliance with FAA requirements.

 Other runway related aviation navigational aids at the airport include High Intensity Runway Lighting (HIRL) for runway 9/27, Medium Intensity Runway Lighting (MIRL) for runway 12/20, a rotating beacon, lighted wind indicator, Medium Intensity Approach Lighting System, (MALSR), and Precision Approach Indicators (PAPIs).   The facility has a precision Instrument Landing System (ILS) installed for approaches to runway 27 as well as non-precision approached to all the remaining runways.

Fixed Base Operator, (FBO)

There is one full service fixed base operator at the airport, Energy Aviation. The FBO provides a full range of general aviation services which include aviation fuel sales, aircraft ground handling, aircraft parking (ramp or tiedown), hangars, corporate passenger terminal and lounge, charter flights, flight training, aircraft rental and other services. 100 Low Lead and Jet A fuel is available. 

As of December 2021, there are 46 based aircraft at the airport consisting of 34 single engine, 9 multi-engine, 2 jets, 1 helicopter.

Hangers

There are 10 hangers at the airport: 1 ten-unit T-hanger, 2 six-unit T-hangers, 4-unit hangers with combination hanger / office, and 3-unit hangars. All hangers are currently occupied.  The Authority has a plan in place to create 10 additional T-hangars as well as make modifications to an existing large unit hangar to insulate and heat the facility for enhanced winter operations.

Other Airport Facilities

There are Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting, (ARFF) and Equipment Storage buildings that house fire and rescue and maintenance vehicles. There is a fuel farm and aircraft de-icing pad. The main vehicle parking area is located near the terminal building and provides 337 parking stalls.  Long-term parking consists of 246 stalls of which 23 spaces are reserved for rental cars. Short term parking immediately adjacent to the terminal includes 67 spaces.  There are also 8 handicapped spaces next to the building and 16 metered spaces available for use.

The PA College of Technology owns and operates the Kathryn Lumley Aviation Center which provides college student instruction on aviation and avionics related programming.

 Tenants

Currently, the Airport Authority leases building space or land to 14 different tenants operating at the airport.

 Current Airport Tenants

Hertz Rent-a-Car                                              Enterprise Rent-a-Car             

TSA                                                                Simply Savor on the Fly Café

Michael D. Mertes, Inc.                                   World Travel International

Lycoming Engines                                           AIRMAN HVAC Services

Geisinger Medical Center Life Flight   FAA      Energy Aviation, IPT

Sooner Pipe                                                     EXCO Resources

ABC Supply Company                                    Civil Air Patrol                                                                                     

Pennsylvania’s Airport Hazard Zoning Law, Act 164 of 1984, requires those local municipalities that fall within an airport hazard area to adopt, administer and enforce airport zoning regulations (ordinances) to ensure a safe and reliable network of public use airports as a key mechanism to preserve and protect these key transportation assets.

 Twelve Lycoming County municipalities are required to enact an airport hazard zoning either as an amendment to their overall zoning ordinance or as a free standing ordinance. According to the PennDOT Bureau of Aviation, only three of these municipalities are in compliance with Act 164 as illustrated below:

From a statewide perspective, only about 40% of PA municipalities required to enact airport hazard zoning are in compliance according to PennDOT BOA. The PennDOT, MPO/RPO and airport operators are now conducting additional municipal outreach to strengthen the compliance rate, including the WATS MPO and Airport Authority.

 Commercial Air Service Description and Trends

The Williamsport Regional Airport had continuous scheduled airline service for 74 years. During that time, the nature and type of service has varied considerably. For example, in the 1970s, airline service was provided by Allegheny Airlines and Pocono Airlines with service to Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Newark and Wilkes/Barre/Scranton providing as many as 15 arriving and 15 departing flights per day. 

Air service in Williamsport has been negatively impacted by various event over the years.  The 1978 Airline Deregulation Act resulted in numerous airline organizational restructurings with fewer offerings especially in small and rural markets.   The reduced aviation demand stemming from 2001 terror attacks and other factors also impacted commercial service availability at the airport.  The loss of a Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) connection in 2004 when US Airways (US) downgraded PIT from a hub began a negative trend that impacted the market for 16 years. From 2004 thru November 2017, the airport commercial service package was limited to three or less daily round trip flights provided by US to their hub at the Philadelphia International Airport (PHL).  Despite increases in enplanements beginning in 2010 due to the Marcellus Shale boom, the airline failed to respond appropriately and passengers begin to decline again in 2013.  In 2014, American Airlines (AA) and US merged resulting in a US Airways management team operating under the American Airlines brand.  While schedules and reliability did not substantially improve, AA began regular jet service at Williamsport, utilizing 50-passenger Embraer regional jets in 2015.  American used these jets exclusively in Williamsport service until 2021.   Due to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 outbreak and subsequent airline pilot and staffing issues, AA discontinued service to Williamsport in September 2021.  The community and the Authority are actively recruiting a new carrier for the market.

