SW Pennsylvania

[DeaconG]

I know, it was just a data point.

[davewiecking]

http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2015/12/28/greenfield-bridge-implosion-day/

Did anyone notice that the bridge began imploding before she dropped the plunger? Look at the center of the bridge, it lights off just as she starts to drop the plunger.
Coordination, folks...

The plunger was probably for show.  The actual explosion was probably started with the press of a button.  But since you said coordination you probably realized that.  So I'd say close enough.  It's not that important.

When the Woodrow Wilson Bridge was imploded, I recall reading that a licensed demolition person has to push the actual button, so the photographed plunger is indeed just for show.

[ARMOURERERIC]

If that's the case they should have had someone dressed as darth vader "use the force" on it.

[Mr_Northside]

Yeah.... if I paid for the winning raffle ticket and it's just for show, I'd want it to be as entertaining a show as possible (accepting the implosion itself is the main attraction)

[Mr_Northside]

Well.... what was apparently at one point considered a freeway idea, is now boiled down to some proposals for for corridor improvement (and maybe an interchange with the Turnpike)

http://laurelvalleyproject.com/default.html

For what it's worth, a full freeway was probably never necessary anyway.

[Mr_Northside]

2 New Stanton bridges now slated for complete closures

An article that gives an idea of the current progress, and remaining work for the I-70 / New Statnton interchange project (though a lot more pics would have been nice)

Somewhat related, since the new interchange has roundabouts, an article about roundabouts in Westmoreland County

PennDOT touts roundabouts to help motorists in Unity, New Stanton

(There is a pic in the second article that has it looking like I-70 isn't using the temporary highway, and is using the new bridge over the future interchange)

[CanesFan27]

When writing this feature on the old Greater Pittsburgh International Airport Terminal, all i could think about is how great it would have been to have my digital or cell phone camera vs. the disposable camera I had back then. 

When I was a student at Robert Morris, the old airport terminal was five minutes away and still standing - empty and abandoned - but still there.  On a gloomy October day in 1998, a friend and I decided to explore the old building.  My photos didn't really turnout - fortunately some of them did.  I hope you enjoy this small feature on the old Airport.

http://surewhynotnow.blogspot.com/2017/04/former-greater-pittsburgh-international.html

[VTGoose]

When writing this feature on the old Greater Pittsburgh International Airport Terminal, all i could think about is how great it would have been to have my digital or cell phone camera vs. the disposable camera I had back then. 

When I was a student at Robert Morris, the old airport terminal was five minutes away and still standing - empty and abandoned - but still there.  On a gloomy October day in 1998, a friend and I decided to explore the old building.  My photos didn't really turnout - fortunately some of them did.  I hope you enjoy this small feature on the old Airport.

http://surewhynotnow.blogspot.com/2017/04/former-greater-pittsburgh-international.html

As someone who grew up in Moon Township in the '60s and '70s, this is neat. When Allegheny Airlines morphed from a small regional carrier into the beginnings of USAir, the township saw a boom in growth. My elementary school classes went from small to 20+ kids in the classroom at Carnot Elementary (later a USAirways training center, now demolished and converted to gravel).

Along with the growth of the airport came changes in the roads in the area. New runways severed a number of roads and created some new ones (now subsumed into the new airport) that were straight, flat, and the scene of many drag races. The Beaver Valley Expressway started construction as an extension of the Parkway, with the actual route through the township up in the air for many years. At the time, it was to extend north of the parkway, running from near the West Hills Par-3 golf course/Dependable Drive-in adjacent to the Rosemont and Sharon Hill (where I lived) subdivisions to tie in with the Parkway where it makes the sharp bend near the entrance to the air base. Until the matter was resolved, the expressway ended where there were stubs for that route, and followed the route of the current road to a four-way intersection with the "end" of the Parkway, the airport entrance, and Beers School Road (now University Blvd.). For the longest time, one could exit the Parkway at the at-grade intersection of Thorn Run Road, which provided a back way home (especially after Rouser Road was connected through from Sharon Hill to the office park). That was replaced with the new Robert E. Harper interchange (named for a distant cousin) and all the new roads to serve the office park that took over the former Montour Heights Country Club (which moved to the former McCune estate on Coraopolis Heights Road, where they built a new golf course on the farm). Things changed considerably when the new airport was built and the new highway to serve it wiped out White Swan amusement park and changed the whole landscape of Findley Township.

Bruce in Blacksburg (but a native of the 'Burgh)

[CanesFan27]

Keeping with the Greater Pittsburgh Airport theme - an exploration of the series of ghost ramps and stubs that are/were around the airport and the stories behind them.

http://surewhynotnow.blogspot.com/2017/04/the-story-behind-ghost-ramps-around.html

[CanesFan27]

You may or may not recall the stub end to the US 40 Expressway just east of Brownsville.  After sitting idle for 40 years, the highway finally extended souteastwards as part of the Redstone Connector to PA 43.  Well, I resurrected an old page about it and found some historic aerials and an old map to try and figure out what the original plans were...and still am not sure.  So why not throw it out there and see what others may know!

http://surewhynotnow.blogspot.com/2017/06/the-story-on-how-unbuilt-us-40.html

[rickmastfan67]

Well, McKnightmare is living up to it's name tonight!!  YIKES!!

http://www.wpxi.com/news/car-catches-fire-in-floodwaters-on-mcknight-road/534473382
https://twitter.com/C_LeJeune15/status/875808615088705536

[VTGoose]

Another section of the Mon-Fayette Expressway has been approved, per Trib Live:

The Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission will include the last leg of the Mon-Fayette Expressway project in its long-range plan.

