Pennsylvania Department of Transportation District 11 officials say they showed no favoritism toward former Pennsylvania Supreme Court Judge Cynthia Baldwin as part of a bridge replacement project in White Oak.
Nearly 100 feet of her private driveway was paved as part of a $672,208 contract with Five R Excavating Inc. of New Florence, which has been replacing a McClintock Road bridge over Jacks Run near the Route 48 intersection.
PennDOT did the work because the highway in front of her residence near White Oak Park was raised about 4 feet above the previous level and shifted onto about 30 feet of her property to straighten a curve and build a new approach to the bridge.
PennDOT paid Ms. Baldwin $10,150 for right-of-way that amounted to more than 3,400 square feet of her front lawn, some large trees and pilasters at the end of her driveway. The department also acquired about a half-acre of hillside from Allegheny County for the project.
"We had to do that amount of paving in order to restore access and provide for proper drainage," PennDOT construction executive Jim Foringer said. "It's a typical driveway adjustment that we would make for anyone."
PennDOT officials said they had been contacted by state Sen. Sean Logan, D-Monroeville, to inquire about the project on behalf of Ms. Baldwin. "It was an inquiry on behalf of a constituent, nothing more," Mr. Foringer said.
He said the family hired a private residential contractor, Leeper Paving, of McKeesport, to pave the rest of the driveway at the same time that PennDOT was doing its work so that the work could be coordinated.
Correction/Clarification: (Published Sept. 3, 2008) Cynthia Baldwin completed her term as a justice of the state Supreme Court in January and now works for a private law firm. This story as originally published Aug. 30, 2008 incorrectly said she was still a justice.
First Published: August 30, 2008, 4:00 a.m.
