Concession supported for Pittsburgh's MFE 51-376
Posted Thu, 2008-01-03 20:55
The Pittsburgh Post Gazette is reporting a powerful line-up of figures supporting a private concession to build the uncompleted northern section of the Mon-Fayette Expressway between PA51 and I-376, locally known as the Parkway East. Barry Stout, the ranking Democrat on the state senate's transportation committee and representative of Washington county south of Pittsburgh says only private capital can fund the tollroad which got all needed permits back in 2004, but which the Turnpike Commission says it cannot
finance. The Mon-Fayette Expressway (MFE) is PA43.
Stout says the Turnpike Commission should do detailed design work and buy the right of way. This would be about 20% of the cost of the project and the selected concessionaire would put up the remaining 80% in return for the rights to tolls for the term of the concession.
The Turnpike Commission had committed some $290m to the project already.
But Turnpike CEO Joe Brimmeier said in December 2006 that the Turnpike Commission would spend no more of its money on the project until a large funding gap was filled.
The Commission has not published any recent traffic and revenue studies. Back around the turn of the decade in connection with the environmental review process there were traffic studies showing quite modest volumes on the road, ranging between 21k and 50k/day on different segments. At then prevailing toll rates of 5c/mile (3c/km) this generates the
almost trival $15m toll revenue a year.
The Turnpike Commission has said the 39km (24 mile) MFE 51-376 project will cost $3.6m though there were earlier estimates of $2.4b. The planned road is 2+2 lanes and makes its way through old industrial areas for the most part. It was controversial but by 2004 it was gotten through an arduous public consultation process including analysis of alternative routes, and local advisory groups negotiating detailed designs to minimize impacts. It is now fully permitted.
The Y
The project is in the form of a rough Y, the stem of which attaches to the existing segments of the expressway built up the Monongehela (Mon) Valley towards Pittsburgh but presently ending at Route 51 (PA51) in Jefferson Hills in the southern suburbs.
The final segment takes the expressway north in a bridge over the Mon River then splits, the west arm heading up the north bank of the river to central Pittsburgh ending at an interchange with I-376 Parkway east just a mile or so short of the center city, while the eastern arm heads toward Monroeville where it meets the I-376 just short of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Mainline.
The two upper arms of the 'Y' are seen as providing relief to I-376 which is constricted by twin two lane Squirrel Hill tunnels and other segments difficult politically to widen.
Stout is quoted as saying that the bypass of the Squirrel Hill tunnels would most likely interest investors and
"create volume" for the concessionaire while relieving congestion on the Parkway East (I-376).
Others quoted by the Gazette in favor of concessioning of MFE 51-376 are:
- state Rep Joe Markosek chair of the house transportation committee and member for Monroeville at the northeastern end of the project
- county executive Dan Onorato who is quoted: "Let's look at what's out there to get it done. We don't always have to look to taxes."
- Joe Kirk exec-director of the Mon Valley Progress Council a local group that has championed the project for about 25 years
Last summer Kirk invited expressions of interest by investor groups and received responses from Macquarie, Carlyle Group, Cintra and OHL.
Overflow traffic from Parkway East
How viable the project is probably depends substantially, as Stout says, on how much overflow traffic it can attract from the Parkway East (I-376) and whether it can charge premium tolls in those peak hours. The old traffic and revenue modeling did not assume any significant attraction of traffic from I-376. The traffic volume maps show quite low daily volumes - 20k to 25k AADT) closes to I-376 indicating that the forecasts were only picking up local traffic alongside the new tollroad and making connections to the southern suburbs.
A problem of the project attracting longer distance commuters to the downtown is that it is several miles longer than the Parkway East, since it dips south and follows some of the turns of the river, whereas the Parkway East is almost dead straight. But new traffic and revenue forecasts might show more promise for the project.
With daily traffic of say 55k and average tolls of 20c/mile (12c/km) - closer to modern tollroad rates - you've got revenues of $96m/yr. That is more interesting financially than the Turnpike's old forecasts of the project barely covering operating expernses.
Turnpike CEO suggested el+transit route
Last year Turnpike CEO Joe Brimmeier suggested another way to get relief to the Parkway East - a Figg Engineering style architected elevated reversible of the kind built for the Tampa toll authority - east of downtown Tampa. The Parkway East El (we called it) would go down the median of I-376 in its eastern portion for about 11km (7 miles) then swing north following an existing busway into central Pittsburgh from the northeast for another 13km (8 miles), avoiding the need to go through the Squirrel Hill tunnels area and the inner suburbs where road widening is most difficult.
That's probably a more economical way to provide relief for the Parkway East, but it would clearly deprive the MFE 51-376 of some of its rationale. Concessionaires for the MFE 51-376 would want to know if the El was going to be built.
