Aug 1, 2008 8:33 pm US/Eastern
Crews Hopes To Reopen Robinson Twp 'Missing Ramps'
Reporting
Jim Lokay
ROBINSON TOWNSHIP (KDKA) ―
PennDOT hopes to open the so-called "missing ramps" between the Parkway West and Interstate 79 in Robinson Township by September.
During a media tour today, the agency showed off the $68 million project, which started in September 2006.
Currently, traffic heading westbound on the Parkway (Route 22/30) cannot access Interstate 79. Instead, drivers must use a circuitous route along Steubenville Pike through a busy business district. Southbound traffic on Interstate 79 must also use Steubenville Pike to reach the outbound Parkway heading towards the airport.
When asked why PennDOT is now finishing a project that planners eliminated during construction 35 years ago, PennDOT district executive Dan Cessna told KDKA's Jim Lokay that lack of money and traffic volume was to blame.
"Just like today, financial resources were constrained," said Cessna. "Probably at that time, land use patterns didn't necessitate these movements as much as today with the shift that's happened in population."
About 103,000 cars use the Parkway West through the junction on a daily basis. Interstate 79 sees about 43,000 cars daily. Cessna says he expects outbound traffic to see the most benefit once the ramps open in September.
"A lot of folks that travel from the north to the west would have the opportunity to travel these ramps instead of traveling Steubenville Pike and Route 60."
The project is also expected to help improve traffic flow on the mainline Parkway.
Traffic typically crawls through the junction during rush hours, but by dropping the level of the Parkway as much as eight feet in some spots, engineers expect visibility through the hilly terrain to improve and eliminate slowdowns.
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