FRANKLIN, Pa. (EYT) — For those who trust what District 1 officials from the state Department of Transportation said Thursday night in Franklin, the possibility of reducing a section of Route 8 between Franklin and Barkeyville to two lanes is all but dead.

Bill Petit, the Executive Director of the district which serves Venango, Crawford, Erie, Forest, Mercer, and Warren counties, held his thumb and index finger apart just a pinch when describing how close PennDOT officials are to keeping the 10.5-mile section of Route 8 a four-lane highway.

“We do get it,” Petit said. “We realize Route 8 is vital to the county’s future economic development.”

Petit’s statement brought a few hand claps from the 500 or so seated in the auditorium in Franklin Area High School.

“We’ve heard from a lot of you, and that’s what we wanted, the public dialect,” Petit said. “Obviously, there has been a lot of concern, but this study was never about reducing Route 8 to two lanes. It’s the most interest in any project I’ve seen in 35 years.”

“We know local industries heavily use I-80, and Route 8 is vital to high-speed access to it as a critical marketing tool.”

“Our projects are meant to benefit economic developments. The study is about being smart in how we do this.”

Petit explained the project, which would result in a new concrete road surface, bridge repair, drainage, signage, and traffic control devices, would cost about $42 million.

Four concepts involving Route 8’s future were introduced at Thursday’s meeting.

The first included keeping everything the same with a cost of about $42 million.

The second concept would reduce the road section to two lanes, add truck climbing lanes and reduce maintenance costs with a cost of between $31 and $39 million.

The third concept would make the road two lanes, but add bike and pedestrian trails with a possible connection to the Sandycreek Trail. The cost would be between $33 and $42 million, but for trails to be built, local funds would have to be raised.

The fourth concept would create an economic development area between Twin Oaks and Georgetown Road with a cost approaching $42 million.

When District 1 announced nearly a year ago it would begin a study of the section of road that begins just outside of Franklin and ends about 2 1/2 miles north of Barkeyville, some of the proposals included making the road two lanes. But, public and elected officials, business owners and citizens have made their feelings known that making that section of road two lanes is a bad idea.

There were actually two meetings held Thursday with the first for officials, such as borough mayors, Emergency Management Directors, county commissioners.

State Senator Scott Hutchinson, who represents the 21st District which includes Clarion, Forest, Venango, and parts of Butler and Warren counties, and state Representative Lee James, who represents the 64th district which includes Venango County and part of Butler, were also in attendance.

James, who has represented the area for more than 40 years as a politician and a businessman, said he was “pleased to see the costs were pretty much the same, no matter how many lanes.”

“Everyone is on edge now because of this,” James said.

“I truly believe the two-lane proposal will be weeded out as we move forward,” Petit said.

Brian Spaid, an area attorney and the solicitor for the City of Franklin and Sugarcreek Borough, spoke of his feelings about Route 8.

“This is a regional matter, Titusville, Tionesta, Warren are all other communities that would be affected by this,” Spaid said. “We enjoy where we live, but everyone is worried about jobs.”

“If you take it to a two-lane highway, it will ruin what we have and can have. It’s one hour to Pittsburgh and other places because of the road.”

Development is of particular concern because of the lack of good jobs and the rapidly declining population.

PennDOT, after learning of the feelings of some in the region, said there is economic potential for industrial growth through Marcellus Shale gas and the Shell Cracker Plant, being built in Beaver County.

The Venango County Airport has plans for cargo, and a business park and tourism is also growing in the area.

Oil City Controller Michael Haney said he feels the top cost of $42 million is worth it.

“I say, shoot the goose, go ahead and do it.”

Petit said the $42 million it would take to keep the section of Route 8 two lanes has already been funded.

“We just want to make sure we get it right when we do the job,” Petit said.

The possibility of installing fiber optic lines or natural gas lines along the route were also discussed.

“Those would have to be paid for privately, but those are things we hear a lot about when people are talking about the project,” Petit said.

Some that spoke were concerned about safety issues.

Clintonville Mayor Becky Hedglin said her fire department was concerned how access would be affected if the road was changed to two lanes.

Others concerned with safety thought that making the road two lanes would increase the risk of more accidents and more serious ones.

According to PennDOT figures, the four-lane section of the road only had 100 reportable accidents from 2011 to 2016.

Max Heckman, an Associate Vice President at Michael Baker International, is director of the transportation planning and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) services department in the Pittsburgh area office, and he is involved in the project.

“Those numbers are 50 percent higher than a typical road elsewhere, but the crash clusters mostly occur in Radar Valley where driver error, animal collisions, and the curves coming into and out of the valley, as well as weather, are primarily to blame,” explained Heckman.

Many were also concerned if the road section becomes two lanes, what it could mean to traffic congestion when an Interstate 80 accident causes overflow traffic.

Those attending the meetings were asked to fill out a comment form and turn it in Thursday or mail it to Heckman.

PennDOT District 1 Press Officer Jim Carroll said the survey would also be posted on their website at penndot.gov sometime on Friday.

Petit said the next step would be to schedule another public meeting, possibly in April.