The "Southern Beltway"

Beltway will reduce travel time to the Pittsburgh International Airport and increase the employee pool available to Southpointe companies.

The Southpointe CEO Association has consistently supported building the Southern Beltway portion of the Mon-Fayette Expressway. Lucas Piatt, V.P. of Millcraft, states "Southpointe has great north-south access with I-79. Obviously that's one of the reasons we are here. The Southern Beltway is going to give us increased east-west mobility too, strengthen our presence and enhance our future marketability."

The Three Alternative Routes

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The Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the proposed Southern Beltway Project from U.S. Route 22 to Interstate 79 was circulated for public review. Some 470 citizens attended a public hearing February 9, 2005 at Canon-McMillen High School relative to the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission projects that would create the 30-plus-mile "Southern Beltway".

The DEIS is a detailed evaluation of three alternatives (B-1, B-2 and B-3) for a new limited-access toll road that would extend the Southern Beltway system south and east from the southern end of the now-under-construction Findlay Connector at U.S. Route 22 in Robinson Township, Washington County to Interstate 79 at the border of Cecil Township, Washington County and South Fayette Township, Allegheny County. A No-Build Alternative also is evaluated in the DEIS.

The 12.9 mile B-2 Alternative is the Recommended Preferred Alternative for the project with an estimated construction cost of $284 million. However, a Preferred Alternative will not be determined until all comments on the DEIS are fully evaluated.

B-2's intermediate interchanges are at a relocated Beech Hollow Road, 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 B-2 Alternative is the alternative most consistent with local municipal comprehensive plans and is consistent with planned updates to local municipal zoning and land use regulations. It would require an estimated 76 residential displacements, the same as B-3 but 27 fewer than B-1. It would not require any property on or eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places nor any publicly owned recreation areas, however, eight businesses will be displaced by B-2, compared to seven with B-1 and nine for B-3.

The Recommended Preferred Alternative

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Our thanks to the PA Turnpike Com. and the MonValley Progress Council, for their help with this article.