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March 23, 2001

SIX PUBLIC MEETINGS SCHEDULED FOR MON/FAYETTE EXPRESSWAY PROJECT FROM PA. ROUTE 51 IN JEFFERSON HILLS TO INTERSTATE 376 AT PITTSBURGH AND MONROEVILLE

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission will host six open houses over a three-week period beginning March 31 to present for public review and comment information about the proposed Pittsburgh leg of the Mon/Fayette Expressway system.

Mapping and other displays will focus on alternatives under consideration for the entire 24-mile project in Allegheny County that would extend the expressway system north from Pa. Route 51 in Jefferson Hills to Interstate 376 at Pittsburgh and Monroeville.

The open house public meetings will be held from:

• 10 am to 5 pm Saturday, March 31 at Gladstone Middle School, 327 Hazelwood Avenue, in the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Hazelwood.

• 1 to 8 pm Monday, April 2 at Pittsburgh Expo Mart, 105 Mall Boulevard, Monroeville.

• 1 to 8 pm Tuesday, April 10 at Braddock Volunteer Fire Department #2 Social Hall, 845 Talbot Avenue, Braddock.

• 1 to 8 pm Thursday, April 12 at Steel Valley High School, 3113 Main Street, Munhall.

• 1 to 8 pm Tuesday, April 17 at Electrical Workers Local Union #5, 5 Hot Metal Street (South Side), Pittsburgh.

• 10 am to 5 pm Saturday, April 21 at West Mifflin High School, 91 Commonwealth Avenue, West Mifflin.

The same information will be presented at each open house. Interested persons are invited to attend anytime between the times listed to view displays and ask questions.

A video presentation will show prospective alignments on aerial photos and how the expressway might look from various vantage points. Other displays will show estimated impacts on residential properties, businesses and traffic patterns as well as on environmental and cultural resources.

Right-of-way specialists will be on hand to answer questions about property impacts, potential displacements and the Turnpike Commission’s property acquisition process.

Comments on the alternatives are being sought from the general public, public officials, and pertinent state and federal agencies. Input received will aid the Turnpike Commission in its evaluation of the alternatives and will be considered in future development of the project.

The Turnpike Commission expects to make available to the public in the fall a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) documenting the environmental and engineering analyses of the alternatives and identifying a recommended preferred alternative. A public hearing will be held during the 45-day circulation period for the DEIS.

Environmental clearance, including formal approval of the alignment, would come from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) in the form of a Record of Decision (ROD). Target date for the ROD is Fall 2002.

Funding is committed to advance the Route 51 to I-376 at Pittsburgh and Monroeville Project through environmental clearance, final design and right-of-way acquisition.

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