Draft Environmental Impact Statement Comment Period Closed
The Project Team is currently working on addressing the comments received and will answer the questions in a comment/response document, which will be part of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS). If comments provided require the team to make a change to the DEIS, that change will be reflected in the FEIS. A combined FEIS/Record of Decision (ROD) will be available Summer 2025. The ROD signifies the approval of the Selected Alternative in the FEIS. The combined FEIS/ROD will address all public comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement, identify the Selected Alternative, and provide information on mitigation for all impacts. The FEIS/ROD will be published in the Federal Register and notification about the publication will be sent around to all project area residents, the project website will be updated and an email will be sent to those on the project email list. A 30-day comment period will follow the issuance of the FEIS/ROD in the Federal Register. In lieu of a public meeting, a newsletter will be sent out and posted on this website announcing the Selected Alternative and Mitigation Commitments this summer.
Once the 30-days have elapsed, the team can complete the preliminary engineering phase of the project, begin the right-of-way approval process and secure necessary permits.
Project Overview
PennDOT originally studied U.S. 219 improvements south of Somerset, Pennsylvania, during the 1990s. These studies identified a 5-mile section of U.S. 219 through Meyersdale, Pennsylvania, as the area's most immediate transportation problem. The Meyersdale Bypass project was constructed in 1998 as a four-lane, limited-access highway located to the west of existing U.S. 219 in Meyersdale Borough and Summit Township, Somerset County, Pennsylvania. The next project completed was an 11-mile, four-lane limited-access facility in 2018 from Somerset to Meyersdale. Then, in 2021, Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration (MDOT SHA) completed the construction of an approximately 1.4-mile section from Interstate 68 (I-68) in Maryland to Old Salisbury Road, just south of the state line.
This current project addresses the remaining 7.5-mile portion of U.S. 219 from Meyersdale to Old Salisbury Road. PennDOT and MDOT SHA will build upon the 2016 Planning and Environmental Linkages (PEL) document that examined several alternatives within the established study area. All PEL alignments extended from the Meyersdale Bypass to I-68.
View a PDF of the U.S. 219 alignments previously under consideration map.
With the construction of the 1.4-mile section in the south, this project's southern terminus has been revised and is now the northern end of the newly constructed portion of U.S. 219, rather than I-68. Additionally, the PEL recommended that Alternatives E and E-shift be advanced and studied as part of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process.
View a PDF of the project study area map.
When the team reinitiated studies in 2021, it was determined that in order to adequately consider a full range of alternatives in the EIS given the change in terminus, it would be necessary to evaluate more than just Alignments E and E-shift. It made logical sense to first look at Alignments AE and D as they were the two alignments that made it to Step 3 of the PEL Evaluation. Since both of these alignments ended at I-68 west of the current interchange and bisected the Casselman Farm Development, both alignments needed to be modified to tie into the current southern terminus. Alignment AE was eliminated from further consideration to be studied in the EIS because it essentially became the same alignment as Alignment E and E-shift once modified to tie into the new southern logical termini. Alignment D, however, due to its more northernly east-to-west crossing of the study area provided multiple opportunities to combine with the southern portion of previously dismissed PEL alignments to tie into the new southern terminus. The first of these combinations was with Agency Alternative which the team is now referring to as Alternative D/Agency (Alternative DA). This alignment uses the original D alignment to a point just west of where it crosses existing U.S. 219 and then it essentially follows the Agency alignment back to the new southern terminus. The second combination was with the original USFWS and USACOE2 alignments, which is being referred to as Alternative D/USFWS/USACOE (Alternative DU). This alternative again uses the northern portion of the D alignment but veers southeast of U.S. 219 in the same proximity as the original USFWS and USACOE2 alignments on its way to the new southern terminus. Finally, since a shift for Alignment E was evaluated in the vicinity of Old Salisbury Road near the southern terminus, it is appropriate to study the same shift for Alternatives DA and DU.
As mentioned above, the team has updated all secondary source data and conducted field views within the project area and determined that no significant changes have occurred in the study area that would invalidate the findings from the 2016 PEL. Due to these advancements in the study, the project study area was revised from what was used in the PEL Study to what is shown on the graphic below, which reflects the new logical southern terminus. None of the project area's natural, cultural and socio-economic environmental features have significantly changed since 2016 and would not significantly result in different impact quantities for the previously studied alternatives. Therefore, the team intends to carry Alternative DA, DA-Shift, DU, DU-Shift, E, E-Shift into the NEPA process. Additional studies will be completed on these alternatives to ultimately identify one preferred alternative. At this time, a preferred alternative has not been identified. The current alignments are shown on the map below.
Draft Environmental Impact Statement: October 2024
U.S. 6219, Section 050
Transportation Improvement Project
Meyersdale, PA to Old Salisbury Road, MD
Appendix B - Purpose and Need
Appendix C - Project Needs Analysis
Appendix E - Existing Corridor Safety Study
Appendix F - Corridor N Completion Analysis & Impact Study
Appendix G - Economic Analysis of Completing the ADHS
Appendix H - Socioeconomic Existing Conditions Report
Appendix I - Miller Farm Section 4f
Appendix J - Aboveground Historic PA Eligibility Report
Appendix K - Aboveground Historic MD Eligibility Report
Appendix L - Aboveground Historic PA MD DOE Report
Appendix M - Section 106 Programmatic Agreement
Appendix N - Archaeology Assessment
Appendix O - Air Quality Memo
Appendix P - Preliminary Engineering Noise Report
Appendix Q - Environmental Features Mapping
Appendix R - Agricultural Resources Existing Conditions
Appendix S - CPA-106 Farmland Conversion Impact Rating
Appendix U - Geotechnical Alternatives Analysis
Appendix V - Aquatic Resources Report
Appendix W - Terrestrial Habitat Assessment Report
Appendix X - RT&E Species Memo Report
Appendix Y - Biological Assessment: Part A, Part B, Part C
Appendix Z - SHA Park and Ride Lot Plans
Appendix AA - ICE Technical Report
Appendix AB - Public Interest Factors
Appendix AC - Environmental Assessment Form
Appendix AD - Public Meeting Summaries
Appendix AE - Summer 2024 Newsletter
Appendix AF - Distribution List
Contact Us
Michael E. Stone, PE, PennDOT Project Manager
814-696-7157
micstone@pa.gov