State police prepared for move to new quarters
A newly constructed two-story brick and block building at University Technology Park in North Union Township will soon serve as the Uniontown station for the state police. Trooper Brian Burden, community services officer for the station, said Wednesday that the building at 1070 Eberly Way near Penn State Fayette Campus includes 22,000 square feet of space, which is substantially larger than the old one-story building. In the midst of moving his own office material, Burden said he is anticipating that the new barracks will be open on June 11.
Burden said the larger building will accommodate a recent increase in personnel that have been working at the old facility, located at Gaddis Crossroads. He said officers have been doubling up in offices and the larger building will include much-needed additional space.
The Uniontown station has one of the largest criminal investigative units in the state, Burden said. While he couldn’t cite any figures, Pennsylvania State Police press secretary Jack J. Lewis said that of the 89 stations of the state police throughout the commonwealth, traditionally, Uniontown has been one of the busiest in the state.
Burden said the new building features more parking spaces for employees and visitors, as well as an on-location impound lot and a helicopter-landing pad.
Some of the added features at the new building include an additional locker room, a conference room, a classroom and a weight room. Currently, troopers use the basement as a weight room.
Burden said the current station features only one interview room, and the new station will have at least two and maybe three interview rooms. It will also feature an evidence room that is “quadrupled” in size.
He said the new evidence room will include separate rooms for guns, drugs and regular evidence compared to the current evidence room that holds everything in one area.
Burden added that the records and identification unit (R&I) will have laboratories on each of the first and second floors in the new building, compared to a small office that the unit occupies now.
“It will be a much nicer facility,” Burden said. “And it will have a lot more space.”
The new station is located off of Route 119. Visitors can access the building by traveling north on Route 119 toward Penn State Fayette Campus and make a left at the first light past the Connellsville Street exit onto Eberly Way. Once on Eberly Way, the station is about one half mile on the left. Burden said the barracks is easily seen from the highway when traveling toward Uniontown on Route 119 past the Penn State Fayette Campus. The non-emergency telephone number for the barracks will remain unchanged at 724-439-7111.
Burden said a dedication and open house are being planned and will be held at a later date.