By Joseph Agnello

A major milestone has been passed in the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission's ongoing development of the proposed Southern Beltway in the Pittsburgh region.

After receiving final environmental clearance from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the Turnpike Commission has advanced to final design a six-mile tolled expressway that will extend south and slightly west from PA Route 60 at the Pittsburgh International Airport in Findlay Township, Allegheny County, to U.S. Route 22 in Robinson Township, Washington County.

FHWA signed a Record of Decision last spring for the Route 60-to-Route 22 project, known locally as the "Findlay Connector." Final design of the preferred alternative identified in the Final Environmental Impact Statement is expected to take three years and will pinpoint the exact location of the expressway and the right-of-way that will be required to construct the road. The expressway is to have two 12-foot lanes in each direction separated by a 60-foot median.

The selected alignment provides direct access to the Pittsburgh International Airport, which opened in October 1992, and links U.S. Route 22 between the existing Bavington and PA Route 980 Interchanges. In addition to the two end points, interchanges will be located at U.S. Route 30 southeast of Clinton village and at the junction of Bald Knob Road, Ridge Road and Burgettstown Road just north of the Washington County line.

U.S. Route 30 is to be widened at the interchange to include a turning lane and, if necessary, a traffic signal. Reclaimed strip mines and landfills are the predominant topographic features within the area studied for the project.

The expressway's right-of-way is expected to encompass seven free standing, single-family residences and a 1.1-acre greenhouse operation, all in Robinson Township, Washington County.

The Findlay Connector is one of three independent projects that will form a 30-mile beltway to improve access and economic opportunities between Pittsburgh International Airport and the Turnpike Commission's Mon/Fayette Expressway near Finleyville, Washington County, which is under construction and targeted for completion in late 2001.

Dan Campbell, executive director of the 22 West Progress Group in Burgettstown and an organizer of the burgeoning Mon/Fayette Expressway & Southern Beltway Alliance, said the federal government's approval of the Environmental Impact Statement for the Findlay Connector is "great news."

Campbell noted, "The Southern Beltway is an endeavor of forward thinking people who want this area to become a great place to live and work and who want to bring back people who had to leave for jobs in other parts of the country. Modern highways are a major catalyst for economic turnarounds."

The 22 West Progress Group is spearheading efforts to upgrade and designate as an interstate highway a 100-mile stretch of U.S. Route 22 from Interstate 79 near Pittsburgh through the Weirton, WV/Steubenville, Ohio area to Interstate 77 near Cambridge, Ohio. Half of the corridor for which interstate highway designation is being sought, including the area where the Findlay Connector will intersect with Route 22, already is limited-access highway.

PA Route 60, which motorists will be able to access at the northern terminus of the Findlay Connector, extends north through Beaver and Lawrence counties to Interstate 80 in Mercer County, near Sharon, PA. The November 1992 opening of the Turnpike Commission's 17-mile Beaver Valley Expressway between Beaver Falls and New Castle completed what is now a 55-mile corridor of divided highway south from I-80 to Pittsburgh International Airport.

During circulation of the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Findlay Connector officials confirmed reports that short-eared owls had nested in grasslands near the proposed Bald Knob Road/Ridge Road/Burgettstown Road Interchange. Since short-eared owls are listed as an endangered species by the Pennsylvania Game Commission, measures to mitigate the project's potential impacts on their habitat are to be coordinated with that agency.

Turnpike engineers will monitor the presence of short-eared owls during final design of the new expressway. Approximately 87 acres of rangeland habitat will be impacted by construction, so the Turnpike will compensate by setting aside other land for the birds to nest. Information and technical assistance will also be provided to local municipal officials so that the impact on the birds of expected development near the interchange will be minimal.

Other environmental mitigation efforts will be focused on minimizing impacts to streams and replacing approximately eight acres of wetlands to be impacted by construction of the expressway. Approximately 75 percent of the area studied during the analysis of alternatives has been strip mined.

It is estimated that 6,500 vehicles per day (in design year 2020) will use the Findlay Connector to enter or exit Pittsburgh International Airport from U.S. Route 22 west without using PA Route 60. Travel time to the airport will be reduced substantially for traffic throughout the project area. The expressway also is expected to facilitate orderly development in areas south and west of the airport.

Project costs are estimated at $150 million and include final design, right-of-way acquisition, utility relocation, waste disposal and construction.

Expressway alternatives are being evaluated for the two other Southern Beltway Projects -- from U.S. Route 22 to Interstate 79 and from I-79 to the Mon/Fayette Expressway. Each project is approximately 12 miles long and requires a separate environmental impact statement. Records of Decision are anticipated in winter 2000-2001 for the U.S. Route 22-to-I-79 Project and in winter 2001-2002 for the I-79-to-Mon/Fayette Expressway Project.

The Pennsylvania General Assembly authorized the Turnpike Commission to develop the Southern Beltway in Act 26 of 1991.