The regional body on Monday voted 47-4 to include the controversial 14-mile extension in the plan, with three representatives from Pittsburgh-area groups and one from Butler County voting against it.

The expressway, estimated to cost $2.2 billion, would connect Route 51 in Jefferson Hills with Interstate 376 near Monroeville – the last stretch in a decades-long effort to link I-376 to I-68 near Morgantown, W.Va.

See http://triblive.com/local/allegheny/12447355-74/last-leg-of-mon-fayette-expressway-okd

[jemacedo9]

"We found out from the Turnpike Commission that if we don't use this money... it will be sent to the other end of the state,"  said Fitzgerald. "While I still believe there are probably better uses ... I will be supporting this project at this point to move forward."  

Read as:
We won't be supporting this waste of money, let's use it elsewhere.
Wait, if we don't use it here, we lose it?
Well, this will be OUR waste of money, then!

OR

We can't let THEM (that other side of the state) take OUR money away...

[Mr_Northside]

What's the saying, "All politics is local"?
Or something like that.

I'll still be surprised to ever drive a mile of this highway north of PA-51.  Not heart-attack-inducing shock.... but surprised.

[Roadsguy]

Pretty much a waste of money without the western leg toward Pittsburgh.

[Gnutella]

Pretty much a waste of money without the western leg toward Pittsburgh.

Not necessarily. Combined with the Pennsylvania Turnpike and the South Beltway, there's three quarters of a loop around Pittsburgh, albeit all-toll. This also puts the industrial brownfields in the lower Mon Valley (Homestead to Clairton) directly on the Interstate network. Those sites ain't redeveloping without roads that can handle a large number of trucks.

[VTGoose]

Pretty much a waste of money without the western leg toward Pittsburgh.

Not necessarily. Combined with the Pennsylvania Turnpike and the South Beltway, there's three quarters of a loop around Pittsburgh, albeit all-toll. This also puts the industrial brownfields in the lower Mon Valley (Homestead to Clairton) directly on the Interstate network. Those sites ain't redeveloping without roads that can handle a large number of trucks.

One of the people who commented on the story on the Trib website pointed to I-279 and its impact. Before it was built (and I-79 was actually completed all the way south to Neville Island), there was't much going on in Warrendale, other than whatever small collection of gas stations and restaurants existed because of the Turnpike interchange there. Now it is a major suburban outpost of Pittsburgh and people know where Cranberry Township is located. I can't say that I-279 is the deciding factor but it had to have an effect on making access to that area much easier. The commenter claimed that completion of this leg of the Mon-Fayette Expressway would have the same effect on that area and people would be wise to start buying property in the area to be ready for the coming boom.

Bruce in Blacksburg -- but a native of the 'Burgh (Moon Twp.)

[Mr_Northside]

Possibly, though most of the North Hills / Cranberry and surrounding areas were farmland / "greenfield"
A lot of the Mon-valley is more-expensive-to-develop industrial brownfield (or already developed, but depressed residential stock)

While transit might be nice for a strictly commuting sense, treating the area as bedroom communities to the downtown/Oakland core, any other development / redevelopment does need major transportation improvements.  I'm not saying this road is going to be a cure-all, hell, even I'm not sure it's worth the money..... but the current road network in the South Hills / Mon-Valley right now is complete and total shit.

[briantroutman]

I've never understood how the Mon-Fayette will be of much value as a commuter route without the spur into Pittsburgh. While there are some corporate campuses and other commercial centers around Monroeville, someone traveling NE from Duquesne to Monroeville is heading away from the majority of the Pittsburgh metro area. And if motorists try to make the roundabout connection from the Mon-Fayette northbound to the Parkway East westbound, they'll be exacerbating already overloaded choke points at the Squirrel Hill Tunnel through the Point and beyond.

Honestly, I have long thought that the greatest possible value of the entire project would be its ability to serve as an I-376 bypass if it were to be built as originally planned (with the Pittsburgh spur). In fact, I wouldn't be surprised the two legs bypassing the Squirrel Hill Tunnel would see more traffic and generate more toll revenue than the entire remainder of the Mon-Fayette.

As currently planned, I only see it being valuable as an industrial route giving Turnpike access to Mon Valley businesses.

One of the people who commented on the story on the Trib website pointed to I-279 and its impact. The commenter claimed that completion of this leg of the Mon-Fayette Expressway would have the same effect on that area and people would be wise to start buying property in the area to be ready for the coming boom.

