Notes:Industrial Highway

To do

• Windgap Bridge saga.

Chronological summary of newspaper articles:

• 1962-04-19 (Source:Smoother): "Mayor Joseph M. Barr today announced plans to pour close to 13 million dollars into construction and improvement of about 100 miles of City streets. The big road projects hinge, however, on the approval of the voters of the upcoming Peoples Bond issue. In his latest report on details of the City's proposed 1962 through 1967 capital improvement program, the Mayor said: 'The street program is another compelling reason for the 35-million-dollar bond issue which will be submitted to the voters for approval at the spring primary election on May 15.' . . . 'Over-all, $11,698,000 will be appropriated in Peoples Bond funds for reconstruction and major improvements of existing arteries and for the construction of eight new thoroughfares.' . . . The eight streets to be built are: . . . Chartiers Valley Expressway—A limited access route connecting Windgap Road and Steuben Street and ultimately connecting with Carson Street."
• 1965-10-04 (Source:Redevelopment): Notice of redevelopment for industrial park. Refers to "the proposed Industrial Highway."
• 1966-06-16 (Newspapers.com 149545949): Aerial mapping and location studies for the Chartiers Valley Expressway.
• 1966-10-08 (Source:Windmere-roswell): "Work will start Monday on the construction of two 44-foot wide streets and other public facilities in the Chartiers Valley Industrial Park, . . . . Besides the new streets, to be named Windmere Drive and Roswell Drive, . . . . The streets will connect the industrial park with the intersection of Ingram Avenue, Steuben Avenue and the Thornburg Bridge, near the Crafton-City line. . . . Windmere and Roswell Drives will provide direct access to the Chartiers Valley Expressway, a four-lane industrial highway to be built by the State Highways Department. The new highway will parallel Chartiers Creek and serve the entire park."
• 1969-05-25 (Source:Expressway-bids): "Bids will be opened in Harrisburg June 6 for the proposed three-mile Chartiers Valley Expressway from the Thornburg Bridge to Carson St. The State Highways Dept. said yesterday construction should begin this summer at Roswell and Woodmere Drives, near the bridge. . . . The department said the three main phases of construction will be from the bridge to the distribution center; from the center to Rt. 51 and Carson St., and a major interchange at the bridge. The project, first proposed in 1965, will be built under agreements among the Highways Dept., the City Urban Redevelopment Authority and the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers."
• 1969-06-07 (Source:Chartiers-expressway): "The McShane Contracting Co. Inc., of Pittsburgh yesterday submitted the unofficial low bid of $756,365 to build part of the Chartiers Valley Expressway. The bids were opened in Harrisburg by the State Highways Department. The .69 mile Chartiers Valley Expressway bid is from a point north of State Route 60 . . . . The total project, from Thornburg Bridge to Carson St., is three miles. The Highways Department said it intends to begin construction this summer at Roswell and Woodmere Drives, near the bridge."
• 1969-06-22 (Newspapers.com 147947683): "Here is the breakdown of the major projects earmarked for Allegheny County in Gov. Raymond P. Shafer's $961 million capital budget for the fiscal year starting July 1. . . . Chartiers Valley Expressway, connecting Routes 60 and 51, to serve food distribution center, land acquisition only, $1.4 million."
• 1969-08-03 (Source:Bid-date): "The State Highways Dept. will receive bids Aug. 29 for the proposed .7-mile Chartiers Valley Expressway. The road will extend from 400 feet north of Steubenville Pike to the proposed food distribution center in the Chartiers Valley."
• 1969-08-25 (Source:Chartiers-bids): "The State Highways Dept. will open bids Friday for construction of a portion of the Chartiers Valley Expressway . . . . Plans call for construction of seven-tenths of a mile of the expressway from a point north of Steubenville Pike to provide access to the proposed food distribution center in the Chartiers Valley Industrial Park."
• 1969-08-25 (Source:Bids-due-friday): "The State Highways Department today said it would accept bids Friday for a portion of the Chartiers Valley Expressway in Pittsburgh. The project to be bid is a .69-mile section of the expressway, beginning at a point north of State Route 60 (Steubenville Pike)."
