Boynton bridge damage illustrates need for completed U.S. Route 219, lawmakers say
BOYNTON, Pa. – When raging floodwaters destroyed the Boynton Bridge late Tuesday, nature brought the critical U.S. Route 219 freight corridor to a halt, state lawmakers said Friday.
The last six rural miles of two-lane Route 219 between Somerset and Maryland contain a series of vulnerable old bridges. And the Boynton Bridge's closure showed how damage to just one of the spans can disrupt the entire road network, redirecting the economic impact, said state Rep. Carl Metzgar, R-Somerset.
State Sen. Patrick Stefano, R-Fayette, also stressed the importance of Route 219 – and of keeping commerce flowing through the region.
Metzgar likened rural bridges like Boynton's to "bottlenecks" between two modern limited-access highways, Route 219 and Interstate 68.
"This just highlights why we need (a four-lane) Route 219 completed," Metzgar said of a project that is proceeding toward the final design phase. "It's a perfect example of why we need that road done."
PennDOT officials announced an action plan Friday to limit disruptions and detours through the corridor. Part of the $7 million plan will install a temporary truss bridge in Boynton while efforts get underway to build a new span by late 2026.
Regarding the larger Route 219 completion project, state highway officials said in April that they still hope to receive their federal environmental impact clearance this summer to move the project forward.
PennDOT, in lockstep with Somerset County officials, has a preferred six-mile route they hope to get clearance on, which will enable final design and right-of-way acquisition to get underway for the final segment of four-lane U.S. Route 219 to Maryland.
$220 million is already secured for all of that that work, PennDOT officials reaffirmed in April – but the Somerset County commissioners are lobbying Washington, D.C., lawmakers for the final estimated $180 million that would enable construction, which is slated to begin in 2028, to wrap up the road expansion by 2031.
"We're on track right now for 2031," Stefano said, adding that the project continues moving forward. The Boynton Bridge, he added, is just one more reason "why we have to make sure it stays on track."
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