PITTSBURGH — Westmoreland County, Pa., commissioners said on February 19 there is little they can do to influence route selection for the proposed high-speed electro-magnetic rail line that could bisect Penn Township, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports.
“We don’t pick the route,” said Commissioner Tom Balya.
Penn Township supervisors this week urged residents to complain to county leaders about a proposed maglev route that would cut a swath through the countryside and several housing developments.
As a result, commissioners and their staffers yesterday fielded numerous telephone calls from township residents. They could offer only advice and a promise to forward the complaints to maglev officials.
“I’m telling them, don’t get upset yet because we’re not sure the project is going to happen,” Balya said.
Maglev Inc., a regional consortium of government, business and academic entities based in Monroeville, wants to win a $950 million federal grant build the high-speed rail system linking Greensburg to Pittsburgh and its international airport.
Maglev officials estimate the total cost of the 45-mile pilot project will be about $2.8 billion. The Pittsburgh-area project is one of two seeking the federal funding; the other proposal is from the Washington, D.C.-Baltimore area.
As part of the local proposal, maglev officials have devised three potential routes through Westmoreland County, with one option cutting through the middle of Penn Township.
County commissioners said they will alert maglev officials to residents’ concerns, but in the end have little or no say about the final route that is selected.
“We’ll have some amount of impact, but I don’t know how much. We have to make sure we don’t lose what makes Westmoreland County great – our quality of life,” said Commissioner P. Scott Conner.
Should the local project win governmental approval and funding, Westmoreland County’s planning department could become involved in sifting through land use issues, but the engineering and environmental impact aspects will be handled by Maglev Inc., Balya said.
“They are the ones with the expertise on planning this kind of project,” Balya said.
County officials are planning to hold a meeting with Penn Township leaders and Maglev Inc. representatives to address residents’ concerns.
Commissioner Tom Ceraso said he supports Maglev’s efforts but also is sympathetic to Penn Township residents’ stance against running the high-speed, elevated system of tracks through their farms and residential properties.
But Ceraso warned that any organized opposition could severely hinder maglev’s chances of securing the federal grant.
“A township up in arms could hurt the project entirely. The way this process is going, a group of people like that could have an impact on the project,” Ceraso said.
Maglev Inc. officials did not return a telephone call seeking comment.