As the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission continues with its design of an interchange for Penn Township, Randee Barrett isn’t sure what will happen with her family’s farm on Pleasant Valley Road.
The farm falls near the proposed interchange site — the intersection of Route 130 with Nike Site, Sandy Hill and Pleasant Valley roads.
“We were just concerned about how the (interchange) route was going to be and we wanted to see if our properties were going to be affected,” said Barrett, 31, of Penn Township.
From speaking with turnpike officials during an information session at Penn-Trafford High School on Tuesday evening, Barrett learned the farm’s pasture will be partially impacted by the project, but probably not for another decade — if not longer.
“It sounds like a lot of it is going to be affecting us later on, not immediately now, which is good,” she said. “It gives us time to figure out what we’re going to do — if we’re going to stay, if we’re going to go.”
The turnpike unveiled during the meeting Tuesday preliminary designs for the $60 million to $90 million project — showing how township roads could be altered by the interchange.
Some of the primary changes include making room for interchange exits and entryways by shifting portions of Pleasant Valley, Sandy Hill and Nike Site roads, which are closest to Route 130.
Residents shuffled through the high school’s cafeteria Tuesday, poring over poster boards detailing the preliminary design. Turnpike officials were on hand to answer residents’ questions and hear their concerns — a crucial step in the design process, said Kevin Scheurich.
“You can have a really good engineer, but there’s no good substitute for local knowledge,” said Scheurich, the turnpike’s assistant chief engineer for design. “There are things that the locals know that we just don’t.”
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The turnpike officially announced the interchange in October 2021, specifying its approximate location last fall.
Construction more than 10 years away
The interchange will be built sometime between fall 2035 and summer 2038. This is a significant shift in a timeline the turnpike posted on its website this summer, which suggested the interchange could be finished between spring 2032 and fall 2034.
Though the timeline will become more clear as the turnpike moves into the final design phase, Scheurich said the more than 10-year wait is the result of budgetary concerns.
“Over the past couple of years, we’ve had some challenges with inflation,” he said. “Our capital plan — which is made up of our toll revenue and bonds — has not kept up with inflation as we had hoped.
“When that happens, some projects kind of get pushed out a little bit. But we do want to continue to design, because things change every year.”
The turnpike has acquired about 20 properties that will be partially or entirely absorbed by the interchange, said Right of Way Administrator John Romano.
Houses will be taken; traffic a concern, too
No businesses will be relocated, Romano said, but about five to seven residences will be acquired by the turnpike. Property owners have been notified, he said.
Though Barrrett’s Nike Site Road home will not be affected by the interchange, she is concerned about how the township will handle increased traffic.
“I think (the interchange) could be a good thing, but I also feel that it’s going to be a lot for our small town,” she said. “It’s not just (the interchange area) I’m worried about. It’s the area past that main intersection into Harrison City by (Penn-Trafford High School) and Sweet Buzz and all of that — how’s that area going to take all this traffic? It’s already crazy during school time.”
Mark Close raised similar concerns.
“I was very interested in the whole project, itself,” said Close, 73, of Penn Township, “but I was more concerned about how it’s going to affect traffic on 130.”
Close hopes the interchange draws more businesses to the heavily residential township.
“Hopefully down the road it’ll bring in more businesses to help the area out, because this is a bed-and-breakfast-type area,” he said. “We don’t have Route 30 or 22. And if you’ve been around long enough, you know we just don’t have enough businesses, so the taxes — we don’t get the taxes from businesses, which makes us pay more for it.”
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Kurt Vogelsberger lives a mile or two from the proposed interchange site. Though he is worried about the potential noise on his property, he was pleased with the preliminary plans displayed Tuesday.
“They could get a lot of the construction done without any delays to the public,” said Vogelsberger, 66. “It looks like (the plan) is well-thought.”