SR 130 INTERCHANGE PROJECT

THE CHALLENGE

The purpose of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) State Route (SR) 130 Interchange Project is to design and construct a new interchange to improve access to and from the Turnpike’s east and westbound lanes of traffic in the area of Penn Township. This project will also support economic development in Westmoreland and neighboring counties.

The new PTC SR 130 Interchange will be located between the Turnpike’s Irwin (Exit 67) and Pittsburgh (Exit 57) interchanges. It will also ease congestion on roadways currently used to reach the nearest points of entry to the Turnpike in the region. Construction is expected to begin in fall 2035 and conclude in summer 2038.

HOW WE HELPED

As the primary consultant engineering design team on the PTC SR 130 Interchange Project, McCormick Taylor’s responsibilities include leading the preliminary and final engineering design of the new interchange facility and overseeing public involvement activities. The public involvement task for this high-profile project was designed to establish a reliable, two-way communications platform with the local residents and communities early and often throughout the design and construction of the new interchange.

McCormick Taylor’s Public Engagement effort also facilitates the timely, meaningful, and effective engagement of key stakeholders, impacted property owners and other interested individuals in Penn Township, Westmoreland County, specific to the new interchange project preliminary design process.

Messaging is always an important component of most projects and particularly for this project and the public engagement process as multiple Turnpike projects are simultaneously underway near the PTC SR 130 Interchange Project area; namely: the new Harrison City Maintenance Facility construction; Mainline Pennsylvania Turnpike Total Reconstruction project; and Open Road Tolling (OTR) installation. 

The PEP that the McCormick Taylor team developed included a 3-step Project Initiation Plan (PIP) to engage and inform target audiences of the planned activities and project schedule:

• Step 1: Project Initiation meeting with Local Township Officials, Elected Officials and PennDOT District 12.
• Step 2: Multi-channel Public Notification – the McCormick Taylor team facilitated the development, coordination, and distribution of the following public-facing informational resources including a project website, several paid media advertisements for print and digital sources, and the development and distribution of project initiation letters to local residents and key stakeholders.
• Step 3: The organization of a Stakeholder Advisory Group to assist with sharing accurate and timely project information with community members.

While the organization of the Stakeholder Advisory Group (SAG) was considered to be key to the overall success of this project, the SAG was not intended to be a decision-making body. They were tasked with generating meaningful discussions, feedback and local perspectives on project-related matters presented by the PTC project team.

The McCormick Taylor team also set up a contact form on the project website allowing the public to submit comments/concerns/feedback on an ongoing basis. Comment form submission is routinely monitored by the project team to ensure a timely response to inquirers. This also allowed the option for the public to sign up for project updates via mailing list, which the team utilizes to distribute notable and current project information as it becomes available.

In November 2024, the project team facilitated the first public meeting for this project – the SR 130 Interchange Project Open House Plans Display at Penn-Trafford High School in Harrison City, PA. The purpose of the event was to provide the public and interested stakeholders with the opportunity to review detailed preliminary engineering design plans for the proposed new interchange project, engage with project team members and provide public comment.

RESULTS

The McCormick Taylor team developed all public outreach and promotional materials for the event, including invitation letters, email distributions, paid newspaper advertisements, press releases, project website updates, and all meeting materials such as display boards and handouts. The event was attended by approximately 250 citizens, with all comments submitted being compiled, analyzed, and responded to by the McCormick Taylor team.

A final engineering design public meeting is anticipated for late fall/winter of 2025.