A proposal to reroute the Pennsylvania Turnpike by constructing a new roadway atop the Allegheny Mountain ridge is generating local opposition.

Somerset County opponents of the project were at the Capitol last week urging the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission to add a third lane to an existing mountain tunnel instead.

The commission is at the preliminary engineering phase of the Allegheny Mountain Realignment Project. The project has been on the drawing board for 30 years.

The commission estimates the cost of the roadway project could reach the $500 million range, but a more solid estimate won’t be available until preliminary engineering is completed in 2028, said Commission spokeswoman Marissa Orbanek Tuesday.

“A new tunnel would be double the cost,” said Obranek, adding that doesn’t include ongoing maintenance of the tunnel built in 1940.

The realignment project represents the newest chapter in Pennsylvania’s effort to bridge the east-west mountain barrier in the central part of the state during the past two centuries.

Pros and Cons

The commission and project opponents offer competing arguments about the project.

Citizens to Save The Allegheny Mountain calls the project the 1,000-foot “Gray Cut.”

They distribute an image of what the mountain cut would look like versus adding a third tunnel.

“This (cut) is irreversible,” said Jeff Payne of the Somerset County Conservancy. “You can’t undo it.”

Payne said the cut would create a massive open scar across the ridgeline. It would disrupt water aquifers and forests on the eastern continental divide, remove sportsmen’s land and interfere with wildlife.

In recent decades, Pennsylvania has acted to preserve ridge landscapes stressing their importance to migratory birds and water resources.

Rep. Carl Walker Metzgar, R-Somerset, said the project is an overreach by the commission jeopardizing private property rights.

He sponsored House Bill 2205 to end the commission’s ability to exercise the power of eminent domain to acquire private property. HB 2205 is before the House Transportation Committee.

The commission said the turnpike realignment is necessary for traffic safety and movement of commerce.

“The proposed stretch of new mainline roadway improves realignment, which plays a critical role in roadway safety and can lead to reduced crashes,” the commission said. “This, in turn improves overall safety for highway workers, first responders and the half a million drivers who use this roadway daily.”

The area’s crash rate is three times higher than the statewide average due to the terrain and outdated highway design, the commission said.

“The Allegheny Mountain Realignment Project adds new travel lanes and a dedicated truck climbing lane, reducing congestion…” the commission said.

Building a third tunnel will meet transportation needs while protecting the mountain, water resources and private property, the citizen’s group said.

Both the commission and citizen’s group have contrasting views of which is safer: realignments or tunnels.

Legacy

The Turnpike’s route across southern Pennsylvania is based on magnate William Vanderbilt’s abortive South Pennsylvania Railroad in the 1880s.

Several abandoned tunnels on Vanderbilt’s line were repurposed for the new Turnpike in the 1930s.

The commission built a new tunnel at Allegheny Mountain because the old Vanderbilt tunnel interior was considered dangerous, according to The Pennsylvania Turnpike by Dan Cupper.