West-to-West Coalition, a Mon Valley nonprofit organization that works on problems associated with redeveloping former industrial sites, is ready to move ahead with a study of an industrial brownfield next to Kennywood Park in Duquesne.

The amusement park would like to expand its facility onto a neighboring 48-acre parcel that was once home to Union Railroad operations, pending the outcome of Phase I and II environmental site assessments to be administered by the nonprofit.

The objective of the assessments is to identify potential or existing environmental contamination liabilities and determine how those liabilities can be fixed. Both parts of the study could be completed by August, according to George Matta, chairman of the West-to-West Coalition.

The project has been in the works for more than a year. The Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development recently awarded a $175,000 grant to fund the study.

In March, the park and coalition signed the agreement to move ahead with the study.

"There are more brownfield sites in the Mon Valley than there are anywhere else in Allegheny County," Mr. Matta said.

He said the expense of getting these sites ready for development can be prohibitively expensive. "That's why these funds that come down from the state are so important to our geographical region, so that we can expand our economic impact."

West-to-West will contract businesses to perform cleanup of the site, Mr. Matta said, adding that his organization typically uses KU Resources Inc., of Duquesne, to perform phases I and II.

Out of the grant, West-to-West will receive $40,000 for administration fees. The remaining $135,000 will cover actual costs of the assessments.

Kennywood general manager Jerome Gibas said the park also would like to expand onto the former Kmart shopping center across the road from the park. Kennywood has a number of improvements it hopes to make in coming years, including more rides, a hotel and an indoor water park.

The development of the brownfield and the completion of the troubled Mon-Fayette toll road are likely to be major factors affecting the realization of those improvements.

It's possible the park could use the area to be studied by West-to-West, much of which lies in a gully under the Kennywood Bridge on Route 837, as the site for a new roller coaster, Mr. Gibas said.