SW Pa. nets $4.7B for road, transit, bridge overhauls

The five-year plan funds a rapid transit bus from Oakland to Downtown Pittsburgh and Route 30 upgrades.

By JOE NAPSHA
TribLive
Modernizing Route 30 in Westmoreland County, creating additional Pennsylvania Turnpike interchanges and launching a rapid transit bus from Oakland to Downtown Pittsburgh are among $4.7 billion in projects planned in Southwestern Pennsylvania over the next five years.

The long-range Transportation Improvement Plan for Southwestern Pennsylvania defines road improvement and public transportation projects between 2027 and 2030.

The plan, approved by the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, allocates $2 billion for highway and bridge improvements, alongside $2.7 billion for various mass transit projects. The plan relies upon state and federal funding to make the projects a reality.

The 10-county commission, which includes Allegheny, Armstrong, Butler and Westmoreland, is the federally certified planning agency that helps to direct the use of government funds allocated to the region, which is an estimated $39 billion through 2050. The plan is to take effect Oct. 1.

“Allegheny County is pleased with the list of projects released by the SPC for our region, including projects led by the county, Pittsburgh Regional Transit and PennDOT in Allegheny County,” said Abigail Gardner, a spokeswoman for Sara Innamorato, county executive.

“The limiting factor for transit and surface transportation is always the available funding. We always have more projects we would like to tackle than the budget allows for, and we will continue to advocate at all levels for additional funds,” Gardner said.

For Westmoreland County, “there is a good list of projects that support the county’s comprehensive plan,” with improvements targeted for bridges, roads, safety and traffic congestion, said Josh Spano, deputy director of the Westmoreland County Department of Planning and Development.

Upgrading Route 30 from Irwin to the Westmoreland County border with Allegheny County remains a priority for the county, Spano said.

The plan lists a cashless Pennsylvania Turnpike interchange at the intersection with Route 981 in Mt. Pleasant Township, but Spano said that is not a priority for the county.

“There’s nothing on paper to connect the turnpike” at the Route 981 intersection, Spano said.

Roadwork

The plan will allocate funding for roadway improvements that include reconstructing Campbells Run Road in Robinson and P.J. McCardle Roadway, which carries traffic from the Liberty Bridge up the side of Mt. Washington, as well as Route 201 leading to the Donora-Monessen Bridge over the Monongahela River.

PennDOT has laid out plans for modernizing the western end of Route 30 from Irwin to Route 48 in North Versailles, which would line the stretch of busy highway with jersey barriers to prevent head-on collisions. Jughandle turnarounds along that section of the highway are designed to eliminate potential collisions when a vehicle stops in the left lane to make a turn across the busy highway.

PennDOT’s website states that work continues on the master corridor plan.

The $244 million regional investment includes 35 safety projects targeted at:

• The Murray Avenue corridor, for mobility and accessibility in Squirrel Hill;

• The intersection of Brilliant Avenue and Freeport Road in Aspinwall;

• The Allegheny River Boulevard and Sandy Creek intersection in Penn Hills;

• The North Greengate Road tunnel, which carries the Norfolk Southern Corp. railroad tracks in Hempfield; • The intersection of routes 66 and 366 in Washington Township; and

• The intersection of Industrial Boulevard and Route 217 in Derry Township.

The plan includes the turnpike’s long-range blueprint to create an interchange at the intersection with Route 130 in Penn Township, with entrances and exits to and from both lanes. Construction of that project, however, is not expected to begin until 2035 and won’t be completed until 2038, according to the turnpike commission’s current projections.

Mass transit

The Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission’s plan calls for directing $2.7 billion in the four-year period for mass transit projects that include buying new buses and shared-ride vehicles for the transit authorities in the region, along with upgrading stations and funding bus and rail maintenance.

Of the 450 new buses to be purchased regionally, Alan Blahovec, executive director of the Westmoreland County Transit Authority, said his agency will receive 49 shared-ride vehicles and six flex-style units to replace aging models in the existing fleet.

More than $750 million is allocated to projects near regional freight facilities.

Adam Brandolph, a spokesman for Pittsburgh Regional Transit, which operates the mass transit system in Allegheny County, could not be reached for comment on the number of new buses the region’s largest mass transit system expects to purchase.

Longer-range plans that are part of Smart-Moves for the region include expanding rapid transit bus service from Oakland, the center of the city’s medical facilities and universities; extending the West Busway from Pittsburgh to Pittsburgh International Airport; and extending the East Busway to the county’s eastern suburbs and the Mon Valley.

Bridges

The plan calls for investing $238 million in local bridges in an effort to reduce the number of bridges in poor condition by more than 13%. The state’s Rapid Bridge Replacement program has replaced 193 structurally deficient bridges within the 10-county region.

Among the local bridges to be repaired or replaced over the next four years are the Larimer Avenue and Swinburne bridges in Pittsburgh; the Homestead Grays Bridge in Homestead; and the Ladysmith Road Bridge, a structurally deficient bridge over Little Sewickley Creek off Route 136 in Hempfield.

The Tarentum, Highland Park and McKeesport- Duquesne bridges are all slated for major rehabilitation over the next four years.

The 127-year-old Layton Bridge will be replaced with a new span over the Youghiogheny River in Fayette County and the Great Allegheny Passage hiking and biking trail. The new structure will bypass the existing one-lane tunnel, which will close once the crossing opens, projected for 2029.