CLEARFIELD – The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation held a ribbon-cutting Monday to celebrate the completion of the Front Street Betterment Project in Clearfield.
The event was held at Shaw Park on the corner of South Front and East Market streets downtown next to the Clearfield Borough Administrative Office building.
The project consisted of waterline replacements, reconstruction of Front Street, drainage improvements, a new sidewalk and traffic signal upgrades.
It was also among the first projects done in District 2 through PennDOT’s community collaborative planning program, PennDOT Connects.
Through this program, Clearfield Borough and its leadership were able to offer input throughout the project’s planning, design and construction processes.
“We’re thrilled to join Clearfield Borough today (Monday) to celebrate the completion of this special project,” said PennDOT District 2 Executive Tom Zurat.
“Through the PennDOT Connects program, we’ve been able to address borough concerns, and keep the wants and needs of local residents in mind.”
“We were really able to incorporate the community into project decisions that impacted them,” Zurat added. “Our completion of Front Street is something to be proud of.”
The borough’s Front Street and Woodland Road projects not only provided brand-new roads, curbing and sidewalks, but also replaced about a million dollars in waterlines at each location.
“Both weren’t simply paving roads,” said Clearfield Borough Councilman and Mayor-elect Mason Strouse. “These were major infrastructure upgrades in our community.”
Strouse said in the past, roadwork has led to waterline breakage, “and then we have to tear up the road again. This is due, in large part, by these waterlines being decades old.
“I’ve been told that some of the waterlines here on Front Street were nearing 100 years old. This was definitely a much-needed project.”
Aside from the waterline replacement and brand-new roadways, other Front Street work included better-defined and more durable crosswalks, stop lines and lane markers.
The sidewalk was also extended at the top end of Witmer Park to create better access. There are better transitions from driveways and walkways that come out onto Front Street, as well.
“These make our Front Street and Witmer Park areas more walkable, easily accessible and a better use for our Clearfield Borough community,” Strouse said.
For him, the “most-stunning” part of the betterment project was the intersection of Front and Market streets. “The black poles tie in with the rest of our downtown lighting project.
“The lighting at night makes this intersection a lot safer and easier to navigate. And the sidewalks, crosswalks and curbing have all been updated to better serve our community.”
Strouse concluded by saying that both the Front Street ad Woodland Road projects will serve the residents well for many years to come.