Aug 9, 2005 By Amy Karpinsky 3 min read

A public hearing where Fayette Countians can give input on their priorities for future transportation improvement projects in the county will be held later this month at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus. The Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission and the county’s Public Participation Panel will co-host the hearing, which will begin at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 17, at Swimmer Auditorium at the campus.

Tammy Shell, director of the Fayette County Office of Planning, Zoning and Community Development, said testimony at the hearing will help shape the 2007 to 2010 TIP (Transportation Improvement Plan). The TIP is done for the next four years and is updated every two years.

The TIP is a specific, four-year program of transportation projects in the various stages of development to receive state and federal funding in southwestern Pennsylvania. SPC develops this program in collaboration with the state Department of Transportation, county and city planning departments, as well as transit authorities. It is updated every two years and amended as needed between cycles as projects are completed or moved up to the next phase of development.

The TIP must be balanced each year within the region’s projected revenues.

The current TIP includes the top Fayette priority as the Masontown Bridge Project along Route 21 between Fayette and Greene counties over the Monongahela River. The project calls for a total reconstruction to four lanes with 18-foot median, concrete barriers and the replacement of the existing structure with a new four-lane structure to the south.

Other projects include improvements to Route 21, the Yough Dam Bridge replacement, improvements to the intersection at the Torchlight restaurant on Route 40, and numerous bridge projects and improvement projects on road accessing the State Correctional Institution at Fayette in Luzerne Township.

Shell said once projects get on the TIP, it is pointless to eliminate them because money has already been allocated for them. She said she hasn’t heard of any potential new projects, other then the Evans Manor Bridge project.

The chairpersons for the county’s PPP are Muriel Nuttall and Myron Hoskins. The PPP members are appointed by the county commissioners and represent various organizations, and socio-economic and ethnic groups.

Shell said notices were sent to each of the counties 42 municipalities urging officials to offer testimony. “We are encouraging people to come to provide input,” Shell said. Anyone who cannot attend can always submit something in writing, Shell said. She added that comments can be submitted on the SPC Web site.

Testimony from the public hearing will be gathered and organized and presented at a later public hearing that will be used to finalize the TIP. The State Transportation Commission will host seven public hearings throughout the state to gather input into the upcoming TIP.

On Sept. 23, in Pittsburgh, a hearing will be held for the counties of Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Lawrence, Washington and Westmoreland. At that hearing, the length of testimony will be limited regarding each county’s priorities. Shell said Nuttall will likely present the testimony for Fayette County.