Mar 11, 2003 By Josh Krysak 4 min read

With unemployment and the fledging economy on the minds of many Americans, about 25 area residents met Monday at the South Union Township municipal building to discuss possible land uses, including economic development, for the areas surrounding the six proposed interchanges along the Mon-Fayette Expressway in Fayette County. “We are here to obtain the public’s input about what they feel should be developed or not developed and get their idea about the six interchanges,” said Erica Todd of Pashek and Associates, a consulting firm from Pittsburgh conducting the meetings and examining the gathered information.

“We will take the ideas and use them to help mold a vision of the corridor and then come back to the public in a few months with the concepts.”

The meeting was the second in a series conducted by Pashek and Associates in conjunction with Tammy Shell, the director of county Office of Planning, Zoning and Community Development and was designed to find out what the residents want at the interchanges.

“We are not here to dispute the route that was selected for the Mon-Fayette Expressway, or anything like that,” Shell said. “We are here to discuss the land uses surrounding the Mon-Fayette.”

According to Todd, her firm is working on a three part plan that will incorporate the views of residents and existing conditions and eventually will result in strategies for action that will focus on transportation, land use and economic development. Todd said that the entire process should be finished by the fall of 2003, when another round of public meetings will be held to discuss the proposed strategies.

During public comment, it became evident that the major priority of the residents was creating an infrastructure that will support economic growth at the interchange areas.

“We really need to maximize our effort at job creation at these interchanges,” said Fayette County Commissioner Vincent Vicites. “These are the growth areas in the county. I want to put a lot of focus on all the interchanges, but each interchange has unique characteristics to it.”

Another top priority of the residents involved maintaining the rural character of the interchanges, while producing economic growth.

“I would like to see development at the interchanges without destroying the rural character of Fayette County,” said George Tanner, a Uniontown resident.

Ron Deems, of Uniontown, agreed. Deems said that not only should the rural character be maintained at the interchanges but also along the entire corridor by designating specific business parks.

Donna Holdorf, the Executive Director of the National Road Heritage Corridor, said that conrols should be established to reign in commercial and industrial development to maintain the rural character of the area.

She said that she did not want the interchanges to take on the look of the Route 40 and Route 119 interchange with countless fast-food restaurants and gas stations.

Of the six interchanges discussed along the 15-mile stretch from Brownsville to Uniontown, two are located on Route 88 in Washington County and in Luzerne Township in the Telegraph and Bull Run Road area.

The other interchanges are located near Colonial School in the Brownsville-Redstone Township area, Searights, North Union Township and at the eastern terminus at Route 119 and Route 51.

Vicites said that through these meetings the residents do have a pivotal role in the future of the county.

“Public participation is vital with any plan for development.

In this case, the public is impacted by the decisions that are made here so we should give them the opportunity to comment, make suggestions and express concerns.”

“We felt we needed to do this. We know that the development and the creation of jobs go hand in hand,”

Vicites said that construction on the corridor of the Mon-Fayette expressway should begin in 2005, with possible completion in 2009. He added that with the early planning taking place now, the county should have all land usage strategies in place by that time so action can be taken.