PennDOT, Bristol Residents Meet On Highway Controversy

Representatives from Middletown, Bristol and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation met with concerned residents and business owners Friday to discuss the growing concerns over a controversial construction plan that could jam up traffic, cause safety concerns and potentially spell doom for small businesses.

Since residents found out about the project less than one month ago, countless complaints and questions were sent to PennDOT. These complaints were not isolated to just residents and business owners; township officials and even State Rep. Tina Davis have been vocal about the impact the project could have on the community.

"I am very concerned that if both the Turnpike Bridge Project and the Route 413 corridor renovation proceed at the same time, our area will see massive congestion," Davis said in a letter to PennDOT's Assistant Construction Engineer Ed Burns.

Davis went on to say, "This scenario would not only be a huge inconvenience for motorists and residents, but could spell disaster for hundreds of local businesses at a time when the economy has not been kind to them."

Because of the outcry, PennDOT said it made some concessions to their plans. The section of the 413 corridor from Bath Road to New Falls Road, a home of many small businesses in the Township, will have two-lane access during the renovation.

Beyond New Falls Road, the plan remains relatively unchanged; all northbound traffic will be shut down for a seven-month period until the project's completion.

"We are looking into what to do to further reduce impact on businesses," said Harold Windisch, a senior construction engineer for PennDOT District 6-0.

When completed, the project will provide new shoulders, an entirely repaved blacktop, lane extensions from New Falls Road to Route 1 and new left hand turning lanes on Frosty Hollow and Trenton roads.

Newportville Fire Company Chief Joe Chrobak said he has concerns over the construction plans and subsequent detours possibly impacting response time during emergencies.

"Nine firefighting units already need to reroute to Bristol, (due to the Bristol-Oxford Valley Road bridge construction)," said Chobak.

Many of the residents' and township officials' complaints revolved around the relatively short notice on the plans that PennDOT provided. The preliminary stage of the project will begin April 15 with the township receiving notification of the project less than 30 days ago.

"I'm a little concerned. Why weren't we told about this before? Don't you think we should have all been notified earlier?" business owner Tom Sheridan said.

Sheridan owns Shenanigan's Irish Pub, a bar, located on the Bristol side of New Falls Road.

"Why are we having this meeting now? Why not three months ago? Why not even six months? This all just seems so dysfunctional," Sheridan said.

PennDOT claims that while the announcement of the starting construction date may have been on a short notice, the planning for the project was on the books since 2000.

"We told Township Council about the project 10 years ago," said Les Toaso, a PennDOT District 6-0 executive.

"But, we should have had this meeting earlier. That's on us. We dropped the ball," Toaso said.

Despite Toaso's claim, members of the current council, many of whom joined well after 2000, said they never saw the plans or even heard a single thing about them until just one month ago.

"I didn't find out about this until I read about it in the newspaper. We weren't provided any notice at all," Council President Rick Pluta said.

While PennDOT's concessions to Bristol business owners may have alleviated some fears, the seven-month construction plan will still be a major inconvenience to drivers.

Almost three miles of road will be essentially shut down for any northbound traffic. Traffic will be rerouted to either Durham Road or Bristol Oxford Valley Road -- both of which have already seen heavier traffic flow due to the closure of the Bristol Oxford Valley Road bridge in October.

"It's already bad now. If you dump everything on Durham Road … it's going to be trouble," Bristol Township Business Coalition founder Craig Bowen said.

It is unknown at this time what effects this project will have on the local economy. Ultimately, Davis said she is less worried about the short-term impact and more grateful that the project could happen in the first place.

"The budget in Pennsylvania is horrible, and to have (PennDOT) here to do this project is wonderful. We just want to make sure they work it all out with the businesses," Davis said.