UNITED WE STAND

The page you are viewing was Last Updated on:  Thursday, July 11, 2002

The Mon-Fayette Expressway:  Pittsburgh to PA-51 Section

A series of three joint public hearings for the Mon/Fayette Expressway from PA Route 51 to 1-376 at Pittsburgh and Monroeville are scheduled for July 16, 23 and 25, 2002.  These hearings are being held by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) and the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers to receive comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS)/Draft Section 4(f) Evaluation/ Section 404 Permit Application, which was released for public review and comment on May 31, 2002.  The DEIS is available for public review at municipal/government offices and libraries throughout the project area.

A series of public open house plans displays are also being held during the public comment period and prior to the public hearings for residents to review project mapping and ask questions on the DEIS and the recommended preferred alternative.  Right-of-way specialists will also be available at these meetings and the public hearings to answer any questions about the acquisition of properties for the project.  Information regarding effects on historic and archaeological resources will also be provided, pursuant to Section 106 requirements of the National Historic Preservation Act.

An open house area also will be available at each of the public hearings to allow residents who were unable to attend the open house plans displays, an opportunity to review information on the project.  After the formal presentations by PTC representatives and the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers at the public hearings, citizens and public officials will have the opportunity to give public oral testimony, which will be limited to five minutes.  However speakers may submit more detailed written comments to accompany their oral testimony.  The format of the hearings is designed so citizens can alternatively give private oral testimony to a stenographer or tape recorder in a separate room.  You need only attend one of the public hearings to provide comments on the project.  Written testimony on the DEIS/Draft Section 4(f) Evaluation/Section 404 Permit Application may also be submitted to the PTC or Army Corps of Engineers at any time during the hearing hours or mailed by the end of the comment period on August 14, 2002 to the addresses listed on the flyer provided inside this newsletter.  All comments must be submitted in writing during the 75-day comment period or through oral testimony at one of the public hearings.  No comments will be accepted by e-mail.  To pre-register for public testimony or obtain more detailed information on the DEIS review locations, as well as the dates, locations and times of the open house plans displays and public hearings, see the flyer located inside this newsletter.

After evaluating the comments received on the DEIS during the comment period and from the joint public hearings, the PTC, in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PENNDOT) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), will prepare a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS).

Following a public review and comment period for the FEIS, the Federal Highway Administration will issue a Record of Decision (ROD) for the project, which is the final decision on the selection of an alternative for the project.