Norwin students address commercial truck parking, win regional PennDOT contest

A team of three Norwin High School students won a PennDOT regional contest after designing a solution to the lack of parking for commercial trucks along interstate corridors.

The proposal from Nicholas Cormas, Gabriel Conboy, and Caden Hoffman was selected as the regional winner for schools in Westmoreland, Fayette, Washington and Greene counties for design to add commercial truck parking spaces where Interstate 70 meets the Pennsylvania Turnpike at New Stanton. The students envisioned the creation of a Surplus Plaza — a financially smart and environmentally friendly solution poised to be a self-sustaining travel area, PennDOT said.

The study by the Norwin students addressed not only funding and profitability, but also the impact on the community and the environment.

Accommodations for parking about 12,000 commercial trucks are needed during peak truck-parking hours, but there are only about 11,600 truck-spaces available at private truck stops, PennDOT rest areas, welcome centers and Pennsylvania Turnpike service plazas, PennDOT said.

The trio of students were able to clearly explain their idea and handled questions from the judges with insightful responses,” said Thomas Harskowitch, a high school statistics and geometry teacher who was the team’s mentor.

“The judges were impressed with the amount of research and statistics provided with the presentation, which provided the much-needed support to justify their innovative ideas,” Harskowitch said.

The Norwin team will join other regional winners in presenting their plan to a PennDOT executive and a panel of judges in Harrisburg on April 25 to determine a statewide winner. The winning team will receive a $4,000 award provided by the Associated Pennsylvania Constructors and the American Council of Engineering Companies of PA.