Rekindling An Idea

Connector to I-86 not dead yet

By CHUCK HAYES chayes@timesobserver.com
Right now, the proposal to link Warren County directly to Interstate 86 in Chautauqua County, N.Y., appears to be going nowhere.

But Warren County officials will be attending a meeting within the next few weeks during which the stalled proposal will be discussed.

In February 2003, local, state and federal lawmakers from both sides of the border met in Falconer, N.Y., and agreed it was in the best interest of both counties to pursue the interstate link.

“I haven’t heard anything from them (in New York) lately,” Warren County Planning Director Dan Glotz said on Wednesday.

Jim Decker, CEO of the Warren County Chamber of Business and Industry, said he is in the process of arranging a meeting with the Southern Tier Manufacturers Association in Chautauqua County and “that’s one of the items we’re going to be talking about.”

Decker expects the meeting will be held within the next few weeks.

“I’m not aware of any initiative in New York State,” said Decker. “That’s been the stumbling block.”

Support for pursuing the link was strong at the 2003 meeting and Decker said, “We’re trying to reclaim that enthusiasm.”

The proposal, said Decker, apparently has “no traction” with New York State lawmakers in Albany or that state’s Department of Transportation.

While some design and engineering funds for Pennsylvania’s end of the project have been made available, Glotz said there has been no funding provided in New York.

In addition to efforts to upgrade the Warren County to I-86 link along Rt. 62, Glotz said the Transportation Improvement Plan for Warren County includes a number of safety improvements along the other two routes to I-86, via the Scandia-Onoville Rd. and Rt. 27 and 69.

Glotz last year made presentations to the Pennsylvania Transportation Commission to secure funding for upgrading both Rt. 27 and Rt. 69, both of which have seen significant increases in traffic counts as shortcuts to I-86.

As originally envisioned, the Rt. 62 link would provide a “straight shot” from Warren County to I-86, trimming ten minutes or more from what is now a 23.9-mile trip from downtown Warren to the Southern Tier Expressway.

In Chautauqua County, the primary beneficiary would be the Village of Falconer, which is often clogged with truck traffic headed from Warren County to the interchange.

Estimates, now five years old, were that the project would carry a $50 million pricetag, with about $21.6 million to be spent on reconstruction and widening of about 12 miles of Rt. 62 leading from North Warren to the state line.

Decker said the upcoming meeting with the Southern Tier Manufacturers Association will not be limited to the I-86 link.

“We’ll be discussing areas of potential collaboration between Chautauqua County and Warren County,” Decker said.