Airport Toll Road

Sometimes I feel like Pennsylvania is moving more and more towards becoming another Florida.  It was reported in the April 21, 2001 edition of the Greensburg Tribune that a toll highway has been proposed to alleviate the Parkway West from under the traffic burden it suffers.

Bob Grove of the Port Authority of Allegheny County said, "The congestion in that (airport) corridor is growing every year.  I think everyone agrees that we need to have a plan in place to alleviate traffic."

The Authority recommended hiring the Coraopolis engineering firm Michael Baker Jr., which has consulted on such projects as the Mon-Fayette Expressway, to begin a $1.6 million corridor study in May 2001.  The Port Authority, the Allegheny County Department of Public Works, the Pittsburgh Department of Engineering and Construction, and PennDOT would split the cost, paying $400,000 each according to Grove.

Some transportation experts have said that this highway could run as much $1 billion.  Many are skeptical that it would provide a long-term solution to the traffic congestion on the Parkway.  "The trouble is, build a new road and instantly you have 500,000 people who want to travel on it," said Jon Smith of the Allegheny County Transit Council, which advises the Port Authority.  "Inside of a year, it would be just as jammed as the Parkway.  My guess is by the time you build it, it would be close to a billion and a half."  Smith he would prefer an extension of the West Busway to the airport to encourage the use of mass transit.

The highway would begin at PA 65 and cross the Ohio River into McKees Rocks.  From there it would traverse Kennedy and Robinson Townships to end at the interchange of PA 60 and Business PA 60 southeast of the Pittsburgh International Airport.  Interchanges would be built at PA 65, Interstate 79, and PA 60.  A trip to the airport during rush hour could be cut from 37 minutes on the Parkway West to 20 minutes on the new highway, according to a 1996 study conducted by the Allegheny County Planning Department.

The route of the proposed toll highway.  (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)

Grove said that the expressway is only one of many options for reducing congestion in the Airport Corridor.  Others include a light-rail extension or the development of a busway along the same route.  Engineers will also examine widening the Parkway west from two to three lanes in both directions.  He went on to say that the goal is to have one or a combination of projects completed by 2008, but doesn't know from where the money will come.

George White, a retired professor of engineering from the University of Pittsburgh, said that any highway which offers an alternative to the Parkway West is worth serious examination.  "The Fort Pitt Tunnel is an absolute hardening of the artery, and the Parkway West dies every day.  A toll highway allows for an economic way for all classes of vehicles to get to the airport quickly.  It's a no-brainer; that is a high priority for the region."

In the past five years, weekday traffic on the Parkway West at Robinson Town Centre has increased from 30,000 to 70,000 vehicles, said Irwin Shapiro, a traffic control technician for PennDOT in Pittsburgh.

Former Kennedy Commission Mel Weinstein said property acquisition could become a problem.  The township is 80% developed and the population increased 3% from 1990 to 2000, according to the US Census.  Weinstein said, " Obviously, you're going to have people oppose it just to oppose.  I think that's the cautionary feature, to protect our people and their interests and make sure people don't get damaged or hurt by this."

Links:
Interstate 279
Airport Corridor Transportation Association
Allegheny County Department of Public Works
City of Pittsburgh Department of Engineering and Construction
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation
Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission
Port Authority of Allegheny County

INFORMATION

Western Terminus:	PA 60/Business PA 60 near the Pittsburgh International Airport.
Eastern Terminus:	PA 65 near Brunot Island.
Length:	10 miles proposed
National Highway System:
Name:
SR Designation:
County:	Allegheny
Multiplexed Routes:
Former Designations:	None
Emergency:
Highway Conditions: