Two interregional highway projects I'd like to see

[pman]

Its a bizarre project. It will use state revenue rather than toll money. The mon fayette is currently handling a volume of cars that made the north shore connector subject of ridicule..and is in par with the unbuilt avrr project. What a total waste of resources. $632 million. Scr -we arent getting oregons laws so the next best thing is not to subsidize sprawl any more than it already is.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by pman

Its a bizarre project. It will use state revenue rather than toll money. The mon fayette is currently handling a volume of cars that made the north shore connector subject of ridicule..and is in par with the unbuilt avrr project. What a total waste of resources. $632 million. Scr -we arent getting oregons laws so the next best thing is not to subsidize sprawl any more than it already is.

I actually rode the North Shore Connector yesterday for the first time. I walked from my home in the East End over to Rivers Casino but then decided it was too cold and windy to walk back the entire way, so I figured I'd take the FREE subway Downtown from Allegheny Station to chip off half the walk back home. It was actually used by quite a few people. By the time I got off at Steel Plaza I watched as a few dozen people got on and off between my "end of the line" station, North Side, Gateway Center, and Wood Street stations. The train was very clean, the ride was smooth, and there were a lot of touristy-looking types on it (potentially from the neighboring hotels).

I wouldn't classify the North Shore Connector as being a "boondoggle" the way some other Pittsburghers would, as I see the line eventually extending further past Allegheny Station to other areas. I really wish the East End had something like the "T", especially since we're home to the bulk of the city's population.

[pman]

The point wasnt that its a boondoggle but that it was criticized as one deapite having better projections. Interestingly i think ridership js a good deal higher than projected...perhaps because like roads, its free to users.

[airwave09]

Originally Posted by Gnutella

Except the Southern Beltway is not the domain of PennDOT, so it's ignorant to criticize them for it.

Does it really matter who is responsible? My points still stand either way, this will be nothing short of a massive boondoggle when all is said and done.

[speagles84]

Originally Posted by airwave09

Hahahaha! Gotta live the hypocrisy of Penndot and all of the fools that criticized the North Shore connector project. As useless as that project was in the grand scheme of things, this southern beltway crap is 100x more useless and practically the same price as the tunnel was. But this project will also serve to waste more resources and destroy more pristine nature than the tunnel could ever hope to.

The best part of it is we will probably see less than 5% of the criticism for this massive boondoggle. This project will hardly benefit anyone until they somehow actually manage to finish the entire project to Monroeville after many billions and a decade or so in the future, yet not a peep will be heard against it by a single politician or power player in the region. Our car-centric society disgusts me sometimes with it's massive hypocrisy.

Penndot has no say in this. The southern beltway is being built by the Turnpike Commission, which is privately owned. They will most likely use some state money to build these sections, but a new highway on the southern side of Pittsburgh is desperately needed. 70 is a pathetic excuse for an interstate. Not everyone chooses to live in the center of the city, and wants to use public transportation all the time (although I do, and it does needs a revamp) and this will significantly improve transportation across the South Hills.

[escilade18]

Originally Posted by speagles84

Penndot has no say in this. The southern beltway is being built by the Turnpike Commission, which is privately owned. They will most likely use some state money to build these sections, but a new highway on the southern side of Pittsburgh is desperately needed. 70 is a pathetic excuse for an interstate. Not everyone chooses to live in the center of the city, and wants to use public transportation all the time (although I do, and it does needs a revamp) and this will significantly improve transportation across the South Hills.

I would say that once you hit 70, you are out of the South Hills. With the exception of the Parkway West, the is really no east-west interstate running through the south hills which makes going to destinations east very difficult.

[speagles84]

Originally Posted by escilade18

I would say that once you hit 70, you are out of the South Hills. With the exception of the Parkway West, the is really no east-west interstate running through the south hills which makes going to destinations east very difficult.

Well what I meant by South hills was the whole region south of the city. And the parkway west doesn't cut through the south hills at all. The best thing we got is 51... ughhh.

[airwave09]

Originally Posted by speagles84

Well what I meant by South hills was the whole region south of the city. And the parkway west doesn't cut through the south hills at all. The best thing we got is 51... ughhh.

By the time this thing would get finished all the way to Monroeville, (keep in mind that they haven't even done property acquisitions yet for the final 2 sections) we will have freakin flying cars.

Then we can look back and laugh at what a joke and huge waste this project was.