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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: |
Tom Fox |
September 27, 2006 |
in Washington and Allegheny countiesFINAL EIS READY FOR SOUTHERN BELTWAY PROJECT FROM U.S. ROUTE 22 TO INTERSTATE 79 |
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The Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the proposed Southern Beltway Project from U.S. Route 22 to Interstate 79 will be available for public review and comment from Friday, Sept. 29 through Thursday, Nov. 9, 2006. Copies of the document, which also includes a Section 404 Permit application required by the federal Clean Water Act, are available for public review at local municipal offices, area libraries and other locations. The three-volume package can be obtained in CD-ROM format, for $5, by sending a written request to Thomas A. Fox, Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, Western Regional Office, 220 North Center Avenue, New Stanton, PA 15672-9602. Checks should be made payable to the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. The FEIS identifies the B-2 Alternative (approximately 13.3 miles long) as the Preferred Alternative for the project, which would extend the Southern Beltway system south and east from the southern terminus of the Findlay Connector through the McDonald area to new tie-ins with Interstate 79 between the existing Bridgeville and Southpointe interchanges. The B-2 Alternative traverses Robinson Township, Cecil Township, and a small piece of Mount Pleasant Township in Washington County, and South Fayette Township in Allegheny County. Alternatives designated as B-1 and B-3 also were studied in detail. In addition to the interchanges at U.S. Route 22 and I-79, interchanges on the B-2 Alternative would be built at a relocated Beech Hollow Road, at a new connector road between PA Route 980 and Fort Cherry Road and at a relocated Cecil-Sturgeon Road that would provide access to PA Route 50 via a relocated Cecil-Reissing Road. The purpose of the project is to enhance transportation mobility and safety and to serve and support existing and planned growth in a corridor south and west of the Pittsburgh regional hub by improving access and the movement of people and goods. This is one of three independent but interconnected Southern Beltway projects that would form a seamless, 32-mile tolled expressway linking Pittsburgh International Airport, Interstate 79 and the Mon/Fayette Expressway (Turnpike Route 43) near Finleyville. Since circulation of the DEIS, the project’s junction with I-79 has been refined from a three-level to a two-level interchange to address concerns about visual impacts to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ National Cemetery of the Alleghenies and local roadway access to the new beltway. Written comments on the FEIS should be sent to David P. Willis, Environmental Manager, Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, P.O. Box 67676, Harrisburg, PA 17106-7676. Written comments concerning the Section 404 permit application should be submitted to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Regulatory Branch, Fred Pozzuto – Project Manager, 1834 Federal Office Building, 1000 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. The technical files for the project are available for review at the Turnpike Commission’s Western Regional Office in New Stanton. Arrangements to review the files can be made by calling Roberta Rudolph at 724-755-5123. Approval of the FEIS and the issuance of a Record of Decision by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration would allow the Turnpike Commission to proceed with final design of the Selected Alternative and the acquisition of required rights-of-way. |
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2200 North Center Avenue • New Stanton, PA 15672-9602 |
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