• 1969-09-01 (Source:Highway-bids): "The low bid of $787,192 for construction of a .69-mile segment of Chartiers Valley Expressway from a point north of Route 60 was submitted by Gacon Construction Co. of Pittsburgh."
• 1969-12-02 (Newspapers.com 141388890): "A campaign was started today by the majority County commissioners to pry loose more than $146 million in road projects here which have been stuck in a State financial squeeze. . . . Last week the State halted design work on $1.4 billion worth of highway projects. . . . These include: . . . Reconstruction of the Chartiers Valley Expressway from the new food distribution center to Stanhope St. and final design work on the East PATway."
• 1970-01-21 (Source:New-map): City's first official map in 10 years shows paper streets as broken lines. "He added that the new map is actually ahead of history in that it shows several geographical changes that have not yet been completed. One is the Industrial Highway planned from West Carson Street through the Chartiers Valley Industrial Park now under construction."
• 1970-09-19 (Newspapers.com 88159598, 88159601, 27954833): Death of Robert A. Stewart, truck driver hauling slag during construction, when the soft berm gave way and his truck plunged 75 feet into Chartiers Creek.
• 1971-02-26 (Source:Road-job-okd): "Plans were announced yesterday to construct a 2.4 mile section of the Chartiers Valley Expressway from Broadhead Manor to McKees Rocks. The section would connect with a .69-mile length already under construction which begins at a point north of State Route 60, the Steubenville Pike. The proposed route would run through the Chartiers Creek Valley, under the Wind Gap Bridge, and end at the present intersection of Stanhope and Stafford streets in McKees Rocks. The road would be a four-lane limited access highway with an interchange at Wind Gap Avenue. Plans call for reconstruction of one span of the Wind Gap Bridge."
• 1973-02-18 (Newspapers.com 147423055): Gov. Milton J. Shapp's capital budget for the 1973–74 fiscal year includes "Reconstruction of the Windgap Avenue Bridge on the Chartiers Valley Expressway, $550,000, representing the state's share of the project being undertaken by the county."
• 1974-09-12 (Newspapers.com 147359046): Joseph Buchko, president of the Windgap-Chartiers Civic Club, "supported plans for an 18-acre shopping center in that area, but expressed concern about increased traffic congestion." "Buchko said he would like to see a new four-lane bridge built on Windgap Avenue near the site to help alleviate traffic and also have the Chartiers Valley Expressway continued to route traffic around the neighborhood."
• 1974-12-31 (Source:Bond-veto): "Gov. Shapp yesterday . . . vetoed approximately $20.3 million in other local projects authorized by the legislature prior to final adjournment. . . . Among the vetoed items were authorizations to issue bonds totaling $140 million for highway projects of the Department of Transportation. But the governor's rejection does not kill those projects; it merely postpones the year in which the bonds will be issued. In this category . . . $756,000 for design of a relocation in the Chartiers Valley Expressway in Pittsburgh's West End . . . ."
• 1975-03-13 (Source:Paternoster): "City Planning Director Robert Paternoster told City Council yesterday there is little chance of getting federal money to extend the Chartiers Valley Expressway to Windgap Bridge in the West End." Projected to carry only 7200 vehicles per day; with high cost of $15 million this gave a low benefit-cost ratio.
• 1977-06-08 (Source:New-windgap-bridge): Four-lane Windgap Bridge would cost $3.1 million, but this doesn't include expanded access roads. "The borough [McKees Rocks] and the City of Pittsburgh, partners in usage of the 62-year-old bridge, contracted with the county in 1972 for a four-lane structure—with the understanding that the state's proposed Chartiers Valley Expressway would make it necessary. While plans for the expressway have since fallen through, the bridge project has been salvaged because the Windgap crossing is falling apart, county officials said."
• 1978-04-14 (Source:Begin-building-windgap-bridge): "The state Public Utility Commission has ordered the county to begin work on a new two-lane bridge across Chartiers Creek to replace the run-down Windgap span. . . . Graham said the county had petitioned the PUC for the go-ahead last year after PennDOT rescinded its financial participation. Plans to replace the Windgap Bridge began some seven years ago, said Graham, when PennDOT said it would have to replace a portion of the span in order to make way for the Chartiers Valley Expressway. However, budget cuts caused the scrapping of the expressway project and with it, PennDOT'S commitment to help pay for a new bridge."
