Cecil Township, turnpike and contractor reach settlement in beltway noise case
A dispute over Southern Beltway construction noise and glare at all hours in the Cherrybrook neighborhood of Cecil Township appears to have been resolved.
“The township is pleased to have come to an agreement with the state Turnpike Commission and Walsh Construction which will be finalized at a public meeting,” township solicitor Gretchen Moore said Tuesday morning.
Overnight work in Cherrybrook was to cease Tuesday night.
The Turnpike Commission and its contractor, Walsh, are to work only from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. while in that area.
In observance of Thanksgiving Day, construction will also cease, resulting in “peace and quiet,” Moore said.
Daytime work will be allowed on Sunday.
“We will reduce this to writing,” Moore said of both the township and Turnpike Commission. The proposed settlement will become a public document once each votes to approve.
The Turnpike Commission meets Dec. 1 and 15, and Cecil Township’s next meeting is slated for Monday, Dec. 7.
The township sought an injunction to regulate the 24/7 work schedule, which it claimed violated its noise ordinance, disturbing the construction zone’s neighbors.
The second of two appearances, which was to have taken place Tuesday afternoon before Washington County President Judge Katherine B. Emery, was not needed, nor was the involvement of Commonwealth Court, which also functions as a trial court in some civil actions by or against state government and related agencies.
Emery noted during a telephone conference with attorneys last week, “No one’s trying to stop you from building the highway,” nor was the issue working at night. The problem, she said, was “working noisily at night.”
Modification of the work schedule affects the way the turnpike does business, which has repercussions on taxpayers and drivers all over the state because of how the road is built and what it will ultimately cost, the defendants told the judge. Nighttime illumination of the site was necessary for the safety of workers, they said.
The middle section of the Southern Beltway slices through Cecil Township at the Washington-Allegheny County line in the vicinity of Interstate 79 and Morganza Road on its way to the Findlay Connector at the U.S. Route 22 interchange.
Estimated cost for the 13-mile section is approximately $800 million, according to the township’s website. From Route 22 to I-79 it will, when open, be a cashless toll road.