 The following chart illustrates historical passenger enplanement activity at the airport during the past 16 years. Prior to 2004, enplanements had been strong until the 9/11/01 terror attacks occurred which negatively affected national air travel and caused a steep passenger decline at the airport. Enplanements steadily rebounded during the Marcellus gas boom activity from 2009 -2012.  However, service reliability suffered though the 20-teens with passengers responding by leaking to competing airports.   In February 2020, American Airlines acknowledged the service challenges and the failure of Philadelphia as a viable hub for Williamsport and announced a service change to it Charlotte NC superhub planned for August 2020.  As the COVID outbreak continued the service began but was suspended by AA management two days after it begin.  As a part of the airlines response to the pilot shortage by shedding their 50-seat jets, AA left the market in September 2021 when the federally supported Payroll Protection Plan funding ran out and AA was no longer required to provide service to the area.

 To better understand the potential air service market opportunities, the Airport Authority hired a consultant. to conduct a True Market Study for the Airport which was completed in January 2020. This study better defined the airport catchment area as shown below:

Using a variety of data sources such as air passenger ticket information, demographic and socio-economic data in the catchment area, consultant was able to determine the estimated air service demand within the catchment area and determine how much of this demand was actually captured by the Airport. The study concluded that only 8% total air travelers within the catchment choose the Airport as their originating airport when service ended.  The area had over 373,000 customers traveling by air.

Given the facts of the market and passenger availability, the Authority successfully applied for a Department of Transportation Small Community Air Service Development Program grant.  The grant will be used to provide a minimum revenue guarantee to a potential service provider for two years.  While the industry is still adjusting to its new realities, the Authority is cautiously optimistic that it can recruit new service in the 2023-2024 timeframe.

Major Airport Facility Planned Improvements

The Williamsport Municipal Airport Authority has taken an aggressive approach toward modernizing airport facilities to ensure continued availability of safe convenient affordable and reliable air services for airport customers and tenants. Toward this end, the Airport Authority has adopted an Airport Master Plan and a supplemental Long Range Plan which defines and prioritizes proposed improvements. Major planned improvements are highlighted in this section.

-  Revenue producing facilities.

o    10-unit T-hangar.

o    Rehabilitation of exiting hangar for improved winter operations.

o    Plan to release current hangar used for equipment storage back to aeronautical use.

-  Upgraded facilities.

o    Heavy equipment maintenance/storage for improved efficiency and modernized systems for energy conservation.

o    Rehabilitate Runway 12.30 for increased safety and replacement of outdated electrical systems for energy conservation.

o    Rehabilitation of General Aviation pavements for increased safety and better drainage.

-  The FHWA approved federal earmark for improved airport access for the Montour Street Extension Project continues planning

 Economic Impact of Airport

In 2022, the PennDOT Bureau of Aviation completed an Aviation Economic Impact Study. The economic impact findings for the Williamsport Regional Airport are summarized below.

 Nonmotorized transportation planning in Lycoming County occurs at two scales.  First, there are projects that make it easier to travel around within communities by walking, cycling, or other forms of non-motorized or assistive transport. These facilities are generally located within the existing road right-of-way and take the form of sidewalks, crosswalks, and bike lanes. These projects are gathered under the umbrella of “complete streets” projects and are generally planned and managed at the local municipal level.  Secondly, there are larger scale multi-use pathways that provide connections between communities.  These facilities are generally fully separated and owned and maintained separately from the roadway network. Projects of this category are more likely to be a county or regional project.

 Regional Nonmotorized Trails and Bikeways

The primary function of multiuse trails is to provide for safe, comfortable, and convenient non-motorized mobility between communities.  Urban multiuse trails are usually paved and rural multiuse trails are usually compacted fine gravel. All multiuse trails also accommodate recreational uses along with transportation use which makes them a vital resource for communities. Lycoming County has several extensive multiuse trails already in place as well as plans to connect, extend, and improve access to these trails. Lycoming County has an extensive network of multi-use urban and rural trails that are both regionally connected and provide access to key local recreational resources. However, current facilities are disconnected. There are plans underway to further expand upon this network, focused especially on completing “gaps” in the network or to build additional connections to existing facilities.

 PA Bike Routes

PennDOT in consultation with a statewide Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee has placed signage on nine Bicycle PA Routes throughout the Commonwealth. These routes were identified by experienced bicyclists to provide the public with information who wish to traverse the state with a guide to some of the Commonwealth’s highways and rail trails. Despite this effort, very few of these routes were provided with bike lanes or other facilities designed for bicyclists and therefore have little utility for most users. In Lycoming County, in an effort to make the bike routes more accessible the route designations have been moved in several locations from roadways onto separated multiuse pathways.  For example, an extensive section of PA Bicycle Route G is located on the Pine Creek Rail Trail

Lycoming County continues to work closely with the Genesee River Wilds organization, the Susquehanna Greenway Partnership, the Middle Susquehanna Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee, SEDA-COG, and other organizations to advance a major trail system linking Rochester NY with the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland with Williamsport being roughly the midpoint. The Susquehanna-Genesee Greenway Trail System will eventually connect to the Pine Creek Rail Trail and the Susquehanna River Walk. Major multiuse trail projects in Lycoming County are primarily evaluated by how they provide linkages or access to this overall envisioned trail system.

