Final EIS Available For Southern Beltway Project from Interstate 79 to Mon/Fayette Expressway

The Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the proposed Southern Beltway Project from Interstate 79 to the Mon/Fayette Expressway (Turnpike 43) will be available for public review for a 30-day period beginning Friday, Nov. 14, 2008.

Release of the document, including a Section 404 Permit Application required by the federal Clean Water Act, is an action of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 

It will be available for review through Monday, Dec. 15, 2008, at local municipal offices, libraries, legislative field offices and other public locations. It also can be reviewed on the Internet at www.paturnpike.com/MonFaySB/.

The FEIS for the estimated $730 million project identifies the 12.5-mile Green Option 1A/Tan-Red Alternative, located exclusively in Washington County, as the Preferred Alternative for the highway. A Selected Alternative will not be determined until all comments on the FEIS are fully evaluated. 

The Preferred Alternative traverses Cecil Township, North Strabane Township, Peters Township, Nottingham Township and Union Township.

It would cross over Little Chartiers Creek, a portion of Canonsburg Lake (a public recreation area owned by the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission), and U.S. Route 19 approximately 1,500 feet south of Waterdam Road’s intersection with Route 19.

The spans over Canonsburg Lake (approximately 53 feet high) would be designed to avoid direct, permanent impacts to fishing and boating areas.

Residential displacements associated with the Preferred Alternative are estimated at 96. There are three estimated business displacements.

Between the western end point (Interstate 79 and the Southern Beltway system west of I-79) and eastern end point (Turnpike 43), interchanges are proposed with U.S. Route 19 near Waterdam Plaza via a new connector road in North Strabane Township and with Sugar Run Road in Nottingham Township.

The Southern Beltway Interstate 79-to-Mon/Fayette Expressway Project is the easternmost of three independent but interconnected projects that would create a 32-mile tolled expressway between Pittsburgh International Airport and the Mon/Fayette Expressway.

The first six miles of the Southern Beltway system, from the Route 60 Expressway at the airport to U.S. Route 22 near Burgettstown, opened in October 2006.

Final design and right-of-way acquisition are underway for the next 13.3 miles, from U.S. Route 22 to Interstate 79.

The review period for the FEIS for the I-79 to Mon/Fayette Expressway Project will close at 4 pm Monday, Dec. 15, 2008.

Written comments should be sent to either the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, David P. Willis (Environmental Manager), P.O. Box 67676, Harrisburg, PA 17106-7676 or to the U.S Army Corps of Engineers – Pittsburgh District, William S. Moorhead Federal Building, 1000 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222  (Attention – Scott A. Hans, Chief, Regulatory Branch).    

Issuance of a Record of Decision by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers following the FEIS review period would allow the Turnpike Commission to proceed with final design of the Selected Alternative and the acquisition of required right-of-way.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission has identified the Recommended Preferred Alternative for the I-79 to Mon/Fayette Expressway Southern Beltway Project.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission has identified the Green Alternative (Option 1A) in Section 1 and the Tan-Red Alternative in Section 2 as the Recommended Preferred Alternative for the I-79 to Mon/Fayette Expressway Southern Beltway Project. Information on all these alternatives studied in detail is available on the Maps page and the Photos page of this web site. The Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS)/Section 404 Permit Application is also available on the project homepage.

Due to the lack of federal funding for the construction of this project, the PTC has elected to advance the project utilizing either PTC and/or private funding options.  The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) will now serve as the lead federal agency rather than the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).  Therefore, the FHWA has rescinded their earlier Notice of Intent to issue a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) and the Corps has issued a new Notice of Intent to issue a DEIS which appeared in the Federal Register on October 23, 2007.

Circulation of the DEIS for this project was officially advertised on December 14, 2007. The DEIS, identifies the Recommended Preferred Alternative, will be made available at local municipal sites, libraries, and other locations for public review and comment until February 8, 2008. Please refer to the Public Hearing Advertisement for a listing of review locations.

A Public Hearing on the DEIS will be held on January 24, 2008 at Canon-McMillan Senior High School. Project information, including the plans, anticipated impacts, and preliminary right-of-way information will be available and on display from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Recording of formal testimony will begin at 6:00 p.m. The public will be afforded the opportunity to present views, opinions, and information that will be considered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the PA Turnpike Commission.  For additional information on the Public Hearing, please refer to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Public Notice. The purpose of the hearing is to formally record public and agency input before an alternative is officially identified as the Preferred Alternative in the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS).

Written comments may be submitted to the PA Turnpike Commission or the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.  Addresses for both agencies are listed on the Public Hearing Advertisement.  All comments must be received prior to 4:00 p.m. on February 8, 2008.  E-mail comments will not be accepted.

The FEIS for this project will address the comments received during the DEIS circulation period and is anticipated to be made available for public review and comment in the Summer of 2008. The Turnpike Commission's current target date for a Record of Decision (environmental approval and the identification of the Selected Alternative) from the Corps is Fall 2008.