KDKA-FM: The Big K Morning Show: Rich Fitzgerald’s Forward Movement

Nationally syndicated reporter and author Salena Zito joins The Big K Morning Show with Larry Richert to discuss Rich Fitzgerald’s new role at the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission. To get a glimpse into his new role, Zito recently joined Fitzgerald for a variety of meetings across the region.

Read her latest article “Rich Fitzgerald’s out of office, but not out of work” for more details.

View the full story at audacy.com.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Rich Fitzgerald’s out of office, but not out of work

It has been just under six months since Rich Fitzgerald walked into the Allegheny County Courthouse, something he did daily for over a dozen years as the county’s chief executive, usually with a phone in his hand trying to manage a crisis.

But today was different. Today he was there to attend the unveiling of his portrait, along with the portraits of the other two former county executives, Dan Onorato and the late Jim Roddey, honoring their place in county government as the first three to hold that office since 1998, when the county switched from three commissioners to a county executive and 15-member council.

After the new county executive Sara Innamorato unveiled the three portraits and they were ceremoniously placed on the courthouse walls, Fitzgerald walked briskly out the door, not as a 64 year old man heading towards his sunset, but as a man who needed to get to Oakland for a memorial honoring Roddey and then to Greene County for a public meeting on the Transportation Improvement Project (TIP), in his new role as the executive director of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC).

The long time Democrat, a Garfield native and father of eight, got his start in politics running for county council in the late 90s. He said he jumped at the chance to lead an organization whose mission is to lay out a blueprint for development at the most granular level for the region’s ten counties.

Counties, Fitzgerald told me, that are part postindustrial, part rural, and all in need of meaningful economic development and infrastructure to grow their most important treasure: the people.

Meat and potatoes politics
It is five o’clock on a sweltering Monday evening, yet several dozen people have gathered in this PennDOT maintenance facility to discuss Greene County’s transportation future. The people here are true stakeholders in the community: residents, township supervisors, mayors, the three county commissioners, as well as representatives from both the local members of congress and the governor’s office and Fitzgerald. No local press, print or television, attends a meeting that affects most people and businesses here.

The meeting starts off discussing the work being done by PennDOT to make state route 21 less dangerous. It’s the kind of meat and potatoes stuff that Fitzgerald loves — and hoped he could do after he retired as county executive. After nearly two decades of Democratic politics, he wasn’t sure he’d even get the position, since most of the SPC county commissioners who decide who gets the position are Republicans.

Republican Greene County commissioner Betsy McClure is the first say how thankful she is he runs the SPC. “I didn’t care what party that he came from,” she said. “I cared that he had a vision and understood and recognized the importance of regional economic development. We want our young people to have a reason to stay here and Rich understood that need.” She added: “He is a game changer.”

In Fitzgerald, many there see a man who doesn’t just get the importance of regional development. They also see someone who can bring in the money, expertise and hope for a county that doesn’t see why because of its proximity to interchanges with Interstates 70, 68 and 79 that their future prosperity could not look any different than Cranberry Township’s, where I79 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike intersect.

Fitzgerald says a lot of people do not remember, but it wasn’t all that long ago that the Butler County township went from a sleepy farm outpost with no proper downtown to a boomtown of retail shops, corporate headquarters and residential development that has made it one of the fastest growing areas in the region.

“Nothing is impossible. I do think with growth and economic development around gas and hydrogen and production, and partnering not just with the universities in Pittsburgh but also partnering with WVU in Morgantown, there are opportunities here for substantial growth,” he said of Greene County’s proximity to that many interstates. “We’ve got to push it.”

In 1981, Fitzgerald found himself entering the work force at 22 after graduating from college as the region’s economy was collapsing. The steel mills had shut down, along with every business that supported them. The unemployment numbers hit nearly 20% by 1984 and in the next decade nearly 200,000 people would be forced to leave their families and their roots to find work and stability elsewhere.

“It was a loss of our greatest treasure, our people, that shaped me in politics,” Fitzgerald said. “It is an unmooring of community I understood the people felt across the region and why I really wanted to take on this job to help draw development here but also keep our young people here as well as draw in new young people,” he said.

Keeping the people here
Being finished with elected office, he wanted to find a way he could help the region, using his knowledge and experience and skills to continue to improve the economic climate and quality of life. “Those things, I really think are what going to keep people here, draw people here, and grow our region.”

He could have gone on to other things. “I really didn’t want to go to Washington. I really didn’t want to go to Harrisburg. This is my home,” he said, adding with a broad smile, “I like being home at night to see my kids, see my grandkids, my wife.”

For the next week he would be at the Lawrence County public meeting on the Targeted Industry Programs in Neshannock, a robotics factory in Lawrenceville, at three successive Environmental Protection Agency meetings in Fayette, Westmoreland and Washington counties to discuss federal initiatives to support displaced energy workers, and Indiana County for a discussion of economic prosperity in Homer City one year after the coal fired power plant was shut down.