This is the longest and most significant regional trail found in Lycoming County and the entire 12 county  PA Wilds Region . The 62 mile long rail trail traverses Lycoming and Union Counties between Jersey Shore and Wellsboro, Jct. offering outstanding scenic views of the Pine Creek Valley. USA Today proclaimed this trail as one of the 10 best trails in the world. The trail surface is 12 foot wide with a compacted limestone fines surface and is relatively flat grade not exceeding a 2% slope as this corridor was once part of the former Corning Secondary Rail Line owned and operated by Conrail until it was railbanked in 1990. PA DCNR now holds the lease for the entire trail property and maintains the trail. There are only non-motorized trail uses with no nighttime use or lighting. There are 12 public parking lots and 9 comfort stations along the trail. Given the significance of the trail, the PA General Assembly created a Pine Creek Rail Trail Advisory Committee involving state, county and local officials to oversee the 15 year project development process and to further develop and ensure proper trail maintenance and operations. The last section of the trail was opened for public use in 2006. The trail system with parking cost $9 million to construct using PA Growing Greener, PA Oil and Gas Key 93 and Transportation Enhancement funds. Annual trail maintenance costs are approximately $500,000 per year.

Another significant trail facility is the Lycoming Creek Bikeway constructed in 1991. This 5 mile long paved bikeway is owned and maintained by five different municipalities that the trail system traverses between Williamsport and Hepburnville. These municipalities are Hepburn Township, Lycoming Township, Loyalsock Township, Old Lycoming Township and the City of Williamsport. The bikeway connects to numerous public recreation facilities and attractions such as the Old Lycoming Township Recreation Park, Heshbon Park and historic Bowman Field Minor League Baseball Park. Portions of the bikeway are shared road facilities with the remaining sections built as separate use trail.

 Susquehanna River Walk

The Susquehanna River Walk is a 6 mile paved bikeway and walkway situated on top of the Williamsport Area Levee System located in the City of Williamsport, Borough of South Williamsport and Loyalsock Township. This project was a key component of the Downtown Williamsport Revitalization Vision developed by the Lead Partners involving Lycoming County, City of Williamsport, Williamsport-Lycoming Chamber of Commerce, Our Towns 2010 and other organizations with initial planning begun in 2000 in conjunction with PennDOT’s Market Street Bridge Replacement Project. Public outreach surveys at the time demonstrated strong support for the project as 97% of respondents wanted a reconnection between the downtown and the river. The County constructed 4.5 miles of the Riverwalk that opened for public use in 2010 while South Williamsport Borough completed the remaining 1.5 miles between the South Williamsport Recreation Complex and Market Street Bridge in 2011 which is under Borough ownership and maintenance responsibility. The $3 million project was financed using Federal transportation earmark appropriations, Transportation Enhancement Funds and PA DCNR funding with a small County match. The county has entered into a Maintenance Agreement with the City and South Williamsport Borough to provide basic River Walk maintenance on the County-owned portion. The Riverwalk is also a venue for public art displays and educational kiosks depicting the region’s heritage associated with lumbering has been financed and installed through the Lumber Heritage Region. Currently, the Riverwalk receives heavy public use in non-winter months as winter maintenance is not provided. The River Walk connects to the Loyalsock and Montoursville Bikeways providing a continuous trail link between Maynard Street Bridge in the city and PA Rt. 87 park-n-ride near Walmart in Montoursville.

Multiuse Trail Gaps

The existing major multiuse trails in Lycoming County are missing major linkages to allow full non-motorized travel through the urban core of the county.  In 2009, the Lycoming County Planning Commission used consultant Larson Design Group to undertake a feasibility study of providing trail connections between Jersey Shore and Williamsport to connect the Pine Creek Trail with the River Walk as part of the overall Genesee-Susquehanna Greenway Trail System and to further connect the River Walk to communities east of Williamsport including Muncy and Montgomery as part of the Susquehanna Greenway Partnerships vision to extend the trail system throughout the remainder of the Susquehanna River Corridor to the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. The feasibility study showed that the trail was then only feasible to construct as a combination shared road and separate use trail system. Considering different potential alignments and multiple potential phases, phases given the $23 million estimated cost to complete the remaining trail sections in Lycoming County.

 The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources recognized the trail gap between the Lycoming Creek Bikeway and the Susquehanna River Walk in the city of Williamsport as one of the top 10 trail gaps as outlined in the  2020-2024 Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan . In 2016, the Lycoming County Department of Planning and Community Development applied for and received a DCNR grant for design and engineering of a Susquehanna River Walk extension that will be a 2.4-mile, 10-ft wide, paved multi-purpose trail between the existing 4.5-mile River Walk at Maynard Street and the 20-acre riverfront Susquehanna State Park.  The River Walk extension will also link directly to the Lycoming Creek Bikeway and provide for multiple new access points to the existing River Walk. An additional planned spur will also connect from the main River Walk trail into the Williamsport neighborhood of Newberry.  An existing rail right-of-way exists that would make this extension feasible.  This spur trail would provide a direct access point to the River Walk system from a major commercial and residential area of the city.

The Susquehanna River Walk extension project is currently planned on extending to the eastern boundary of Susquehanna State Park. A further phase  of the trail through the park and then to a PennDOT park and ride lot along South Reach Road will provide another necessary link in the future connection of Williamsport west to the Pine Creek Rail Trail in jersey Shore while also opening up a new access point to and from the River Walk system from the major employment center of the Reach Road industrial area.