• 1978-07-02 (Source:Bridge-change): "A request by Allegheny County to modify an order to build a new $5 million, four-lane Windgap Avenue Bridge between Pittsburgh and McKees Rocks has been denied by the Public Utility Commission. The county had asked to submit a new plan for a two-lane steel bridge by next April 1. The PUC, in denying the request, noted plans for the proposed four-lane bridge over railroad tracks and Chartiers Creek have been prepared and a May 1981 completion date set. The PUC said the county presented no new evidence justifying a reconsideration of the order issued May 2. A change in plans now would delay for at least a year replacement of the present, deteriorated bridge. The county said original plans were based on the assumption that the new bridge would be part of a Chartiers Valley Expressway and the span would be financed partially by the state. Since those plans were drawn up, the county argued, expressway blueprints were scrapped, financial aid from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation was withdrawn and a steel shortage is no longer a problem."
• 1978-07-26 (Source:Marquez): "Pittsburgh yesterday asked a state Public Utilities Commission administrative law judge to make Allegheny County and the Borough of McKees Rocks share the cost of repairing the Windgap Bridge. However, the borough claims the span does not extend into McKees Rocks, and it should not be responsible for the repairs. The bridge spans Chartiers Creek, connecting West Carson Street and McKees Rocks, and was built in 1924 by the county. It was declared structurally unsound in 1976, and the city began repairs in July 1977. The span was reopened in December, but work is still being done. . . . Meanwhile, the PUC says it will schedule hearings soon to air the county's plan to construct a new two-lane bridge to carry Windgap Avenue over Chartiers Creek. The PUC announced yesterday it would reconsider last month's denial of the county's petition to modify an order for replacement of the existing bridge with a $5 million four-lane span. Commissioner Helen B. O'Bannon said the county should be given an opportunity to advance its position in favor of the less expensive bridge. The county said that at one time it was assumed the bridge would be part of the Chartiers Valley Expressway with the state bearing the cost. Subsequently, however, the expressway project was scrapped and PennDot withdrew the funding offer."
• 1978-09-08 (Newspapers.com 89812174): Editorial about the Windgap Bridge, arguing that a two-lane bridge makes sense.
• 1978-09-27 (Newspapers.com 89813466): "Historic Hotel May Fall Victim To Bridge Dilemma in County. Mann's Hotel, which has survived for 176 years as jail, post office, hostelry and saloon, is about to become a victim of the county's bridge crisis."
• 1978-09-27 (Source:Windgap-bridge-hanging): Report on Public Utility Commission hearing, giving arguments for a two-lane bridge or a four-lane bridge. "But by the end of the month [May], the county had changed its mind and wanted to build a two-lane span instead because PennDot had scrapped plans to build the Chartiers Valley Expressway. That system would have connected the Thornburg area with Route 51 in McKees Rocks via this bridge. . . . He [County Commissioner Robert N. Peirce Jr.] said the original study showed a four-lane structure was necessary and he 'more or less' rubber stamped it. But the commissioners received further input which showed the large bridge wasn't needed since PennDot didn't have the funds or intentions of completing the Chartiers Valley Expressway in the near future."
• 1979-11-19 (Source:Windgap-ave-span): "The Public Utility Commission has authorized Allegheny County to replace a two-lane bridge with a span of similar width to carry Windgap Avenue over Chartiers Creek between Pittsburgh and McKees Rocks. The county was allowed to scrap plans for a four-lane, $5.5 million concrete structure and submit a design for a $4.7 million steel-girder bridge by next July 31. The county said its original plans were based on the assumption the new bridge would be part of the proposed Chartiers Valley Expressway and financed in part by PennDOT. The expressway idea was shelved, however. An earlier PUC decision averted destruction of the historic, 160-year-old Mann's Hotel in the bridge right-of-way area in McKees Rocks. With all parties agreeing, the hotel was ordered preserved and relocated to a mutually satisfactory site."
• 2000-07-02 (Source:Drag-racing): Drag racing.