Vocal opponents of a proposed pedestrian tunnel underneath Ohiopyle's main road sought to bury the proposal Tuesday despite state highway officials' arguments that it will improve safety for the more than 1.3 million people who flood the Youghiogheny River tourist town each year.
PennDOT officials from Uniontown told more than 150 people who crowded the Ohiopyle Community Center that the underpass — 10 feet high, 16 feet wide and 53 feet long — is one of many safety improvements in a proposed multi-year, $15 million overhaul of Route 381 from the north end of the Youghiogheny River Bridge to south of Sugarloaf Road near the Ohiopyle State Park visitors center.
“It's OK to prevent accidents before they occur. This (underpass) lessens the likelihood of an accident,” said Joseph Szczur, district executive of PennDOT District 12-0, which encompasses Fayette and Westmoreland counties.
But Yough River paddler Barry Adams of Swissvale declared the proposed tunnel “a waste of money,” noting that only two reportable accidents have occurred in Ohiopyle Borough in the past several years.
“Most of the park visitors will not use this tunnel since it will be out of their way. ... Just do not build this tunnel that is not needed and that very few paddlers, if any, want or even will use,” said Adams, coordinator of the Ohiopyle Over the Falls Festival.
Although the project can move forward without the underpass, Szczur countered that PennDOT is trying to make that section of the road as safe as possible.
“What's the cost of a human life?” Szczur said.
The underpass is estimated to cost slightly more than $1 million and is proposed for the first phase of the project, from November 2018 to May 2019. It would be 2 1⁄2 feet wider on each side than the roadway. The top of the entrance on the east side of the highway, opposite the river, would be about 100 feet from the edge of Route 381, PennDOT said.
The underpass is proposed for a site just north of the Sugarloaf Road intersection with Route 381 and would connect a parking lot with the river side of the highway, where the visitors center and overlook for the falls are located, as well as access the river. Sugarloaf Road would be moved north about 250 feet to eliminate the road splitting an existing parking lot in half, thus permitting the construction of one larger parking lot.
The project is not scheduled to be completed until May 2020 because the contractor will be prohibited from working between Memorial Day and Labor Day, the height of the tourist season, said Dawn Schilling, transportation planner for McCormick Taylor Inc. of Pittsburgh, a PennDOT consultant.
Most discussion during the two-hour meeting centered on the underpass. Several boaters said the underpass, with its 10-foot ceiling, would be too low for someone carrying a canoe on his shoulders and would be difficult to pass through.
Paul Cline of Mt. Lebanon was one who contended the underpass is too low for visitors to carry boats on their shoulders. The boats are likely to break any lights in the underpass, he said.
Traveling the tunnel across the highway to the river is shorter than the existing route, said Rachel Duda, assistant district executive for PennDOT's District 12-0.
If the public does not want the project, however, the money would be returned to the state to be spent elsewhere, Duda said. Work on the Youghiogheny River Bridge would not be done for about five years if the project is scrapped, she said.
“It's not that we're shoving this (tunnel) down your throat. If you think this needs to be bigger, tell us,” Duda said.
After listening to the opposition, Liz McCarty, president of Ohiopyle Borough council, said she doesn't want the community to lose out on all that money.
“I don't want it to go to Pittsburgh. We rely on projects like this to bring us millions of dollars,” McCarty said.
Joe Napsha is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-836-5252 or jnapsha@tribweb.com.
