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C O M M I S S I O N N E W S R E L E A S E |
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Contact: |
Christina Hampton |
June 9, 2003 |
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Philadelphia, (PA) – The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission announced today that the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the Pennsylvania Turnpike/Interstate 95 Interchange Project will be available for public review and comment from July 11 to August 15, 2003. To give citizens an opportunity to review details of the project’s findings, copies of the FEIS will be available at various public locations, such as township buildings and libraries (see attached list on page 3). In addition, the Executive Summary from the FEIS can be downloaded from the project website at www.paturnpike.com/i95. All written comments about the FEIS should be signed and sent by August 15, 2003 to: Jeffrey Davis, Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, PA Turnpike/I-95 Interchange Project Office, KCI Technologies Inc., 3220 Tillman Drive, Suite 104, Bensalem, PA 19020. Faxed and e-mailed comments cannot be accepted. "Since the completion of the FEIS marks one of the most important steps for the project, we encourage everyone to review the document to see how previous comments on the DEIS were addressed and to provide written comments on this final document," said Jeffrey Davis, project manager at the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. "The FEIS brings the project one step closer to final design and construction." The FEIS is a comprehensive summary of all the project's studies and fully documents the project's design alternatives and their potential environmental impacts. The FEIS also addresses substantive public and governmental agency comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). In response to the DEIS comments, engineers made minor design changes to further minimize environmental impacts. The project's Preferred Alternative as contained in the FEIS essentially remains the same as the Recommended Preferred Alternative contained in the DEIS: Modified Plaza West, Single Loop A Interchange, and Delaware River Bridge South.
Once the FEIS comment period is completed, the Federal
Highway Administration will review the comments received on the document
and issue a Record of Decision (ROD). The ROD Although the project spans nine miles of the Turnpike and three miles of I-95, direct impacts associated with the Preferred Alternative have been minimized to 12 homes, 12 businesses, and two churches. The FEIS marks the culmination of a multi-year project development process during which engineers investigated numerous project design concepts in order to minimize community and environmental impacts. "This project has both regional and national implications,"
said Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission Chairman Mitchell Rubin. "The
connection will make access to the city much easier and improve the
flow of traffic not only in the Philadelphia region, but along the
entire east coast. The project will provide many jobs for Bucks County,
a well as contribute to economic growth for the entire Delaware Valley." Long-term economic benefits would come from the improved connections to regional markets, enhancing office market attractiveness and travel cost savings for motorists. The economic impact study indicates that these factors are capable of generating approximately 3000 new jobs and $500 million in business sales and personal income in Bucks County by the year 2025. With appropriate land use planning and zoning, the proposed interchange project will provide the necessary stimulus for economic recovery and revitalization in Lower Bucks County. Now that the environmental study phase is nearing completion, the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) has programmed $146 million in federal funds for the next phase of the interchange project. DVRPC is the federally designated Metropolitan Planning Organization for the Philadelphia-Camden-Trenton region. After the Federal Highway Administration issues a positive Record of Decision, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission may request the programmed funds to start final design, right-of-way acquisition, and construction.
The project's Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS)
will be available for public review from July 11 – August 15,
2003. The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission has distributed the FEIS
to the following public locations, which may be visited during their
regular business hours: New Jersey locations Philadelphia locations Other locations
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P.O. Box 67676, Harrisburg, PA 17106-7676 Phone: (717) 939-9551 Fax: (717) 986-9649 |
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