The Pennsylvania Turnpike may not build a proposed interchange along Route 130 in Penn Township, Westmoreland County, until 2035, but that didn’t stop more than 200 residents from coming out for their first formal look at plans.
So many people attended the open house at Penn-Trafford High School that the agency ran out of brochures showing where the $60 million to $90 million interchange would be integrated into the township. Display boards throughout the cafeteria showed the exact location of the two pairs of entrance and exit ramps at the interchange, the first in Western Pennsylvania with free-flowing traffic because there is no toll plaza.
The plans describe the turnpike moving a half dozen local access roads such as Pleasant Valley and Sandy Hill roads and Four Seasons Lane to make room for the entrance and exit ramps. In all, the turnpike expects to buy seven to 10 houses and take parts of about two dozen other properties, but no commercial property will be needed, said John Romano, a right-of-way administrator for the turnpike.
The homeowners could have the turnpike buy the homes now or wait until just before construction begins in 2035, Romano said.
“We know we are going to be impacting people’s lives, so we’ll take their property whenever they are ready,” he said.
If it acquires the houses early, Romano said, the turnpike will inspect them and decide whether to rent them temporarily or raze them.
The new interchange will be near the turnpike’s eastbound maintenance garage, which will be relocated to the westbound side on land the agency bought near Four Seasons Lane.
Kevin Scheurich, the turnpike’s assistant chief engineer for design, said the turnpike chose this alignment after considering a half dozen possibilities. For the first time, he said, the turnpike and designers worked closely with a stakeholder advisory group of local officials, businesses and residents to reach a consensus on the location of ramps.
“We’ve done a really good job of looking at this in a thoughtful way to reduce the impact on residents as much as possible,” Scheurich said.
The design for the interchange is about 30% complete. Scheurich said, and there could be minor changes as the design is finished over the next few years. The turnpike has identified eight neighborhoods that could have problems with noise from the highway, and the agency will do a detailed study to determine whether mitigation is “warranted, reasonable and feasible.”
The community has lobbied the turnpike for more than 20 years to have its own interchange, which will be the third in 12 miles between Irwin and Monroeville. Officials believe it will open property for commercial and industrial development to complement the strong residential growth the past 35 years.
Mike Emich, who lives near the interchange, said the project will make crowded local roads even more congested. He said he thinks it will be easier to use side roads from his home off Pleasant Valley Road to get on the turnpike in Irwin instead of at the new interchange.
“They have all of these pipe dreams about businesses coming in, but I don’t think it will happen,” he said.
Paul Burke, who lives a bit farther away on Pleasant Valley in Murrysville, said traffic also is his “primary concern.”
“They have been pushing for this for a long time,” he said. “I was expecting it to be a partial interchange only going west [toward Monroeville], but they went for the full interchange.”
Jason Lewis said he has known for about 18 months that the turnpike was planning to relocate a major road near him, but he didn’t know until Tuesday night the turnpike had brought property right to the end of his private road. He wasn’t pleased, calling it “a nightmare.”
“They are taking everything up to our private road and making it into a highway,” he said. “Right now, you can stand on our front porch and not even hear the turnpike.”
Lewis has lived there for 3½ years and his wife’s family has lived there for 10 years. Now, he said, the family may have to choose between staying despite the conditions or selling the property to the turnpike.
“I don’t know what we’ll do,” he said.
The project had been scheduled for construction in 2026, but last spring the turnpike got a consultant’s report that projected flat traffic for the next 20 years. That means little growth in toll revenue, so the agency revised its capital spending plan to concentrate on safety and needed maintenance projects, pushing discretionary projects like the new interchange back until funds are available.
The new schedule has the project beginning construction in 2035 and opening in 2038, but that could change if funds become available or designs are finished before other discretionary projects.
Ed covers transportation at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at eblazina@unionprogress.com.