 |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
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 |
November 15, 2002 |
|
It
was one of three projects recognized with an Honor Award during
ceremonies held recently at the Carnegie Library Lecture Hall. CelliFlynnBrennan,
Inc. of Pittsburgh, headed by Thomas C. Celli, AIA, performed the
architectural design of the plaza as a subcontractor to general project
designer Wilbur Smith Associates. Gregory Walker served as project manager
for CelliFlynnBrennan, Inc. A
& L, Inc. of Belle Vernon was the general contractor for construction.
Ken Slippey, Mike Houser and Chris David served as the Turnpike’s
liaison engineers. The
$7.6 million facility, just south of the current northern terminus of the
Mon/Fayette system at Pa. Route 51 in Jefferson Hills Borough, was
designed to fit the Turnpike’s desire for a “new image” mainline
structure that would be “physically pleasing to customers as well as
safe and cost effective.” It
provides 10 fare collection lanes – three lanes served by automated
machines on either side of an open middle where two travel lanes in each
direction eventually will offer electronic fare collection at highway
speed. The
most striking feature of the facility is an overhead pedestrian bridge,
instead of the usual service tunnel, allowing staff to cross from one side
of the plaza to the other. The pedestrian bridge gives the plaza an
increased visual presence and acts as an artistic portal to the Pittsburgh
area for northbound motorists on Turnpike 43. Steel
is the main element in the bridge and the curved roof, symbolizing
Pittsburgh’s history as a steel capital. The toll facility also features
gull-winged canopies curved in two directions, an arched truss, fully
functional diagonal tie rods, a central V-shaped pier supporting the
“lookout,” and a unique serpentine retaining wall that protects a
40-foot embankment. A poster with a photograph of the facility at dusk was one of the souvenir items distributed by the Turnpike Commission at special events preceding the April 12, 2002, opening of the expressway from Coyle Curtin Road near Monongahela to Jefferson Hills. |
||
### |
||
P.O. Box 67676, Harrisburg, PA 17106-7676 Phone: (717) 939-9551 Fax: (717) 986-9649 |
||