 Additional Planned Multiuse Trail Access Improvements

Miller’s Run

There is a multiphase project underway to establish a greenway and trail along Millers Run in Loyalsock Township to connect the Susquehanna River Walk with the township’s schools and recreation center.  The Millers Run Greenway will be a multi-use trail that connects the Susquehanna River Walk to multiple recreation assets in Loyalsock Township, including Bruce Henry Park, the Loyalsock Community Center, James Short Park, and the township’s community swimming pool. The trail would be multi-functional and utilized for both transportation and recreational purposes. This trail would serve multiple users, including pedestrians, joggers, bicyclists, and others. Connectivity with residential developments, schools, recreation areas, and business districts also represent important functionalities of this trail.

 Basin Street Access

Currently, there are limited access points to the Susquehanna River Walk from the downtown of the city of Williamsport and especially from the Lycoming College campus.  The existing access points involve navigating either the busy US-15/I-180/Market St or Maynard St/I-180 interchanges or exiting I-180 East at the Hepburn St. exit.  Therefore, a two phased project is being developed to add a new access ramp at the southern terminus of Basin Street.

Bald Eagle Valley Trail Connection

Lycoming County and WATS MPO have also coordinated with Clinton County and SEDA COG MPO staff to explore options for connecting the Bald Eagle Valley Trail to the Pine Creek Rail Trail.

Complete streets attempt to accommodate all modes of travel safely and equitably. They include provisions for motor vehicles, transit, walking, bicycles and users of all ages and abilities. Complete streets are also designed to meet American Disabilities Act (ADA) standards and regulations to accommodate all persons with disabilities. In contrast to the multiuse trails and bikeways described above, complete streets are primarily intended to improve conditions of travel within communities rather than between communities.

WATS Complete Streets Prioritization Criteria

Complete streets projects in Lycoming County will be prioritized for support by WATS by screening against the following criteria:

1. Is roadway located in a US Census designated urbanized area?
2. Has roadway already been identified for complete streets improvements through another planning process?
3. Is roadway functional classification appropriate for mixed mode transportation?
4. Does the roadway meet any of the following conditions:
   1. Located in or adjacent to a college or other school campus
   2. Located in a business district or mixed use commercial zone
   3. History of at least 1 nonmotorized serious injury or fatality in the past 5 years
   4. Located along fixed route transit service
   5. Located in or adjacent to a high concentration low income, minority, or persons with disability census block group

It is the recommendation of WATS that all roadway projects in Lycoming County be screened through this set of questions to determine the suitability for complete streets improvements. WATS staff can provide advice and assistance on the suitability of projects. Roadway projects programmed on the WATS TIP will be screened for Complete Streets improvements as part of the project selection process. Additionally, TIP funded roadway projects will also undergo the PennDOT Connects process to better understand the community context and vision and assess the suitability of complete streets upgrades,

Taking into consideration the information in the preceding chapters, there is a remarkable degree of uncertainty surrounding what lies ahead for Lycoming County over the next 20 years in regards to demographic change. However, the following factors are known in guiding transportation policy, planning, and programming for the future.

Comparing current conditions in Lycoming County to those observed in the last plan update in 2018 reveals a very similar set of conditions, therefore the overall focus areas for future transportation investment will be largely unchanged.

• A - Economic development in Lycoming County is dependent on both freight movement and the mobility of visitors to our arts, culture, and recreation resources. Therefore, projects that maintain or expand the ability to move freight or travel to Lycoming County should be a priority.
• B - Our multimodal transportation system is in excellent condition. There are no glaring deficiencies in highways, bridges, transit. There are no needs for additional capacity. Therefore, maintenance and safety projects take precedence.
• C - We need more multiuse nonmotorized trail and bikeway connections between communities as well as improved access to existing facilities. We need more and improved bicycle and pedestrian facilities in Williamsport and the boroughs to better serve our population that will age in place, to appeal to young people, to assist low income populations, to support economically vibrant downtowns, and to promote the retention and attraction of population. Therefore, complete streets, walkability, and safety projects located in urbanized areas should be a priority.
• D - As rural populations decrease, we need to consider options that decrease the infrastructure maintenance cost burden on rural municipalities while focusing investment on infrastructure where delivery of services is most efficient and cost effective. Therefore, projects that identify and remove costly functionally redundant infrastructure or improve infrastructure in already densely developed areas should be a priority.

As discussed in chapter two, WATS is considering three different scenarios as potential future trajectories for Lycoming County.

WATS will monitor changes in population and adjust which of the four focus areas are emphasized based on which of the three scenarios seems to be unfolding. All four focus areas will be pursued, but the relative emphasis will change based on how conditions change.

Long Range Transportation Plans should include elements related to both plan implementation and monitoring. This ensures that the goals and objectives and issues identified throughout the plan can advance from theoretical concepts to action by the WATS MPO and other appropriate parties as well as include techniques that can be used to monitor progress in this regard or to re-evaluate the plan in light of changing circumstances. Many of the implementation strategies listed below will be incorporated into the  WATS Unified Planning Work Program  as specific work tasks. All of them align with the four focus areas outlined above. When it comes time to program projects, a set of project selection criteria have been developed following the same guidelines.

