Murrysville fracking well hearing focuses on truck traffic

The ongoing public hearing for the proposed Titan fracking well pad off Bollinger Road focused on traffic most recently, but members of the community who want to comment on the project will have to wait, as the hearing stretches into its third month of Murrysville council meetings.

Monroeville driller Huntley & Huntley Energy Exploration is proposing the unconventional drilling project, slated for up to six wells, and operations manager Manny Johnson laid out plans to try and minimize the impact on Murrysville’s roads.

“What we try to do is find where the main state roads are, and look at the shortest distance to the location,” Johnson said.

That route was determined to be Route 66 to Silvis Road, then onto Hilty and Bollinger roads to reach the 71-acre site, where Huntley is proposing a 175,000 square foot well pad.

Johnson said the best way to coordinate hauling to and from the site, if the project is approved, is by arranging trucking convoys.

“We plan to obtain a staging area along Route 66,” Johnson said. “What we’d do, for example, with sand trucks is to stack three of them with a pilot vehicle, so that if there’s traffic on the roads, the pilot vehicle can communicate with the staging area.”

Johnson said only one convoy at a time would move along the hauling route.

“There are some narrow parts along the haul route, and we’re very mindful of those,” he said.

Trucks will arrive and depart as a convoy.

Councilman Loren Kase asked if the company takes steps to ensure convoys are abiding by the rules of the road.

“The lead truck in the convoy controls the speed of the rest of the trucks,” Johnson said. “As for vendors, we’ve disciplined vendors who speed or don’t adhere to our routes, and we’ve chased vendors off if they don’t stick to our plan.”

Johnson added that Huntley officials have reached out to the Franklin Regional, Kiski Area and Greensburg-Salem school districts to inquire when buses will be on the hauling route, “and we avoid sending truck traffic through during those time periods,” he said. “We also keep that dialogue open in case of changes during the school year.

“It’s worked out well,” he said.

The public hearing will continue at council’s Aug. 7 meeting, set for 7 p.m. in the municipal building at 4100 Sardis Road. Meetings are also broadcast live on Comcast local access Channel 19, and streamed live at Murrysville.com.