The Marshalls Creek Bypass Project continues to create controversy.  Last week, the Northeast Pennsylvania Alliance Board – known as NEPA – voted 13-7 during a special meeting to reject a four-year state transportation funding plan.  The biggest reason it rejected that plan was because it lacked funding for the Marshalls Creek Bypass.  According to press accounts, it is the first time in memory that officials recall the NEPA Board – or any other regional board that reviews transportation funding priorities in Pennsylvania – voting against adoption of a four-year funding plan.  As the Pocono Record reported, “This has not happened before," said NEPA Alliance CEO Jeffrey Box. "It’s reflective of the concern the NEPA Board has for numerous transportation projects in all our counties."  The Pocono Record article can be found at www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article

PennDOT has been planning the Marshalls Creek Bypass Project for many years.  It is aimed to alleviate gridlock at the bottleneck of Routes 209 and 402 in Smithfield and Middle Smithfield townships, Monroe County Pennsylvania. It has been broken up into phases and has been put on hold while PennDOT redesigns part of the project.   Stay tuned.