 Planning and programming process

All WATS planning and programming activities adhere to the following guidelines and processes. All activities of WATS are governed by the  WATS Bylaws , included as Appendix A to this plan and easily accessible on the WATS website.

WATS has a detailed and current public participation plan that also describes how planning and programming activities will maximize the ability of the public to have meaningful engagement in WATS processes and also how WATS will incorporate LEP, Title VI and ADA considerations into the planning process.  The Public Participation Plan for WATS is included as Appendix B to this plan and is easily accessible on the WATS website.

Presidential Executive Order 12898 states that “each Federal agency shall make achieving environmental justice part of its mission by identifying and addressing, as appropriate, disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects of its programs, policies, and activities on minority populations and low-income populations.” Within the transportation field, environmental justice is guided by three core principles:

• To avoid, minimize, or mitigate disproportionately high and adverse human health and environmental effects, including social and economic effects, on minority populations and low-income populations.
• To ensure the full and fair participation by all potentially affected communities in the transportation decision-making process.
• To prevent the denial of, reduction in, or significant delay in the receipt of benefits by minority or low-income populations.

WATS has conducted extensive analysis of the distribution of low income and minority populations in Lycoming County and developed an analytical framework now deployed statewide for identifying areas of population concentration and assessing benefits and burdens.  This methodology is included as Appendix C to this plan and the environmental justice analysis conducted for the most recent WATS TIP is included as Appendix D.

All WATS public meetings are publicly advertised in the  Williamsport Sun Gazette , the paper of record, at least 7 days prior to the meeting and are open to the general public. Agendas for the meetings are posted to the Lycoming County website prior to the meeting. Public information requests for WATS produced documents are handled directly either by Lycoming County Planning Department Staff or the  Lycoming County Right to Know Public Information Officer  in a manner that is in compliance with state law. Minutes of all WATS public meetings are compiled and placed on the Lycoming County website.

 The implementation and monitoring strategies for this plan are summarized below. These implementation and monitoring strategies will form the core of the tasks included in the next update to the  WATS Unified Planning Work Program :

• Monitor trends and performance of the WATS transportation system related to the PM-1, PM-2, and PM-3 performance measures and targets
• Identify ways to implement and support the objectives of the Pennsylvania 2045 statewide LRTP, CFMP, and SHSP
• Maintain updated economic, geographic, and demographic data and trends for Lycoming County
• Identify, develop, and maintain additional transportation related datasets needed for sound decision making
• Support transportation projects that contribute to the improvement of the overall road and bridge system of Lycoming County
• Support evaluation of transit service extensions to growth areas and regionally (beyond Lycoming County) where providing such service is cost effective, meets mobility needs, and promotes economic activity
• Continue to work closely with SEDA-COG MPO to maintain an updated Joint Coordinated Human Services Public Transportation Plan
• Identify and promote ways to increase transit usage, especially targeted to the 65 and older population
• Support restoration and maintenance of competitive commercial air service opportunities at the Williamsport Airport
• Support the development of intermodal freight facilities
• Support projects that further access and interconnections between multiuse nonmotorized trail systems
• Maintain an updated WATS Public Participation Plan to ensure WATS remains in full compliance with federal and state public participation requirements and maximizes opportunities to ensure meaningful public involvement in the WATS transportation planning process
• Seek more inclusion and collaboration with municipal officials, school districts and other stakeholder organizations as part of the PennDOT Connects collaboration process on transportation planning issues and at early stages of project development
• Study (and adjust if necessary) the balance of mobility and access on our downtown road systems, such as advancing transportation improvements needed to support the Old City Revitalization Initiative
• Promote and support data driven transportation asset management especially preventative maintenance, preservation, and “lowest lifecycle cost” approaches by municipal governments
• Identify low volume functionally redundant bridges for removal prior to them becoming structurally deficient
• Identify low volume rural roads for conversion to gravel
• Promote transit-oriented development
• Identify appropriate corridors throughout the county for complete streets improvements
• Identify corridors in need of transportation/land use studies and work with partner organizations to contract for studies
• Support grant applications for projects that support any of the focus areas or implementation and monitoring strategies of this plan
• Support creation of a WATS TIP reserve line item for responding to slide and subsidence impacts to the state road system

 When the  WATS Transportation Improvement Program  is updated every two years, the following project selection criteria will be used to place new projects.  These project selection criteria are based on the analysis and conclusions of this long range plan and will guide projects that are responsive to changing conditions.

