State Rep. R. Lee James, R-64th, is encouraging residents to sign a petition in opposition to reducing Route 8 to two lanes in Venango County between Barkeyville and Franklin.

Route 8, which is one of the main north/south routes in Butler County, has two lanes in the northern parts of the county, but increases to four lanes in Barkeyville before the Interstate 80 interchange.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, District 1, is working on a Route 8 Asset Management and Corridor Improvement Study, according to a news release.

Maintenance on a 10.5-mile stretch of the road is becoming more costly and existing concrete pavement and bridges are approaching the end of life, according to PennDOT.

Options for the road include reducing it to two lanes, keeping it at four lanes or reducing it to three lanes in some areas, James said in an interview. Each option would cost between $30 million and $40 million.

An open house about the study was held in Franklin in February and more than 500 people attended, James said. About 30 people gave comments publicly at the meeting and all were opposed to reducing the road to two lanes, he said.

Any cost savings realized by PennDOT would be offset by economic decline, job losses and increased traffic accidents, James said.

People use Route 8 to access Interstate 80 and to get to jobs in Venango County, James said.

“There are some naysayers that believe our economy is not doing well, to them I say that is incorrect. Look at businesses in Franklin, Oil City and Titusville, business managers are making investments and hiring people now and they've been doing it for a year,” he said.

James said PennDOT is expected to finish its study and announce findings by the end of June.

The petition can be signed by visiting repjames.com or calling 814-677-6413.