Smoother roads, electronic message boards and perhaps a train station — that's what Lancaster County could get from the transportation portion of a federal economic stimulus package.

And, by transportation project standards, county travelers would get those upgrades quickly.

The county's Transportation Technical Advisory Committee approved a preliminary list of projects Monday totaling $51 million that could be funded from the $825 billion package being deliberated today in Congress.

Walt Panko, a state Transportation Department planner, told members of the multi-agency committee that Lancaster County should expect to see about $35 million in highway and bridge funding from the stimulus bill. That amount is about double what the county would expect to receive annually, Panko said. Another $17 million is expected for mass transit and railroad projects.

The intention of the federal spending is to get people to work on the infrastructure projects and for wages to spread through the faltering economy.

Both the House and Senate versions of the bill call for projects to begin quickly. The House bill calls for 6 percent of stimulus spending to be allocated within 90 days. The Senate version allows 180 days for allocation, but requires all the money to be allotted within one year, Panko said.

Pennsylvania Transportation Secretary Allen Biehler is placing his own rules on the money being passed from federal officials, through the state to local transportation officials. Biehler is requiring all money to be allocated within six months and all projects to meet all the federal requirements, such as environmental guidelines.

The state will consider funding transportation projects proposed by county and municipal governments, Panko said, but they have to be ready to go.

"If you start right now, that takes nine months (to complete the federal clearances), so you're done. There is no way you are going to make it," he said.

David Royer, Lancaster County's chief transportation planner, said few projects can move that quickly. "It's going to be a pretty short list, frankly," Royer said.

Some of the transportation projects on the preliminary list include:

• Resurfacing Beaver Valley Pike,  including 10 miles of concrete patching, base repair, adding guiderail and resurfacing, $8.76 million.

• Rehabilitating the Route 324 bridge over Pequea Creek, which would replace the bridge superstructure and deck, $1.35 million.

• Grinding of Route 30 and Route 283, grinding the surface of 3.1 miles of the limited-access roadways, $6 million.

• Resurfacing Route 30, which would resurface 9.3 miles of the roadway, $5.88 million.

• Repairing concrete side walls of 11 bridges in several counties including Lancaster, total $3.6 million.

• Resurfacing Rohrerstown Road, Route 741, including resurfacing and repair of two bridges on a 3.5-mile stretch of the road, $2.98 million.

• Resurfacing Route 999, for 2.7 miles, from Route 441 to Manor Road, $1.77 million.

• Adding electronic Intelligent Transportation Systems message boards to Route 30, $3.7 million.

• Fund renovations and a platform for the long-planned Elizabethtown Amtrak station, $8 million.

Funding of the projects is contingent on the amount of the stimulus package that is actually passed by Congress and signed by President Barack Obama.

The stimulus bill, which was expected to go to a Senate vote this afternoon, contains funding for transportation and other infrastructure improvements, such as municipal water and sewer upgrades, tax cuts for Americans earning less than $200,000 per year, money for schools and investments in technology and clean energy.

The Senate version of the bill also includes tax breaks for house and automobile purchases.

PennDOT officials will have a solid list of projects to be funded within a week of the bill's passage, he said.

"Things are not definite. They are very vague, but we want to get ready to move," Panko said.


Staff writer Bernard Harris can be reached at bharris@LNPnews.com or 481-6022.