Future transportation projects in Lycoming County will be described by one or more of the following statements:

1. ...is a priority project from the Lycoming County Comprehensive Plan and/or Multi-Municipal Comprehensive Plan or addresses a transportation issue identified within those plans
2. ...is an identified project within another local or regional planning document
3. ...addresses one or more of the 10 Federal Planning Factors
4. ...contributes substantially towards meeting a Federal performance-based planning target
5. ...addresses one or more of the Pennsylvania 2045, Pennsylvania Comprehensive Freight Movement Plan, or Pennsylvania Strategic Highway Safety Plan objectives
6. ...maintains or enhances the ability to move freight or travel to Lycoming County
7. ...maintains or enhances the ability for agriculture to thrive
8. ...maintains or enhances access to outdoor recreation
9. ...includes intermodal freight connections
10. ...has been screened using the WATS Complete Streets criteria
11. ...identifies and removes functionally redundant infrastructure
12. ...incorporates a maintenance, preservation, lowest-lifecycle-cost approach to asset management
13. ...helps preserve Lycoming County's air quality attainment status
14. ...benefits environmental justice population areas
15. ...supports designation of US-15 north from Williamsport to the New York state line in Tioga County as Interstate 99
16. ...improves mobility to employment, health care, education and supports overall economic development and productivity
17. ...addresses transportation security issues or provides the ability to better respond to flooding, landslide, or subsidence impacts on transportation system
18. ...improves nonmotorized travel safety addresses ADA accessibility issues and needs
19. ...incorporates TSMO strategies to decrease congestion
20. ...supports good state of repair of transit facilities and modernized fully accessible transit vehicle fleets
21. ...supports increased usage of transit by Lycoming County's senior population
22. ...supports expansion of public transportation availability in designated growth areas and serves major land developments
23. ...fosters public-private partnerships
24. ...reduces or mitigates stormwater impacts of surface transportation
25. ...considers context sensitive solutions to ensure compatibility with community character and right sizing of project to address the project defined purpose and need

This section of the WATS Long Range Transportation Plan provides a listing of proposed transportation capital improvement projects proposed by the WATS MPO for staged implementation over the next 20 years (2023-2043). The projects identified have been carefully scrutinized through the WATS planning process and are consistent with the project selection criteria outlined earlier in this chapter.

 Anticipated available funding sources for WATS MPO projects also presented earlier in this chapter will be applied to ensure that the planned projects are fiscally constrained in that anticipated funding to implement the proposed projects is expected to be reasonably available. For projects eligible to receive IIJA/BIL federal funds along with state matching funds, the WATS MPO will be using guidance issued by PennDOT through its Financial Guidance Work Group. Aviation and rail capital improvement projects are also shown in this plan based upon priorities assigned by the Williamsport Municipal Airport Authority and SEDA-COG Joint Rail Authority, respectively, however these projects do not need to be fiscally constrained as aviation and rail projects are not required by federal law to be included in the WATS MPO approved TIP and PennDOT financial guidance does not address these modal categories when establishing funding targets.

 To facilitate review of project priorities and ensure fiscal constraint, all projects shall be aggregated by transportation mode and staged based on the following timeframes:

Short Term: (Years 1-4) consistent with the WATS MPO approved FFY 2023-2026 Transportation Improvement Program, (TIP). These are the highest priority and currently underway projects.

Medium Term: (Years 5-8 [second four years], and years 9-12 [third four years]) consistent with the PennDOT Twelve Year Program Period. These are projects with phases carried over from the first four years or Twelve Year Plan projects not programmed on the current TIP or Decade of Investment projects not programmed on the current TIP.  Line item reserves are included to fund future asset management and safety projects. These projects will be selected based on PennDOT priorities, performance measures adopted by WATS, and the objectives identified within this plan.

 Long Term: (Years 13-20) consistent with WATS Long Range Transportation Plan horizon. Any specific projects identified in this time period would be anticipated carryover phases from projects begun the medium term. Otherwise, transportation spending in this period will be represented as line item reserves to fund future asset management and safety projects. These projects will be selected based on PennDOT priorities, performance measures adopted by WATS, and the objectives identified within this plan.

 Project phases projected to take place within each timeframe are identified by the following notation:

PE = Preliminary Engineering (including studies)

FD = Final design

UTL = Utilities

ROW = Right of way

CON = Construction

The table below lists all of the projects in the 2023-2026 WATS Transportation Improvement Program (TIP).  Details about each project can be found by entering the MPMS (Multimodal Project Management System) ID number into the  PennDOT One Map  viewer.

 Click here to view the short term highway and bridge project listing 

The chart below provides a breakdown of FFY 2023-2026 WATS TIP funding by project category. Highway related improvements account for approximately 70% of highway and bridge spending. All improvements are related to system preservation and safety

The WATS FFY 2023-2026 Transportation Improvement Program was officially adopted by the WATS MPO at their June 13, 2022 public meeting. The Federal Highway Administration subsequently approved the WATS TIP as satisfying federal fiscal constraint.

 The WATS MPO relies upon PennDOT Financial Guidance to establish fiscal constraint targets for the TIP and Long Range Plan. The following table shows the anticipated funding for the short term time frame.  All projects and line items were constrained to meet these funding levels.

The FFY 2023-2026 WATS TIP contains projects with a total programmed amount of $98,401,000. There are 51 highway related improvement projects and 45 bridge improvement projects included on the WATS TIP. The TIP is deemed fiscally constrained because $98,401,000 from the above referenced PennDOT Financial Guidance approved highway/bridge base allocations established for the WATS MPO is being used toward these projects.

