For decades, the 2 miles of Route 30 between the Breezewood interchange of the Pennsylvania Turnpike and Interstate 70 thrived because of the heavy traffic between the two highways.
Since there was no direct connection between the two interstate highways, traffic had to pass by so many truck stops, restaurants, gift shops and hotels located there that it was dubbed a tourist trap.
But with traffic patterns changing in recent years, especially since the pandemic, the turnpike announced Tuesday it is seeking proposals from contractors to build a direct connection. And it is doing so with the blessing of much of the community.
Instead of forcing motorists to pass through, local leaders are envisioning a growing outdoor recreation sector that will become a destination for visitors. A revised turnpike interchange will remain, but motorists traveling from the toll road to Interstate 70 headed for Washington, D.C., and points south can bypass the Breezewood congestion with a direct connection to I-70.
Turnpike officials met privately with elected, business and recreation leaders a few weeks ago to outline their plan and issued a news release Tuesday announcing the project, which likely will take eight to 10 years to complete.
“We’re very excited about what the turnpike is doing,” said Jennifer Marsh, vice president of the Bedford County Development Association. “Outdoor recreation is a major focus for our county. This would definitely be a positive for our county.
“A destination is the best way to say what we hope Breezewood would become.”
Turnpike CEO Mark Compton said the agency decided to look at the direct I-70 connection when it reviewed the interchange as part of its long-term goal to rebuild the highway from west to east and widen it to three lanes in each direction. Making the direct connection became an easy call, Compton said, when designers estimated it would cost about the same amount, $170 million at today’s prices, to make a new direct connection or revitalize the existing alignment.
That’s true because the agency also is redesigning the interchange because it no longer needs a toll plaza with the move to open-road tolling next year. Under that system, vehicles drive under a gantry on the highway that records their E-ZPass device for payment or takes a license plate photo and mails a bill to the owner.
“It’s old. It’s past its useful life,” Compton said of the current road system. “As an Altoona boy, [the direct connection] is a project I’m excited about.
“Local leaders are saying things like, ‘We have to do something about this area.’ We think this will provide new opportunities.”
The turnpike will work closely with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and other state agencies to develop the project because PennDOT is responsible for I-70 and Route 30. The state also may have better access than the turnpike to funding from the Federal Highway Administration or the Appalachian Regional Commission to help pay for the project, but Compton said that isn’t mandatory for the project to move ahead.
“We wouldn’t move to design if we didn’t have the construction money available,” Compton said.
The agency doesn’t have a preferred path now, but Compton said the agency likely already owns all the land it will need for the project. It will review proposals from consultants and choose a proposed alignment and designer early next year.
“We’re looking for a lot of great ideas [from potential contractors],” he said.
When I-70 was built in the 1960s, it was illegal for it to connect directly to a toll road. That has changed since then, but the turnpike wasn’t ready to redesign the site until now because the community would have balked.
Now, the direct connection would be a positive for the Breezewood area, officials said, because it would mean those drivers who pass through the area would do so because they want to.
“The turnpike project would push a revitalization for that area,” Bedford County Commissioner J.R. Winck said. “You don’t see the level of traffic that you used to. We really need to reimagine how Breezewood should look.
“There’s some excitement from Bedford and [neighboring] Fulton County about this. It was quite interesting because it was a long time coming. I think a lot of people are excited about the potential here.”
To Jim Wehling, co-chair of the Bedford/Fulton Joint Recreation, said that potential should center on outdoor recreation and the businesses that can sprout up around it.
Right now, the agency oversees 8.5 miles of the slightly developed TOPPS Trail that straddles the Bedford-Fulton border. That stretches from Breezewood into Fulton and includes two sections of abandoned turnpike tunnels from the 1960s and the path of a proposed railroad that never operated.
“We’re trying to be at the beginning of the [turnpike] project because there are ways we can take advantage of it,” Wehling said. “People are using the trail now, but there’s a lot of work to be done to make it more usable. The first steps are just starting now.”
Wehling said the turnpike has been a strong supporter of the trail effort, including installing a trail head at the Sidling Hill Service Plaza this summer. That trail head will provide access to 600 miles of trails within a 25-mile radius, including trails in Buchanan State Forest, Bicycle PA Route S and Raystown Lake.
For Marsh, that means development opportunities such as trail outfitters, hotels, restaurants and other shops should follow.
“Those are all things that outdoor enthusiasts want and expect,” she said. “We need to cater to our new visitors.”
Ed covers transportation at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at eblazina@unionprogress.com.