Kathy Liebler
                        Director of Public Information


C   O   M   M   I   S   S   I   O   N                N   E   W   S             R   E   L   E   A   S   E   

Contact: Joe Agnello, (724) 755-5262, (724) 755-5142 fax

February 22, 1999


MORE PROPERTY ENTRY NOTICES BEING MAILED RELATIVE TO STUDIES FOR SOUTHERN BELTWAY PROJECT BETWEEN U.S. ROUTE 22 AND I-79

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission has started a new series of legal notifications that its representatives may be entering properties along a section of the Washington-Allegheny County border as part of its ongoing evaluation of prospective alignments for the 12-mile Southern Beltway Project between U.S. Route 22 and Interstate 79.

At present, "Notice of Intent to Enter" letters are going out to owners of 22 properties in Robinson Township, Washington County. These will boost to approximately 300 the number of notifications sent since March 1998, when the mailings began.

In the Spring, another 80 to 100 notifications will be mailed when the corridors of prospective alignments are widened from 500 to 1,000 feet for the purpose of identifying wetlands and wildlife habitat.

Efforts are continuing to identify land uses and community and environmental resources within the study area. Work includes locating homes, businesses and community facilities such as churches, parks and cemeteries, as well as streams, wetlands, historic structures and other features that warrant consideration when siting a highway.

Receipt of a "Notice of Intent to Enter" letter does not mean the referenced property will have to be acquired for the expressway right-of-way, or even that it will be necessary in every instance for Turnpike representatives to enter the property.

In most instances where access to a property is required, data collection can be accomplished with a simple walk-through. Information obtained from the field studies will be used in the development and evaluation of prospective alignments and, eventually, the publication of an Environmental Impact Statement.

The study of alternatives involves land in Robinson, Cecil and Mount Pleasant townships in Washington County and North Fayette and South Fayette townships in Allegheny County. 

 

 P.O. Box 67676, Harrisburg, PA 17106-7676         Phone: (717) 939-9551         Fax: (717) 986-9649