 Click here to view the short term transit project listing 

Fiscal Constraint Summary The WATS FFY 2023-2026 Transportation Improvement Program was officially adopted by the WATS MPO at their June 13, 2022 public meeting. The Federal Transit Administration subsequently approved the WATS TIP as satisfying federal fiscal constraint requirements. The TIP contains $13,308,000 in programmed transit projects for River Valley Transit and STEP. The WATS MPO relies upon PennDOT Financial Guidance to establish fiscal constraint targets for the TIP and Long Range Plan. The following table shows the anticipated funding for the short-term time frame. All projects and line items were constrained to meet these funding levels.

Airport Projects

 Click here to view the short term airport project listing 

The capital projects for the Williamsport Regional Airport for FFY 2023-2026 have been identified and prioritized by the Williamsport Municipal Airport Authority and approved as part of the overall PennDOT Twelve Year Transportation Program aviation section and are also included on the PennDOT Bureau of Aviation, JCIP system. A total of $10,788,000 in airport projects are shown for the first four years of this plan. Revenue levels are anticipated to fully cover estimated project costs shown above primarily from FAA Airport Improvement Program, (AIP) entitlement funding for the Williamsport Regional Airport during this time period along with state and local required matching funds. As stated earlier, airport projects are not federally required to be programmed on the WATS MPO TIP and are therefore not subject to overall TIP fiscal constraint requirements, however these projects are illustrated and supported in the WATS Long Range Plan to ensure a coordinated, multi-modal focus of this plan.

Rail Projects

Fiscal Constraint Summary

The list of projects above has been compiled through listings found in Appendix 9 (Freight Rail Projects) of the Pennsylvania Intercity Passenger & Freight Rail Plan and the SEDA-COG Joint Rail Authority (JRA) strategic plan. A majority of these projects have received line item authorizations in the state capitol budget through the Rail Transportation Assistance Program (RTAP). The capital projects proposed along the Lycoming Valley Railroad have been identified and prioritized by the SEDA-COG Joint Rail Authority with an implementation timeframe over the next twenty years as funding becomes available. There are a total of ten rail improvement projects proposed along JRA owned rail lines that impact, to some degree, the Lycoming Valley Rail Road system. The total estimated cost of these projects is projected to be $33,201,250. Revenue levels are anticipated to fully cover estimated project costs shown above primarily through a combination of FRA grants, state rail grants and required local match supplied by the Joint Rail Authority & its Operator – or from other sources. Rail projects are not federally required to be programmed on the WATS MPO TIP and are therefore not subject to overall TIP fiscal constraint requirements, however these projects are illustrated and supported in the WATS Long Range Plan to ensure a coordinated, multi-modal focus of this plan.

Specific projects listed below in italics are carryover projects from the short term project list.  Any other specific project listed with an MPMS number is a TYP or Decade of Investment project not programmed on the 2023-2026 TIP. In the medium term of this plan additional highway, bridge, and safety projects will be selected based on needs and priority on a two year cycle in coordination with the update of the TIP. Line items in this period have been created to which specific projects will be assigned in future TIP updates. All projects will be selected consistent with the goals and performance measure of this plan.

 Click here to view the medium term highway & bridge project listing 

The WATS medium term projects consist of $28,693,000 in bridge projects and $67,028,000 in highway and safety projects.

 Fiscal Constraint Summary

The WATS MPO relies upon PennDOT Financial Guidance to establish fiscal constraint targets for the TIP and Long Range Plan. The following table shows the anticipated funding for the medium term time frame.  All projects and line items were constrained to meet these funding levels.

Transit Projects

 Click here to view the medium term transit project listing 

For both FFY 2027-2030 and FFY 2031-2034 timeframes, FFY 2022 WATS Transit TIP federal and state funding levels are assumed to remain flat and all projects shown remain within current TIP Transit funding levels. PennDOT Transit Financial Guidance for FFY 2034 and beyond was unavailable at the time this plan was prepared.

 Airport Projects

The capital projects for the Williamsport Regional Airport for FFY 2027-2035 have been identified and prioritized by the Williamsport Municipal Airport Authority and approved as part of the overall PennDOT Twelve Year Transportation Program aviation section and are also included on the PennDOT Bureau of Aviation, JCIP system. A total of $ 510,000 in airport projects are shown for the FFY 2027-35 timeframe of this plan. There are no additional projects beyond this timeframe due to the uncertainty of AIP availability past 2024 stemming from the current passenger enplanement levels.

As stated earlier, airport projects are not federally required to be programmed on the WATS MPO TIP and are therefore not subject to overall TIP fiscal constraint requirements, however these projects are illustrated and supported in the WATS Long Range Plan to ensure a coordinated, multi-modal focus of this plan. The Airport Authority has not yet identified projects beyond FFY 2028.

 Specific projects in the long term are not identified.  It is extremely unwise to develop a prescriptive list of projects for 13-20 years in the future at this time.  Instead, specific projects for the years that are now in the long term will be programmed when firm financial guidance is available and future asset conditions and progress towards system performance goals are known and not just hazy guesses. This plan will have been updated twice by that time. Projects will be selected based on needs and priority on a two year cycle in coordination with the update of the TIP. The categories of projects selected will be based on available funding.

