About SAP&DC
The Southern Alleghenies Planning & Development Commission (SAP&DC) is a non-profit Regional economic and community development organization serving Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Fulton, Huntingdon, and Somerset Counties. SAP&DC is governed by a Board of Directors comprising County Commissioners from each member county and representatives from the private sector. SAP&DC’s mission is to address human resource development, encourage the creation and retention of jobs, and to improve the quality of life for the residents of the Alleghenies.
About Our Region
The Region is composed of six counties in South-Central Pennsylvania, and within the Mid-Atlantic area of the United States. The counties comprising the Region include Fulton, Huntingdon, Blair, Bedford, Somerset, and Cambria. The majority of the Region is rural and forested. The total land area is 3,400 square miles. The one geographic factor linking all counties in the Region is the Allegheny Mountain Range of the Appalachian Mountains, with some ridges in each of the six counties.
The history of the Region is linked to coal, steel, railroads, and agriculture. The Region had numerous mines and huge steel mills during peak periods in those industries. The coal and steel industry in the Region declined sharply in the 1980s, with only limited activity in these industries remaining.
The economy of the Southern Alleghenies Region is now more diverse than it was a decade ago, with no reliance on any one sector. Nearly two-thirds of the jobs in the Region are concentrated in five sectors: health care and social assistance, retail trade, manufacturing, accommodations, and food service and other professional services.
The Southern Alleghenies Region has a robust transportation network including (North/South) US Routes I-99 and 219, which connect the Region to Interstate 80 and (East/West) the PA Turnpike, and US Route 22. Interstate 70 connects the Washington/Baltimore and southern markets to the Region in Breezewood. The Region also has a fully developed rail system with both short-line spurs and mainline connections.
In general, the Southern Alleghenies Region is a relatively rural Region, close to the large Pittsburgh area on the west and not far from the State Capital in Harrisburg on the east. The outer areas of the Washington metro area are only a one-hour drive from parts of the southern end of the Southern Alleghenies Region.