But if the Mon-Fayette spawns a new Cranberry in the Mon Valley, is that necessarily a good thing? My impression is that, given the overall stagnation of the metro area as a whole, "growth"  in SWPA is basically a zero-sum game. In other words, if new shopping centers, housing developments, etc. go up in the vicinity of the Mon-Fayette simply because the land and highway access facilitates new construction, it will be at the expense of other suburban areas or even the Pittsburgh itself.

[Gnutella]

As currently planned, I only see it being valuable as an industrial route giving Turnpike access to Mon Valley businesses.

That alone makes this project worthwhile, as far as I'm concerned. The Mon Valley is lined with abandoned brownfields, so access to these brownfields reopens them to development. As it stands now, they have no chance of redevelopment because the local road network can't handle trucks at all. (It can't even handle cars efficiently either.) And if we're serious about reducing suburban sprawl, then we'll do whatever it takes to redevelop abandoned brownfields, so new industry has less incentive to develop greenfields.

But if the Mon-Fayette spawns a new Cranberry in the Mon Valley, is that necessarily a good thing? My impression is that, given the overall stagnation of the metro area as a whole, "growth"  in SWPA is basically a zero-sum game. In other words, if new shopping centers, housing developments, etc. go up in the vicinity of the Mon-Fayette simply because the land and highway access facilitates new construction, it will be at the expense of other suburban areas or even the Pittsburgh itself.

I seriously doubt that the Mon-Fayette Expressway will induce much residential development. The Mon Valley and vicinity just isn't a desirable area to live, so most new development will be industrial. Using the proposed alignment of the final segment of the Mon-Fayette Expressway, the distance from the current northern terminus to the Allegheny Valley interchange (Exit 48) on the Pennsylvania Turnpike is 23 miles. It'd only take 15 minutes to get from Braddock or Duquesne to the Allegheny River Bridges, 20 minutes from McKeesport or Dravosburg, 30 minutes from Clairton or Elizabeth, 40 minutes from Monongahela or Charleroi, and 45 minutes from I-70. That's a HUGE reduction in time and trouble, so nearby brownfields would be unlocked for sure.

[Henry]

Time will tell whether it was a good idea abandoning the western spur. Probably not, but I think it's good to see that the whole Mon-Fayette will be completed soon.

[Gnutella]

Time will tell whether it was a good idea abandoning the western spur. Probably not, but I think it's good to see that the whole Mon-Fayette will be completed soon.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission really had no choice but to abandon the Pittsburgh segment if they wanted to get either remaining segment completed. They'd face ardent, possibly even violent, NIMBY opposition in the city of Pittsburgh, and Bill Peduto is the kind of left-wing liberal mayor who'd do Seattle proud. Right-wing conservatives in western Pennsylvania don't call him "Bicycle Bill" for nothing.

Not that I have a problem with bike lanes or public transit necessarily, just that the city of Pittsburgh now has a critical mass of people who are so anti-car that they don't even see the need to upgrade I-376 to modern Interstate standards, let alone build a new highway into the city.

ASIDE: The political gradient from the urban core to the exurban fringe in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area has very quietly become extreme, with a deep blue city and inner suburbs, various hues of purple in the remainder of Allegheny County, and deep red exurban counties.

[seicer]

That's an unfair characterization. To be blunt, there wasn't much support for the completion of the Mon-Fayette toll road, considering that it doesn't really serve any real economic interest nor serve as a functional bypass.

Would you call all liberals "ardent and violent?" Do you hold the same resolve for conservatives who petition outside of abortion clinics? I sure hope so.

The city isn't all "anti-car" but there is no further room for expressways or freeways that wouldn't decimate entire neighborhoods or further divide the city. I-279 was bad enough, cutting through the heart of a historic neighborhood without provisions for a cap over the freeway. And I-376? It was rehabilitated not that long ago and folks are just fine with it being not to "modern" interstate standards. Sure, some of the ramps could (and will) be reconfigured but the highway doesn't warrant 12' left shoulders. The right-of-way costs alone would make that undertaking prohibitive.

[JawnwoodS96]

left-wing liberal...Right-wing conservatives

At this point, those statements are redundant. I don't see too many blue-dog democrats or liberal conservatives anymore.

I really don't know how to feel about the resurrection of the Mon-Fayette. On one hand I'm pleased they want to finish it, but on the other hand...when will it be completed? I'm guessing sometime by 2047.

[Sykotyk]

left-wing liberal...Right-wing conservatives

At this point, those statements are redundant. I don't see too many blue-dog democrats or liberal conservatives anymore.

I really don't know how to feel about the resurrection of the Mon-Fayette. On one hand I'm pleased they want to finish it, but on the other hand...when will it be completed? I'm guessing sometime by 2047.

Pittsburgh's terrain makes it difficult to build a freeway. And a modern-standard freeway just to bypass the Squirrel Hill Tunnel? Might as well just V-cut the tunnel out, remove everything above it like they want to in Wheeling, and it would probably be far cheaper and easier than building a bypass of the tunnel.