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Public to get chance to review Masontown bridge plans

By Steve Ostrosky 4 min read

The public will get its first opportunity to look at the $50 million project to replace the aging Masontown Bridge and upgrade a three-mile stretch of Route 21 between Fayette and Greene Counties during a meeting scheduled for next week. An open house will be held Wednesday, March 19, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the American Legion Post 423 in Masontown and will feature project drawings, along with representatives from the state Department of Transportation and SAI Consulting Engineers, who will review plans, answer any questions and take public comment about the project.

While the entire stretch from the Route 166 interchange near Masontown to the Route 88 intersection in Paisley is included in the project, the focus of the meeting will be on the replacement of the bridge.

Three alignments have been chosen for the new, four-lane bridge, which will be higher than the existing span, according to Glenn Stickel, project manager with SAI Consulting Engineers of Pittsburgh. Two alignments travel south of the bridge, while the third veers north of the current structure, he said.

“We want to find out if there are any significant pros or cons with any alignment from the standpoint of residents, businesses and the general public,” Stickel said. “We’ve done the engineering work so far. Now we need the input from the community to factor into what decision to make.”

SAI and PennDOT representatives met in November with commissioners from both Fayette and Greene counties, along with municipal officials from Masontown Borough, German Township, Monongahela Township and Cumberland Township, to discuss the particulars of the project. Those officials, along with members of the Albert Gallatin Area and Southeastern Greene school districts, have been invited to attend a meeting before the open house to receive a progress report.

Stickel said the March 19 meeting is important both for the public and for the project managers, because it gives people a chance to see the work in the very early stages and provides PennDOT and SAI with much needed feedback and possible concerns that had not been considered when preliminary engineering was conducted.

“This is the first in a series of ongoing discussions we hope to have as we get closer to construction,” he said.

After the meeting, Stickel said, the engineers will work with PennDOT to decide on the bridge’s alignment by the summer so the design process, estimated to take about a year, can begin shortly thereafter.

He said other work to be done within the project area includes widening the entire stretch to four lanes, improving left turns for safety and upgrading the Paisley intersection at Routes 21 and 88 to make it safer and to better fit in with the four-lane highway that eventually will run into that intersection.

The project, which could be under construction in 2005, will not be without the inevitable controversy. Stickel said relocation of some residences and businesses will be a reality within the proposed work area, and each bridge alignment will affect a different number of properties.

He said it is too early to speculate how many properties could be lost to construction, but the bridge project definitely will affect Allegheny Power’s Hatfield’s Ferry Power Station, which has property on either side of the bridge.

Several meetings have been held with company officials to discuss the work, and the company supports the improvements slated for that stretch of Route 21, though Stickel said all parties are aware of the effect on the power station.

“There will have to be some give and take when it comes to these options,” Stickel said. “They are very interested in the project, but we will have to work up the details with how we are going to make it work.”

Members of the public also will be given the opportunity to put their concerns or questions on paper, to provide PennDOT and SAI with a record of comments regarding the proposed project. Stickel encouraged people to view the Web site that has been developed for the entire Route 21 corridor, www.rebuild21.com

, before coming to the open house with their queries.

“We’re hoping for a nice turnout, because we want to get input and feedback early, because it is better to handle these things earlier rather than later,” he said. “Before design starts, we need to know where this bridge is going to go.”

Stickel said the estimated $50 million cost of the project is still an on-target number, though it could rise once construction nears and funding has been secured.

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