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
                  e-mail: jagnello@paturnpike.com

PTC SETS PUBLIC MEETINGS FOR ITS SOUTHERN BELTWAY PROJECT BETWEEN THE CANONSBURG AND FINLEYVILLE AREAS

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission will hold open houses at five locations during the second and third weeks of August to update the public on the status of the Southern Beltway Project from Interstate 79 to the Mon/Fayette Expressway in eastern Washington County.

The general public can visit any of the five locations between 4 and 8 pm on the pertinent date to review and comment on findings and recommendations. Information will be presented about alternatives recommended for further study as well as alternatives not recommended for further study.

Large-scale maps will be displayed and PTC staff and consulting engineers will be available to discuss plans and answer questions. The same information will be presented at all five sessions. Locations and dates are:

• Finleyville Middle School on Route 88 in Finleyville on Monday, Aug. 9.
• Nottingham Township Municipal Building at 909 Sugar Run Road on Wednesday, Aug. 11.
• North Strabane Township Municipal Building at 1929 Route 519 on Thursday, Aug. 12.
• Canon-McMillan High School on Elm Street Extension in Canonsburg on Monday, Aug. 16.
• Cecil Volunteer Fire Department (Fire Hall #3) Social Hall on Route 50/Millers Run Road in Cecil Township on Tuesday, Aug. 17.

Prospective alignments for this 13-mile tolled expressway between Interstate 79 and the Mon/Fayette Expressway were first presented to the public in October 1995.

The upcoming meetings are part of the project's advancement from Step 4 (Development and Review of Preliminary Alternatives) to Step 5 (Development and Review of Detailed Alternatives) of Pennsylvania's 10-Step Transportation Project Development Process. Analyses of the impacts of the proposed expressway will be summarized in a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) that is expected to be circulated for public review and comment in about two years.

Final environmental clearance, anticipated in approximately three years, must be obtained before the Commission can perform final design of the preferred alignment and acquire necessary rights-of-way. At present, funding has not been identified to advance the project beyond final environmental clearance.

The Southern Beltway Project from I-79 to the Mon/Fayette Expressway involves the study of land in Canonsburg Borough and Cecil, Peters, North Strabane, Nottingham, and Union townships.

Information about the Southern Beltway and Mon/Fayette Expressway projects is available on the Turnpike Commission's Web site at www.paturnpike.com. From the home page, go to Construction/Expansion. Then go to Expansion Projects.

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