A roadway decades in the making, after a $900 million investment into the Southern Beltway, we wanted to know are people using it?
“Once in a while, we use it for getting on and off 79 easier depending on where you going off Morganza Road and sometimes going to West Virginia it can be quicker,” said Paul Faber.
The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission told Channel 11 that daily traffic is almost hitting projections that came before the pandemic.
“The traffic engineers were telling us we’d get about 10,000 passengers or vehicles per day. We are close to that we are about 90 to 95%,” said Mark Compton, the CEO of the PA Turnpike Commission.
The road isn’t just for easier access to the airport, it’s supposed to be a beltway connector for the future, eventually connecting Western Washington County with State Route 43 over to Monroeville.
“We are seeing streams of economic development, everything from Amazon plants to Fort Cherry Industrial development group there are about $540 million of private investment that went into that. Right now, 3000 jobs that will double in the next five years,” said Washington County Commissioner Nick Sherman.
The fewer than 14 miles of this toll road link North Strabane, Cecil, Mt. Pleasant and McDonald. These rural areas have land to grow.
“We a lot of times think of Southpointe but really the sleeping giant of all the economic boom is the Fort Cherry developments,” Sherman said.
Sherman told Channel 11 there are now bidding wars over areas of land that have sat Dormant for nearly a decade and for the Southern Beltway plan to come together, new housing will have to complement the industrial growth.
“If you know anyone who is looking for a house out here you know they go on the market and a day or two they are gone. We are looking at capital projects on what we can do to increase the number of homes being built,” Sherman said.
Like I-79 before, it may be a decade before we truly know if the Southern Beltway unlocks the potential of these communities, but in the short term, drivers willing to pay the toll are enjoying the ride.
“It’s faster if you want to stay a little safer and a little bit quicker it can be a good benefit,” Faber said.
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