Study shows expressway’s economic impact
Two completed sections of the Mon/Fayette Expressway in Washington and Fayette counties already have attracted 14 companies, resulting in $32 million in private investments and creating 694 jobs, according a recent study. The report, released by a Washington, D.C., non-profit organization funded by the transportation industry, outlines the potential effect of the northern leg of the Mon/Fayette Expressway and stresses the benefits of the road in five key findings.
Joe Kirk, executive director of the Mon Valley Progress Council, said he was “quite surprised” at the results of the survey, considering that only 12 miles of the expressway were open at the time the study was done: the Mason-Dixon link from Uniontown to near the West Virginia border and the section from Route 40 to Interstate 70.
Kirk said he is pleased that the report confirms the project “will provide economic development, reduce congestion and promote safety.”
The report, completed by The Road Information Program (TRIP), outlines the potential effects of completing a 24-mile stretch of expressway in Allegheny County. That section will begin at Route 51, cross the Monongahela River near Duquesne and then split into two legs, connecting with Interstate 376 in Pittsburgh and Monroeville.
The report was released earlier this week, in the midst of the public comment period for an environmental impact study on the last section of the toll road.
When completed, the expressway will stretch 100 miles from West Virginia into Pittsburgh, and some expect it to be the catalyst that will revive the regional economy.
A key section vital to economic revival in Fayette County is the Uniontown-to-Brownsville link, which is ahead of the Route 51-to-Pittsburgh link in the planning process.
Advocates for the expressway have stressed the importance of completing the entire road in order for the region to realize the full financial benefits.
Kirk noted that TRIP does objective studies of highway projects all over the country.
Kirk contributed some of the information used in the study, including the statistics regarding how many companies have moved into the area and the number of jobs created since initial sections of the toll road were opened.
The report states that the new route will reduce traffic delays at the Squirrel Hill Tunnel by up to 75 percent, reduce traffic on several city streets between Pittsburgh and communities to the south and east by as much as 40 percent and reduce traffic congestion on Route 51 and the Liberty Tunnel by about 25 percent.
While acknowledging that TRIP comes to the table conscious of where its funding originates, Frank Moretti, director of policy and research for TRIP, said the organization uses actual information and documented data.
Moretti, who was in the area to present the TRIP report as a part of the record for the review period, was given a first-hand tour of the Hazelwood section of Pittsburgh. He said the road could benefit that area because it would provide open spaces over the expressway in much the same way space is used in the Washington, D.C., area.
Noting that the Mon Valley needs to regain the economy it lost through the decline of the steel industry and restructuring, Moretti said many businesses simply do not come to the area due to a lack of access.
He said the community must remain involved, to ensure that decisions involving the expressway benefit the area.
Other findings of the report include the following:
– The Federal Highway Administration estimates that each $1 spent on highway improvements returns $5.60 in economic benefits to society in the form of reduced traffic congestion, improved traffic safety and reduced vehicle-operating costs.
– The proposed route for the 24-mile section traverses nine major brownfield sites that contain about 1,000 acres of industrial space, which would have good access to local and national markets.
– Of the $297 billion in goods shipped annually from sites in Pennsylvania, 88 percent were transported by truck.
– The fatality rate for Pennsylvania urban interstates and other highways in 2000 was .49 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles of travel, compared to 1.28 for non-freeway, Pennsylvania urban roads in 2000.
– Several other areas – including Atlanta, Baltimore, Orange County, Calif., Philadelphia and Phoenix – added new highways that have relieved traffic congestion, spurred economic development and provided and maintained a reasonable level of mobility throughout the regions.
The TRIP report is available online at www.tripnet.org.