PITTSBURGH — Neither Westmoreland County nor any local municipalities will have veto power over the proposed route for the $2.8 billion electromagnetic levitation rail line, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports.
Officials with Maglev Inc., the Monroeville-based public-private consortium trying to secure federal funding for the proposed high-speed rail line, met for nearly two hours Friday with county commissioners and officials from Penn and Hempfield townships.
During that closed-door session, county and municipal leaders learned Maglev’s public entity will select the route for the proposed 45-mile project, with the last section to run through Westmoreland County.
County and municipal leaders will be able to make comments for or against the proposed routes, but they won’t have veto power, according to Maglev Inc. President Fred Gurney.
Maglev Inc. is seeking a $950 million federal grant for the project. It is competing against a similar project in the Balitmore-Washington, D.C., area.
Public officials called for yesterday’s meeting after a dispute erupted last month when the Penn Township commissioners demanded that the county lobby against one of the proposed routes that would have bisected the municipality.
Penn commissioners contended that county commissioners would have the power to scuttle any of the proposed routes.
County commissioners said yesterday they were relieved to learn that they held the same power as municipal leaders.
“We can essentially support a route or oppose a route. We’re not going to select a route. We’re not designers of a transportation project; we’re just looking out for the interests of our county,” Commissioner Tom Balya said.
Commissioners from Penn Township declined to comment at the conclusion of yesterday’s meeting.
Hempfield Supervisor Kim Ward said the session produced more questions than answers.
“Elected officials and citizens should have a lot more say because it impacts us,” Ward said.
In November, Maglev Inc. will submit a draft study that will identify its preferred routes, including the path in Westmoreland County. Gurney said a final plan won’t be completed until the following November.
Maglev Inc. wants to build its high-speed rail from Pittsburgh International Airport to Westmoreland County, with stops in downtown Pittsburgh and Monroeville.
There are several proposed routes in Westmoreland County, with most passing through part of Hempfield and Penn townships. Maglev has proposed a station in Westmoreland County at the former Greengate Mall, west of Greensburg.
Local officials in Penn and Hempfield have opposed the routes currently on the table, saying they disturb too many homes and businesses.
County Planning Director Larry Larese yesterday pitched an alternate route that would follow the Pennsylvania Turnpike from Monroeville and Sewickley Creek, then link with the Amos K. Hutchinson Bypass (Route 66) near Route 136 in Hempfield Township, where a station could be built about two miles south of Greensburg.
“This is not doing what the others are; it’s not splitting neighborhoods,” Larese said.
Maglev officials said they will take the county’s suggestion under advisement.