Since Brimmeier made the reversible elevated proposal last summer, nothing more has been heard of the idea. The Turnpike has given priority to its battles over I-80 and the Governor's seeking of lease/concession proposals for the mainline.
see http://www.tollroadsnews.com/node/189 for report on parkway East El
see http://www.tollroadsnews.com/node/3012 on Mon Valley Progress Council's efforts
TOLLROADSnews 2008-01-03
The Pittsburgh Post Gazette is reporting a powerful line-up of figures supporting a private concession to build the uncompleted northern section of the Mon-Fayette Expressway between PA51 and I-376, locally known as the Parkway East. Barry Stout, the ranking Democrat on the state senate's transportation committee and representative of Washington county south of Pittsburgh says only private capital can fund the tollroad which got all needed permits back in 2004, but which the Turnpike Commission says it cannot finance. The Mon-Fayette Expressway (MFE) is PA43.Stout says the Turnpike Commission should do detailed design work and buy the right of way. This would be about 20% of the cost of the project and the selected concessionaire would put up the remaining 80% in return for the rights to tolls for the term of the concession.
The Turnpike Commission had committed some $290m to the project already.
But Turnpike CEO Joe Brimmeier said in December 2006 that the Turnpike Commission would spend no more of its money on the project until a large funding gap was filled.
The Commission has not published any recent traffic and revenue studies. Back around the turn of the decade in connection with the environmental review process there were traffic studies showing quite modest volumes on the road, ranging between 21k and 50k/day on different segments. At then prevailing toll rates of 5c/mile (3c/km) this generates the
almost trival $15m toll revenue a year.The Turnpike Commission has said the 39km (24 mile) MFE 51-376 project will cost $3.6m though there were earlier estimates of $2.4b. The planned road is 2+2 lanes and makes its way through old industrial areas for the most part. It was controversial but by 2004 it was gotten through an arduous public consultation process including analysis of alternative routes, and local advisory groups negotiating detailed designs to minimize impacts. It is now fully permitted.
The Y
The project is in the form of a rough Y, the stem of which attaches to the existing segments of the expressway built up the Monongehela (Mon) Valley towards Pittsburgh but presently ending at Route 51 (PA51) in Jefferson Hills in the southern suburbs.
The final segment takes the expressway north in a bridge over the Mon River then splits, the west arm heading up the north bank of the river to central Pittsburgh ending at an interchange with I-376 Parkway east just a mile or so short of the center city, while the eastern arm heads toward Monroeville where it meets the I-376 just short of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Mainline.
The two upper arms of the 'Y' are seen as providing relief to I-376 which is constricted by twin two lane Squirrel Hill tunnels and other segments difficult politically to widen.
Stout is quoted as saying that the bypass of the Squirrel Hill tunnels would most likely interest investors and
"create volume" for the concessionaire while relieving congestion on the Parkway East (I-376).Others quoted by the Gazette in favor of concessioning of MFE 51-376 are:
- state Rep Joe Markosek chair of the house transportation committee and member for Monroeville at the northeastern end of the project
- county executive Dan Onorato who is quoted: "Let's look at what's out there to get it done. We don't always have to look to taxes."
- Joe Kirk exec-director of the Mon Valley Progress Council a local group that has championed the project for about 25 years
Last summer Kirk invited expressions of interest by investor groups and received responses from Macquarie, Carlyle Group, Cintra and OHL.
Overflow traffic from Parkway EastHow viable the project is probably depends substantially, as Stout says, on how much overflow traffic it can attract from the Parkway East (I-376) and whether it can charge premium tolls in those peak hours. The old traffic and revenue modeling did not assume any significant attraction of traffic from I-376. The traffic volume maps show quite low daily volumes - 20k to 25k AADT) closes to I-376 indicating that the forecasts were only picking up local traffic alongside the new tollroad and making connections to the southern suburbs.
A problem of the project attracting longer distance commuters to the downtown is that it is several miles longer than the Parkway East, since it dips south and follows some of the turns of the river, whereas the Parkway East is almost dead straight. But new traffic and revenue forecasts might show more promise for the project.
With daily traffic of say 55k and average tolls of 20c/mile (12c/km) - closer to modern tollroad rates - you've got revenues of $96m/yr. That is more interesting financially than the Turnpike's old forecasts of the project barely covering operating expernses.
Turnpike CEO suggested el+transit route
Last year Turnpike CEO Joe Brimmeier suggested another way to get relief to the Parkway East - a Figg Engineering style architected elevated reversible of the kind built for the Tampa toll authority - east of downtown Tampa. The Parkway East El (we called it) would go down the median of I-376 in its eastern portion for about 11km (7 miles) then swing north following an existing busway into central Pittsburgh from the northeast for another 13km (8 miles), avoiding the need to go through the Squirrel Hill tunnels area and the inner suburbs where road widening is most difficult.
That's probably a more economical way to provide relief for the Parkway East, but it would clearly deprive the MFE 51-376 of some of its rationale. Concessionaires for the MFE 51-376 would want to know if the El was going to be built.
Since Brimmeier made the reversible elevated proposal last summer, nothing more has been heard of the idea. The Turnpike has given priority to its battles over I-80 and the Governor's seeking of lease/concession proposals for the mainline.
see http://www.tollroadsnews.com/node/189 for report on parkway East El
see http://www.tollroadsnews.com/node/3012 on Mon Valley Progress Council's efforts
TOLLROADSnews 2008-01-03