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PennDOT: No change for Rt. 41 yet
March 29, 2004
David Bernard, Staff Writer
Daily Local News

The state's plans to re-evaluate or defer $5 billion in highway projects won't mean immediate changes for long-discussed improvements to Route 41, a state transportation official said last week.

Since PennDOT is currently in the process of evaluating the possibility of widening, bypassing or rehabilitating the southern Chester County highway, he said the announcement that the project is among those to be re-evaluated is not a major detour.

"In essence, there's not change in status on that project," said PennDOT spokesman Rich Kirkpatrick. "We're already evaluating the options that have been presented to us, and that's continuing."

PennDOT's announcement, issued Thursday, included "26 high-cost projects that don't have a clear funding path" in 20 counties.

The Route 41 project "was included on this list because now we're taking similar kinds of looks and re-evaluations of those other projects around the state," Kirkpatrick said. "So it's really not a change in status for Route 41."

Transportation Secretary Allen Biehler said that the deferrals and re-evaluations were necessary to fund a $7.2 billion highway and bridge improvement program slated to begin this summer.

Chester County officials and others with an interest in the Route 41 project took realistic views of the announcement.

"Clearly PennDOT, like a lot of agencies, is looking at financial difficulties," said Ray Sachs, a transportation planner for the Chester County Planning Commission. "We knew that they were looking at a lot of projects. ..I can't say it was completely out of the blue, but I wasn't aware of which projects they were looking at for re-evaluation."

Sachs said that the planning commission did not yet know the details of PennDOT's reevaluation, or what delays it might cause.

Louis Kaplan, chairman of the London Grove-based action group SAVE, saw the re-evaluation as an opportunity for a serious rethinking of the project.

SAVE, which opposes expanding or bypassing Route 41, has suggested a less expensive, less land-consuming, two-lane rehabilitation of the highway.

"This is where we can make our resources go farther," Kaplan said. "Where we can step back and look very carefully, to re-evaluate the wisdom of the project from financial as well as safety and environmental and community perspectives."

Londonderry Supervisor Fred Muller, whose township is bisected by Route 41, said he wasn't shaken by the announcement on the project. "Where it was is where it is," he said.

Muller said he welcomed the re-evaluation, and even continued debate on the issue, but that he'd like to see some real solutions, not just haphazard fixes and a lack of long-term planning.

"I think that any major road project needs to be looked at very carefully," he said. "I would give them the positive benefit of the doubt for taking another look at it."

County Commissioner Andrew Dinniman, who has opposed expansion, speculated that SAVE's grassroots efforts may have secured Route 41 a place on the reevaluation list.

"Is this decision purely based on money? Or are there other factors involved?" he asked. "Maybe it might be both."

He noted that the SAVE plan is estimated to cost only one-fifth of what expansion would cost. "That seems to be a pretty convincing reason to put it on the list," he said.

Commissioner Carol Aichele saw re-evaluation as a chance to save more than just money.

"Safe roads in Chester County have always been a top priority for us," she said. "I think it's more important for PennDOT to do the project right than to do it fast."

Since 1993, PennDOT has been studying proposals to expand Route 41 as a response to the area's increased development and traffic.

The highway travels 18 miles through Chester County from the Delaware border to the Lancaster County line.

The improvement options that PennDOT are reviewing would be located along the 9.5-mile southern section, which crosses Kennett Township, New Garden, Avondale, London Grove and Londonderry.

The proposed expansion has divided communities and the road's users. Community members demand a safer road, while truck drivers and commuters want less congestion. During his 2002 campaign, Gov. Ed Rendell spoke out against expansion and the accelerated development it might cause. Five southern Chester County townships have passed resolutions stating a preference for SAVE's two-lane alternative.

On Tuesday, April 6, at 7:30 p.m., SAVE is hosting a forum on its alternative plan. The forum, to be held in the Avon Grove High School auditorium, is scheduled to include remarks from British transportation consultant Barry Crown, who has worked with federal and state transportation departments.

©Daily Local News 2004