North Huntingdon and Irwin officials are puzzled about why the Westmoreland County Industrial Development Corp. did not solicit input from them before it commissioned a $10,000 study on a turnpike ramp.

The study is to determine whether the west exit ramp from the Pennsylvania Turnpike interchange to Route 30 should be extended to access Pennsylvania Avenue in North Huntingdon.

Irwin officials are wondering why they were not consulted because borough council in July commissioned a separate $12,000 study in an effort to reduce speeding and ease other traffic concerns on a nearly mile-long stretch of Pennsylvania Avenue in the borough.

Engineering consultant URS will perform both studies.

The studies are linked, according to Larry J. Larese, executive director for the county industrial development authority, and Matt Junker, a staff member for state Sen. Bob Regola, R-Hempfield.

"They're linked?" Irwin Councilwoman Danyce Neal asked. "That's news to me. This extension would severely impact Irwin. Why did the county keep us in the dark?"

Although Mr. Larese maintains that the location has not been determined, a past plan called for the extension to access Pennsylvania Avenue near the vacant Carlton Motel in North Huntingdon.

"That's the proposed access point suggested in a similar project that was supported by Sen. Regola and presented to township and borough elected officials two years ago," Mrs. Neal recalled.

Tom Balya, county commissioner and board member for the industrial development corporation, said the county is concerned because congestion is slowing access to Route 30, causing traffic to back up on the toll plaza apron.

"I was surprised to learn of this study and that North Huntingdon, in which the ramp would be located, was not asked for input on the study or its goal," Andy Blenko, township planning director-engineer, wrote in a letter to Mr. Larese this week.

"Irwin Borough could see even greater impact as the proposed ramp may lead to additional traffic on Pennsylvania Avenue, an area that is already the source of resident complaints due to increased traffic and excessive speeds," the letter continued.

"While I can agree that the existing turnpike interchange is dysfunctional at best, I believe there are two main reasons for this situation.

"First of all, eastbound traffic exiting the turnpike is frequently backed up into the toll plaza from the traffic signal at Arona Road. This occurs during the afternoon rush hour on a daily basis and is particularly bad on Fridays.

"This situation could be solved by installing a detection loop on the [east] exit ramp to pre-empt the signal at Arona Road, keeping it green for Route 30 as long as there is traffic stacked onto the exit ramp. Traffic flow could be further enhanced by coordinating the signals at Arona Road and Thompson Lane.

"The second problem is that in the early part of this decade, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission reconfigured the westbound ramp leading to Route 30.

"This also included moving their park-and-ride lot from near the toll plaza to an area adjacent to Route 30 and the exit ramp. As part of this work, the westbound acceleration lane was removed.

"The geometry of this reconfigured ramp is very poor, forcing motorists to almost stop before they can merge onto Route 30.

"This sharpened curve of the ramp and the approach angle make it virtually impossible to merge onto Route 30 westbound without coming to a full stop first, thereby backing traffic onto the exit ramp. As with the eastbound ramp, the impact on traffic flow is particularly evident during the afternoon rush hour.

"The township would welcome the opportunity to provide input into the study and review the study's recommendations. However, it is clear to me that the traffic flow from the turnpike [onto Route 30] could be considerably improved by resolving the two issues outlined."

Mr. Blenko said the recommendations are the result of a discussion of the township's traffic concerns with Police Chief Michael Daugherty, Sgt. Duane Kucera and Acting Manager Michael Turley. Sgt Kucera is the department's traffic supervisor.