[PRCo] Re: Wabash Tunnel in Operation

[John Swindler]

Port Authority asks state to take control of Wabash
By Jim Ritchie
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday, January 20, 2007

Port Authority of Allegheny County wants the state to take over the Wabash 
Tunnel.

The deficit-strapped authority is seeking options to cut the $575,000 annual 
cost of running the high occupancy vehicle tunnel from its $320 million 
budget and believes handing it to PennDOT would be its best alternative.

Authority officials have approached PennDOT and asked the state highway 
agency to take control of the two-lane tunnel that cost $36 million to 
renovate, authority construction manager Henry Nutbrown said Friday during 
the agency's construction committee meeting.

PennDOT is not jumping at the opportunity.


"We have received Port Authority's request," spokesman Rich Kirkpatrick 
said. "We need to have a wider discussion about this with other folks in the 
region. I don't have any details yet of when such a discussion would take 
place or exactly who will be involved. We don't have an easy answer to 
this."

The authority opened the tunnel in December 2004 to serve buses and HOV 
traffic during rush hours, and all other vehicles during off-peak hours. The 
3,650-foot tunnel runs between Route 51 and West Carson Street near the 
Smithfield Street Bridge. The tunnel switches direction of travel for each 
rush hour -- inbound in the morning and outbound each afternoon.

It was projected to have 4,500 daily users by 2014 but at this point has 
fewer than 500.

Port Authority board member Guy Mattola said the tunnel never caught on, 
adding that the authority should have advertised it more.

"I'm still hearing from people that they don't know the Wabash Tunnel is 
there," he said.

Pittsburgh City Councilman Jim Motznik urged the authority months ago to 
transfer the tunnel to the state highway agency.

"I hope PennDOT does take it over," he said. "Port Authority's in the 
business of transporting people, and PennDOT's in the business of running 
bridges and tunnels."

Giving the tunnel to PennDOT would eliminate the authority's $575,000 annual 
expense.

The authority decided recently to contact PennDOT and analyze other options 
as it sought ways to cut expenses. The agency estimates it will end its 
fiscal year on June 30 with a deficit of between $20 million and $25 
million. It projects an $80 million deficit in upcoming fiscal 2007.

Shutting the tunnel is unlikely because that would require the authority to 
repay the Federal Transit Administration about $30 million of the $36 
million spent on the tunnel, Nutbrown said.

The authority would have to barricade the ends of the tunnel by installing 
special gates, which would cost about $200,000, he said.

A third option is converting the tunnel for use only by outbound vehicles. 
That change would shave $175,000 from the $575,000 annual bill, Nutbrown 
said. The savings would come from using fewer staff members to supervise the 
tunnel and reduced utility costs.

If PennDOT does not accept the tunnel, Motznik wants the authority to 
consider other options, such as placing HOV restrictions at times other than 
rush hours, or making it inbound-only to ease the morning commute.

The authority expects a response from PennDOT by mid-February.

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