Concerns over removal of Harvison Road bridge unlikely to save Penn Township span

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission will remove the bridge on Harvison Road in 2023, a move Penn Township residents and emergency responders oppose.

The bridge, which crosses over the turnpike and connects to Pleasant Valley Road, will be eliminated as part of the commission’s $300 million Total Reconstruction and Widening Project.

The project will widen the turnpike from four to six lanes along a 10-mile stretch between Pittsburgh and Irwin.

According to the project manager Kevin Scheurich, the work includes a curve correction near milepost 62 — the section of the turnpike spanned by the Harvison Road bridge.

To accommodate the widening, Scheurich said any bridges over the highway must be replaced. The Trafford Road Bridge, for example, was replaced in 2009.

The Harvison Road bridge, however, presented too many engineering complications and expenses relative to its daily traffic count to warrant replacement, Scheurich said.

If the bridge were replaced with a pier to reduce the span depth, Scheurich said the project would not be funded and it would result in a 3.8 mile detour of the turnpike for three to four years.

Alternatively, Scheurich said the bridge could be replaced with a single-span structure, but that would create additional challenges, requiring beams of nearly nine feet and reconfiguration of Pleasant Valley Road to avoid disturbing a nearby cemetery.

Scheurich added the Harvison Road and Pleasant Valley Road intersection does not meet intersection sight distance requirements. An adjustment to fix that problem would further contribute to the project’s cost.

Carl DeFebo Jr., the commission’s director of public relations and marketing, said the commission tries to keep its expenses as low as possible since it relies on tolls to finance its work.

Considering these factors and Harvison Road’s 2013 average daily traffic count of just 612 vehicles, the commission determined it “not feasible or reasonable” to replace the bridge, according to DeFebo.

Beth and Jeff Mols, 21-year residents of Bluebird Lane just off of Harvison Road, said the elimination of the bridge will impact transportation for themselves and the rest of the community.

Beth Mols estimated elimination of the bridge will add 20 minutes to the drive to Murrysville and other areas beyond Pleasant Valley Road. She also said school bus routes that use of the bridge will have to be redirected.

Jeff Mols said he understands the position of the commission, but is against eliminating the bridge.

“I think maybe they haven’t done a thorough enough traffic study to really figure out who’s going to be impacted and how many folks are going to be impacted by shutting it down,” he said.

He also suspects township commissioners may be hoping, if they comply with the bridge removal, the commission will add an interchange along Route 130, which the township has been asking for in recent years.

Scheurich said the interchange is on the commission’s capital plan, but is not funded and there is not a designated timeline for its construction.

When discussion began regarding the bridge elimination, Township Secretary/Manager Mary Perez said the board asked the commission to keep a possible future turnpike interchange in mind. She said no further progress has been made on that subject.

Harvison Court resident Eric Lindstrom said the removal of the bridge will have a “major impact” on his life.

Although the township is drafting an agreement with the commission to make up for the loss of the bridge, Lindstrom said nothing could “equate the time and money it (will) cost” local residents.

“I don’t know if there’s anything you could do. You’re eliminating the connection between this entire area and that entire area,” Lindstrom said. “Basically, you’re adding on around 10 miles just by eliminating a bridge.”

A petition against the removal of the bridge was started by Nicole Foster on change.org.

“They are using decade old traffic studies to try to show (the bridge) is not … used as much as it truly is, but we know that Harvison Road is vital to the township and surrounding communities,” Foster wrote in the petition.

As of Thursday, the petition had 1,881 signatures.

Tanner Peters, first lieutenant of the Paintertown Volunteer Fire Department, said the department is concerned about the proposal.

According to Peters, there are no fire hydrants on Harvison Road, so the fire department connects to one on Pleasant Valley Road and lays hoses across the Harvison Road bridge to service the houses on the other side.

Peters said one or two fire hydrants will need to be installed along Harvison Road to make up for the loss of the bridge.

The delay in response times, however, cannot be made up if the bridge is removed, Peters said.

Because the fire department will not be able to connect to Pleasant Valley Road from Harvison Road, Peters said they will need to use Route 130 toget to the area. He said that will add three or four minutes to the department’s response times when they are called to homes on or beyond Pleasant Valley Road.

Penn Township Police Chief John Otto, however, said he does not anticipate any challenges for his department.

“We have multiple officers spread out throughout Penn Township at any given time… It won’t present an issue for us,” Otto said. “There’s a lot of different ways around Penn Township if you allow yourself to get familiar.”

To counteract the loss of the bridge and its “inconvenience to the township,” Scheurich said the commission has been in contact with township about reaching an agreement.

DeFebo said the commission hopes to “be transparent and make sure we are communicating” effectively throughout this process.

Township commissioners voted to begin official negotiations at their meeting Wednesday.

Although the formal agreement has yet to be drafted, Perez said the township discussed adding a cul de sac to the end of Harvison Road, installing fire hydrants along the road and placing guiderail at the Harvison and Pleasant Valley Road intersection.

Perez said the township will use some of the financial compensation it receives from the bridge removal to improve Harvison Road.

Township solicitor Michael Korns said commissioners argued against the elimination of the bridge, but since it is owned and maintained by the turnpike commission, the township cannot force its replacement.

Korns said the township instead pivoted to drafting the most effective agreement possible.

“We’re just trying to do the best we can under the circumstances,” he said.

Echoing this sentiment, Commissioner Jeff Shula said the board understands the concerns of the community, but hopes they “believe that we as a board do what we feel is best for the township.”

DeFebo said the commission understands the concerns of officials and residents, but hopes an agreement can be reached.

“This is a highly traveled section of the turnpike, and we have an obligation to customer safety,” DeFebo said. “Hopefully, there’s some level of understanding. We want to be good neighbors.”