TodayTurnpike plan unchanged in Lower Mifflin
Commission still hopeful it can find a solution that all Lower Mifflin parties can live with for the next seven months
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Article RatingTurnpike Commission officials heard the complaints about their plan to close three Lower Mifflin Township bridges during a construction project and met with the affected groups.
But they haven’t changed their minds.
Commission spokesman Carl DeFebo said Thursday that although officials have not ruled out any possibilities, the plan is still to close Route 233 and Middle Road Monday where they cross Interstate 76.
The commission plans to keep the Center Road bridge, originally scheduled to be closed at the same time, open until March 31 to give Big Spring School District more time to reconfigure its bus schedules. It will also move up the opening of the Route 233 bridge from late October to mid-August, increasing the project cost by an additional $250,000.
A request from local officials to keep at least one of the bridges open during the project was “not a reasonable option,” DeFebo explained. Widening the bridges in phases, he has said, could increase the project’s length by years.
Commission officials met Thursday morning with Lower Mifflin supervisors, local EMS responders and school officials to inform them of the new plan.
Cumberland County officials say the commission’s plan to close the three bridges at the same time will restrict standard routes of travel for emergency responders and cause delays in response time.
How much time the road closures will add is still unknown, but the commission has started traveling with area crews to figure that out.
Emergency responders have estimated as many as 25 minutes might be added on some calls.
“Our stance from the beginning has been that we feel for public safety and the needs of residents,” said Bob Shively, deputy director of emergency management operations for the county.
“I would say the Turnpike Commission came back with options that weren’t pleasing,” Big Spring Superintendent Rich Fry said. But he added that he is happy to hear the commission plans to help defray costs incurred by longer bus routes.
The seven-month bridge construction is phase one of the Turnpike Commission’s $62 million plan to widen Interstate 76 to six lanes between the Carlisle interchange and Blue Mountain Tunnel.
Fry and other local officials, including area lawmakers, balked last week when the commission’s plan was publicized, saying it would wreak havoc on school and emergency activities.
They also complained they were notified far too late to make necessary changes, a complaint the commission has since acknowledged as accurate.
State Sen. Pat Vance, R-31, is one of those critical of the closings.
“Hopefully, it’s still a work in progress,” a spokeswoman for the senator said, referring to the latest proposal on the table.
Shively had similar sentiments about the new plan, citing a serious concern that there is going to be significant public safety issues if there isn’t a better solution.
“I wouldn’t say at this point we’re totally upset with the turnpike, but time will tell here to see what happens,” he said.
DeFebo said the commission will look at all options available to reduce emergency response time.
“We do want to work through a solution that everybody can live with, hopefully,” he said.
The group plans to meet again Monday to finalize the plan.
