HEMPFIELD TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Route 30 in Hempfield Township is a heavily traveled highway.
“[I] travel it every day, so, a good bit,” said Chris Eddins Jr. of Jeannette.
Eddins Jr. said the highway can get a bit jammed up at times near all of the different stores like Walmart — and different restaurants.
“Absolutely, especially during the lunch hour and stuff,” Eddins Jr. said.
The highway might get a little more congested as a currently vacant property that used to be Rite Aid has been approved unanimously by Hempfield Township Supervisors Monday night to become a Sheetz.
“I like the idea of a Sheetz going in there. Yeah, I love Sheetz and stuff, so I do like the idea of one being in there, but I definitely think it will hurt a little bit with traffic,” Eddins Jr. told Channel 11′s Andrew Havranek.
Aaron Siko, the Hempfield Township Manager, said those were concerns that were raised ahead of Monday’s 5-0 vote to approve the plan. He said Sheetz submitted a highway occupancy plan to PennDOT ahead of their proposal.
“They have the ability to make any suggestions for improvements, and certainly some of those were documented and will have to be made,” Siko said.
Siko said the zoning criteria already fit the Sheetz proposal. He said putting a Sheetz at that location will help drivers in that stretch of 30 — as the Sam’s Club and GetGo stations are both off of the highway.
“As you drive that corridor, it might seem like there are a lot of gas stations, but certainly that’s one that will be right off of 30 and convenient for a lot of travelers,” Siko said.
Drivers agreed.
“We don’t have a lot of gas stations on this side except GetGo, so we’d have to go to Youngwood to get to Sheetz or to GetGo downtown,” said Peyton Hause of Greensburg.
Sheetz sent a statement on the approval to Channel 11 on Tuesday.
“We are grateful to the Hempfield Township Board of Supervisors for their final approval of our project at the southeast corner of Route 30 and West Hills Drive,” said Nick Ruffner, public affairs manager. “As a family owned and operated business, Sheetz is committed to being a good neighbor in every community we serve. As we do with all of our projects, we will work with state and local officials to obtain the necessary permits and approvals.”
Right now, there is no official timeline for when the demolition and construction of the new Sheetz will start.
Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
©2025 Cox Media Group
