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Getting Around: Taking another holiday poke at PennDOT
Sunday, December 26, 1999 By Joe Grata, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
This is a sequel to last week's Getting Around column. This holiday special is titled "Picking on PennDOT, Part II."
Pat Nagy of McMurray, who was transferred here in 1984 after working in Detroit, said he needed to "spout off a bit about the so-called transportation department" in Pennsylvania.
Late this summer, when he returned to Michigan on vacation, Nagy discovered that an eight-lane, 5-mile-long stretch of Interstate 275 had been rebuilt on the west side of Detroit. In both directions. In six months.
So why, he wants to know, is PennDOT taking at least five years to rebuild just one interchange (at Route 8-28 in Etna)? And why is PennDOT taking forever to rebuild Interstate 79 through Washington and Allegheny counties a mile at a time? And why must everyone use a crowded two-lane road (Route 60) from I-79's southbound lanes to Pittsburgh International Airport?
"Sorry about getting long-winded," Nagy apologized.
Dear Pat:
No apology necessary. I'm surprised that you didn't vent about the Fort Pitt Bridge-Fort Pitt Tunnel project.
Fort Pitt repairs officially got under way in 1993, when granite-and-metal facades on the tunnel portals were replaced. The final phase of work is scheduled to be completed late in 2003 -- in time to begin renovating the Fort Duquesne Bridge.
John Grimme of Penn Hills thinks PennDOT ought to remove the 55 mph speed limit signs on the Parkway East and Parkway West "because nobody goes that slow."
He recommended recycling the aluminum into signs that would give more advance notice to drivers heading west on the Boulevard of the Allies, warning them of the Liberty Tunnels-Interstate 579 split in the highway at the edge of Duquesne University. "When you round the curve, you have to make a quick and dangerous decision," he wrote. "Otherwise, you'll end up in Never-Never Land."
Dear John:
Peter Pan, Captain Hook and Tinkerbell were PennDOT consultants for the Boulevard of the Allies signs. They must have hoped more people would join them in Never-Never Land.
Edmund Skacan of Allison Park thinks PennDOT should establish special entry and exit ramps -- at least for the summer vacation season -- on I-79 at Moraine State Park to make it easier for people heading to "north shore" parts of the lake.
Another interchange would minimize circuitous travel, confusion, accidents and other problems around Portersville and other roads in the vicinity of the popular recreation destination in Butler County. "It would greatly increase interest in the park by Erie and Pittsburgh residents" by making it more accessible, Skacan wrote.
Dear Ed:
Tourism is already the No. 2 industry in Pennsylvania. PennDOT wants people to drive on old-style farm roads because agriculture is No. 1.
There's no way you will ever see the Moraine State Park interchange unless (1) PennDOT uses common sense, or (2) another National Boy Scouts Jamboree comes to town, as it did in the early 1980s. PennDOT built temporary 1-79 ramps in the area you're talking about to accommodate the youths.
Michael Gregor, who lives near Union City, Erie County, finally threw out his stack of photocopied letters and return mail after writing to public officials for years and getting replies that he calls "the same political crap."
When he asked officials to do something about deplorable conditions on Route 6 and Route 97 in his corner of the state, he got excuses, not results. "PennDOT is a waste of taxpayer money," Gregor said. "Come to Erie. See for yourself."
Dear Mike:
Thanks for the invitation. When I finish writing about PennDOT's 798 highways and 1,023 bridges in deplorable condition in the eight-county Pittsburgh area, I'll be up. I promise.
I'm withholding the identity of this e-mailer, but I will share her comments.
"Please save my marriage, Transportation Boy. You might want to warn your colleagues that live in the Mt. Lebanon-Dormont area to pack up some valuables because I am ready to bomb the hell out of Banksville Road. It might clear out some of the traffic.
"One hour and 10 minutes to get to work this morning! It took a colleague 52 minutes to get from [the former Boston Market restaurant] at McFarland Road to the merge point before you get to the tunnels. Why is this so bad?
"Route 51 was getting horrible again, so I went back to Banksville, and this is what I get. I can't win."
Dear Happy Traveler:
Behave like a nice motorist, not a mad terrorist. Control your rage. When a heavy snow hits us before morning rush hours, you'll appreciate how good you had it this summer and fall. PennDOT appreciates when its "customers" look at the brighter side of things.
Alan Tignanelli of North Versailles wants to know what's the deal with an electronic message board PennDOT has installed on the Parkway East inbound, before the Oakland exit.
"I'm guessing it's there to provide information about hazardous conditions and such, but the lights are so bright that they glare," he said. "You can't read the sign until you're on top of it, so people are slowing down."
Jim Weslager of the East Hills has the same gripe. "PennDOT would better serve the public by keeping the sign off, unless it can provide useful information."
Dear Alan and Dear Jim:
PennDOT is extending the Squirrel Hill Tunnel experience. What's another fender-bender or two?
Factoid. Highway, bridge, airport, rail, transit and waterway construction in the United States generates $160 billion in annual economic activity and sustains more than 2.2 million jobs. -- American Road and Transportation Builders Association.
Plate du jour. PG staff writer Kristen Ostendorf is amused by TOP-SGT, a vanity Pennsylvania license plate she spotted on a minivan in the Perry Hilltop area. Is this a member of the city gendarmes?
Send your transportation questions, complaints and suggestions to Joe Grata c/o The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, or e-mail him at jgrata@post-gazette.com Include your address and phone number, please.
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