Blue Mountain Parkway bypass route revisited

The route of the planned Blue Mountain Parkway bypass road appears to be a done deal, finally. The bypass, or loop road, is part of the Route 39 corridor improvement project that is supposed to go under construction in Linglestown this spring.

The Village of Linglestown Committee last week changed its recommendation for the bypass route based on new information from the Lower Paxton Township supervisors, who are responsible for approving the project.

Instead of using a route with an extension of Blackberry Alley (route "1" in photo), township officials and the village committee now agree a route that would intersect Blue Mountain Parkway north of Blackberry Alley is the best option (route "2" in photo).



My take: I was surprised the village committee originally recommended the alley route, which would create a tight turn for large vehicles headed southbound on Blue Mountain Parkway and would have significant impacts to private properties.

The village committee struggled with this decision because the Rowe family strongly objected to the northern route because it cuts through their back yard. Also, PennDOT never said the Blackberry Alley route definitely would not work.

Clearly, the northern route is the way to go. Large vehicles southbound on Blue Mountain Parkway will have easier access to the parkway and no privately owned buildings will be affected.

Hopefully the delay in selecting the bypass route will not force construction to be postponed until spring 2008.
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Prior posts:
* Village committee picks route for bypass
* Vote anticipated on village bypass project
* From the comments
* Rt. 39 project takes bad turn for Linglestown family
* Route 39 plan finalized