 Fiscal Constraint Summary

The WATS MPO relies upon PennDOT Financial Guidance to establish fiscal constraint targets for the TIP and Long Range Plan.  However, these guidelines only extend to the end of the current Twelve Year Plan timeframe. Financial guidance for the long term period of this plan (Years 13-20) were derived by extending the year 12 guidance forward with the assumption that funding levels will not increase or decrease significantly from those numbers. Since this plan assumes that since

1. the plan and project lists will be updated twice before the year 2036, and
2. the long term time frame of this plan is mostly composed of line item reserves for asset maintenance and safety projects

there will be no negative effect from extending year 12 funding levels forward another 8 years.

The following table shows the anticipated funding for the long term time frame.  All projects and line items were constrained to meet these funding levels.

Transit Projects

 Click here to view the long term transit project listing 

For the FFY 2035-2042 timeframe, FFY 2031 WATS Transit TIP federal and state funding levels are assumed to remain flat and all projects shown remain within current TIP Transit funding levels. PennDOT Transit Financial Guidance for FFY 2034 and beyond was unavailable at the time this plan was prepared.

The following projects are not currently contained within the WATS TIP, TYP or Decade of Investment project lists.  They are included here as possible future candidate projects that could be funded out of line item reserved funding in the medium and long term time periods.

 Local Bridges

Note: “Fair Condition” bridges identified here have received a bridge condition rating of 5 in at least one inspection category such as the deck surface.  It is expected that these bridges will become structurally deficient through normal wear and tear over the next 20 years if no preventative maintenance is completed.

 Click here to see the local bridge candidate listing for illustrative projects 

There are many locations in the county that would benefit from roadway, intersection, and/or safety improvements.  The list provided below is not intended to be exhaustive or prescriptive.  These areas would require extensive study before specific projects could be programmed.  However, these areas have been identified through comprehensive planning, municipal government or other public comment, or by other stakeholders as areas in need of future improvement:

• A line item reserve for future slide, subsidence, or flooding damage to roadways and bridges
• Traffic calming and intersection improvements focused on safe pedestrian crossings in Jersey Shore Borough as outlined in the Jersey Shore Active Transportation Plan
• Fairfield Rd (SR 2045) in Fairfield Township - Fairfield Road is home to several businesses and industrial uses and provides a direct connection to I-180. There is high potential for future development.
• High St (SR 2016) in the City of Williamsport - There is a need for traffic calming and intersection improvements focused on safe pedestrian crossings.
• Projects to improve safety and traffic flow on local roads and lower functional class state roads stemming from impacts of the US-220 Safety Project in Woodward and Piatt Townships
• Little League Blvd in the City of Williamsport - There is a need for traffic calming and intersection improvements focused on safe pedestrian crossings. The intersections with Hepburn St, Pine St and Market St (SR 2023) are all of particular concern.
• Design and construct center turn lane on PA 405 in Wolf and Muncy Creek Townships to address safety concerns associated with increased development along corridor.
• Installation of a roundabout at the intersection of Market St, Hepburn St, Rural Ave, and the entrance to Brandon Park (“Confusion Corner”) in the City of Williamsport
• Improvements to the intersection of Market St and Washington Blvd in the City of Williamsport
• Develop an expanded intermodal strategy with a focus on attracting tourists from major urban centers via various private transport service providers (for example regional point to point bus services). This strategy should also include an emphasis on improving our intermodal service at the Williamsport Airport and the Church Street bus terminal by increasing connectivity between those hubs and desirable destinations for a more seamless tourist experience.

In January/February 2023 the Lycoming County Commissioners solicited public input on intersections that people perceived as being unsafe or needing a project to prevent crashes. The following are the locations reported to WATS and they should all be evaluated for future projects.

 Click here to view illustrative candidate roadway projects 

Federal and State funding allocations for bikeway and pedestrian facilities are conducted on a competitive project selection basis as the FAST Act resulted in the WATS MPO not receiving a separate Transportation Alternatives Program base allocation. Rather, since the WATS MPO is under 200,000 population, PennDOT will select projects in these MPO/RPO areas under the FAST Act Surface Transportation Block Grant Program Set-Aside (formerly Transportation Alternatives Program [TAP]).

The WATS MPO will solicit and categorize such eligible projects and transmit recommendations to PennDOT for final approval. WATS will evaluate projects on the following scale:

1. Highly recommended
2. Recommended
3. Not recommended

The evaluation will be based primarily on whether the project meets the following objectives of this plan:

• Implement the Genesee-Susquehanna Greenway Trail within Lycoming County that is more fully discussed in Chapter 3.
• Connects a community to an existing trail system.
• Improves access to existing trail facilities.
• Improves non-motorized transportation networks within downtown communities.
• Implements recommendations contained in the Lycoming County Greenways, Recreation and Open Space Plan.
• Has been screened for complete streets improvements suitability

The PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Community Conservation Grant Program will also be a state funding source under Growing Greener that can match Federal Transportation Alternative Funding and other funding sources that will be carefully evaluated as part of the overall financing packages for proposed bikeway and pedestrian facility projects within Lycoming. Again, this state funding program is competitive and no specific funding base funding allocations for Lycoming County are currently provided.