The railroad tracks located along Route 51 in McKees Rocks and Stowe were closed Oct. 19 to allow for demolition of overhead portions of the 103-year-old Presston pedestrian bridge, part of ongoing site clearing and building demolition in preparation for the construction of CSX Corporation’s Pittsburgh Intermodal Rail Terminal.
A seven-hour window was provided for razing the overgrown bridge linking Presston — a small Stowe neighborhood comprised of former Pressed Steel Car Company homes — to current day Island Avenue, also known as Route 51. The footbridge was officially closed to foot traffic about 23 years ago.
Plans for the $60 million intermodal facility to be built on the 70-acre site of the former Pittsburgh and Lake Erie (P&LE) railroad yard were announced in October 2013 and site preparation began early this month. Construction of the five-track facility is expected to take less than two years.
“The modal is the biggest thing that is going to be happening here in Stowe Township. But honestly, it will be the last thing that’s happening because we have no more [vacant] property,” said Cheryl McDermott, Stowe commissioner and CSX committee chairwoman.
“When that first truck came down there, I was elated because you tell people and you tell people it’s going to happen, and they don’t believe you,” she said.
The terminal is being built as part of CSX’s $850 million National Gateway, a public-private partnership designed to create more efficient transportation networks allowing shippers to take advantage of the economics of double-stack containers.
Locally, this site will provide Western Pennsylvania shippers direct intermodal freight access, strengthen the region’s transportation infrastructure and shift long-haul freight from highway to rail, according to CSX officials.
“This facility will play a critical role in the revitalization of the Sto-Rox area, while creating transportation savings and stimulating economic activity throughout the Pittsburgh region,” Dennis Yablonsky, CEO of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, said in a release.
With 55 acres in Stowe and 15 acres in McKees Rocks, the CSX site located to the west of the McKees Rocks Bridge is expected to bring around 200 jobs to the area, Ms. McDermott said.
Additionally, the 52 acres which housed the former maintenance facility for the P&LE is available for development to the east of the bridge.
“We are thrilled this project is coming to fruition,” said Taris Vrcek, executive director of the McKees Rocks Community Development Corporation. “It is strategic not only for the [Sto-Rox] community but the region.”
The community development corporation is hopeful the intermodal will serve as a catalyst to the development of the large site known as the Rocks Industrial Park, owned by Trinity Commercial Development.
“Half of that [former P&LE] railroad property is in McKees Rocks and half of that is in Stowe, so we’re talking about the whole Sto-Rox community,” Mr. Vrcek said.
“The whole community grew up around this industrial development 130 years ago,” Mr. Vrcek said. “It left a huge hole here.”
The community development corporation and the McKees Rocks borough have reached out to Allegheny County, Allegheny Conference on Community Development and the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance for help in advancing “the only significant piece of developable property left in the community,” Mr. Vrcek said.
Sonja Reis, freelance writer: suburbanliving@post-gazette.com.
First Published: October 30, 2015, 4:00 a.m.
