Nov 7, 2003 By Josh Krysak 4 min read

South Union Township residents will have a chance to see plans to complete the Walnut Hill Road interchange and four alternative proposals at a public meeting Wednesday at 4 p.m. at the township municipal building. The project would include construction of two ramps to complete the interchange between Walnut Hill Road and Route 119.

South Union Township Supervisor Robert Schiffbauer said the new interchange has been a long time in the making and should create some economic growth in the township. He said that a lack of proper traffic flow has resulted in large retail companies, like Kmart, locating elsewhere.

“I think it was 32 years ago the decision was made to save $200,000 by not completing those ramps. We have lost out on opportunities for development,” Schiffbauer said. “We have been promised that the ramps will be constructed by 2005.”

Schiffbauer said the township has been working with the state Department of Transportation and the Gabriel Brothers retail store chain to effect the completion of the full diamond interchange. He said that when the project is completed, Gabriel Brothers will explore commercial and retail development on their 132 acres along Walnut Hill Road.

Schiffbauer said PennDOT, which has included the project on its improvement list, will display four construction options ranging in cost from about $4 million to $12 million. He said that while the most simple and economic choice would be to add an off-ramp for northbound traffic along 119 and an on-ramp for traffic southbound along the highway, the state has regulations and stipulations that must be met, and he could not speculate about what the final option will be.

Only southbound Route 119 traffic can exit onto Walnut Hill Road, and motorists can enter only Route 119 northbound from Walnut Hill Road.

Schiffbauer said public officials are invited to attend an earlier session in which PennDOT and Gabriel Brothers will discuss the project and explore possible proposals for development. The public meeting will follow immediately afterward.

“We are encouraging anyone with any questions to attend this meeting. It is very important that we show support, not only officials but also the public in general, to get this project on course. We have lost too many years on this,” he said.

Schiffbauer said that with the increased traffic flow from the Mon/Fayette Expressway the completed interchange could promote growth and push more traffic into Uniontown.

In another matter, the supervisors held a hearing to rezone the Fayette County Business Park along New Salem Road in the township from light industrial to business. Schiffbauer said the change was necessary to meet interest in the site.

Supervisor Thomas Frankhouser said that one reason the 102-acre tract had been zoned light industrial was in relation to the park’s taxation status. The park was included in a Keystone Opportunity Zone, allowing incoming businesses to operate tax-free for five years.

Frankhouser said the KOZ designation has been lifted so that competition remains fair between neighboring retail developments Wal-Mart, Kmart, Lowes and the Widewaters Development Group, which is responsible for the ongoing construction of a Home Depot and other businesses in the Matthew Drive area.

The township’s planning commission approved the change of status for the park, owned by the Fayette County Redevelopment Authority.

“The old smokestack days in southwestern Pennsylvania are gone,” Schiffbauer said. “We hope this creates a domino effect of retail business.”

In other matters, the supervisors passed a tentative budget for 2004 that includes no increase in the township’s current tax rate of .6 mills. Frankhouser said the rate has remained steady for 28 years.

The tentative budget is nearly $4 million, with about $3.4 million in the general fund and the remaining funds dispersed throughout the liquid fuels fund, the fire hydrant fund, the athletic fund, the Hopwood Village Project fund and the North Union and South Union Intergovernmental Board.

Frankhouser said the budget is about $200,000 more than this year’s.