The first time he met Fitzgerald, Austin Davis told me, he was in college and Fitzgerald had just gone through his umpteenth “body man” — the person who drives the candidate around, often for 12 hours a day — for his campaign for county executive. The University of Pittsburgh college student from McKeesport took on the role.

He would go on to become Fitzgerald’s executive assistant and one of his most trusted advisors. When a state house seat became open in his home district in 2018, Fitzgerald urged him to run for office. He won, becoming the first Black state representative in the state to win a majority white seat. Three years later, when then state attorney general Josh Shapiro asked Fitzgerald to recommend a good running mate, he had only one answer: Davis.

“I can tell you from working with him, he is a perfect fit for SPC,” Davis said. “He’s had a strong focus in his time as county executive on making sure we have a strong infrastructure here in Pittsburgh.”

“I think we redid almost every county bridge. He was really good at working with elected officials to get resources back to this region for transportation,” said Davis. Fitzgerald developed a “really strong relationship” with Republican governor Tom Corbett and then Republican congressman Bill Schuster, who chaired the powerful House Transportation Committee.

Both relationships produced necessary funds for transportation needs in the county. “That is why I think SPC is just really a natural fit or a natural extension of the work that he’s been doing for years,” said Davis.

He doesn’t miss being in office
When in office, Fitzgerald had a reputation for wanting to get things done and being more pragmatic than his fellow Democrats. That worked well for the county’s residents, but caused consternation within his party, particularly as he often butted heads with leftwing county councilwoman Bethany Hallam.

Does he miss being in office? Especially as this end of the state will be a focus for his party’s efforts to reelect President Joe Biden? “I don’t miss much, to be honest with you. … And I certainly don’t miss the constantness of it.”

The politics is all behind him now. For a man who until the late 90s never once thought about politics, to go from indifference to the leader of the second most populous and politically powerful county in the state and then back to a more dispassionate position suits him just fine.

View the full story at post-gazette.com.

New Castle News: State taking public comment on roads, bridges plan

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation opened the public period for the proposed 2025 statewide transportation improvement program.

The program consists of road and bridge projects statewide that support Gov. Josh Shapiro’s vision of a safe and reliable transportation network. The comment period will remain open until July 3, 2024.

Members of the Southwest Pennsylvania Commission and PennDOT officials presented the plan for local projects at a public meeting of local elected officials earlier this month.

The first on the list of local priorities are the resurfacing of East Washington Street from downtown New Castle and Route 65 in Shenango Township and the replacement of the East Washington Street bridge downtown. The $7.61-million East Washington/Route 65 repaving project already is underway and will continue throughout the summer.

The project is along East Washington Street (Route 65) between the Old Princeton Road intersection in Shenango Township to the South Croton Avenue intersection in the City of New Castle. It also includes work along South Croton Avenue (Route 108) between the Jefferson Street (Route 18) and East Washington Street intersections. Work along East Washington Street will include milling and paving, bridge preservation work to the structure over Route 422, utility and inlet adjustments, guide rail updates, wheelchair-accessible curb ramp installation, traffic signal upgrades, signs and pavement markings and other miscellaneous repair work. Work along South Croton Avenue (Route 108) consists of milling and resurfacing, roadway reconstruction from Mill Street up to and including the intersection with Route 65, inlet adjustments, utility work, sign and pavement marking installation, and other miscellaneous repair work. There will be single-lane restrictions throughout both project limits. Pedestrian access will be maintained throughout the project, which is anticipated to be completed by the end of the year.

Crews will begin paving Route 108 (South Croton Avenue) from Route 18 to Route 65 and on southbound Route 65 from Route 108 to Cascade Park. Once that work is completed, bridge work over Route 422 on Route 65 will commence and involve traffic signal upgrades, sign installation and miscellaneous construction work. The contractor will then finish paving Route 65 from Cascade Park south to the project limits near the Shenango McDonald’s, according to information from PennDOT’s press office in Pittsburgh.

The East Washington Street Bridge over the Neshannock Creek in the City of New Castle will undergo utility relocation work beginning this year. Full replacement of the 145-foot-long structure is expected to take two construction seasons. The project cost is $7.28 million and includes approach road work and minor signal work at the intersections of Route 65 and Route 108. If utility work extends into 2025, the project will conclude in 2027. Verizon needs to work with the contractor on coordinated work on its line that crosses the bridge, according to information from PennDOT. Once the Verizon work is completed the contractor can begin bridge replacement work. A date for the closure of the bridge has not been determined yet.

A delayed resurfacing project on Route 18/ 158 in Wilmington Township is expected to begin next year.

Work will include milling and paving the travel lanes and shoulders and drainage improvements of 3.23 miles of Route 158 in Wilmington Township and New Wilmington Borough, and bridge preservation work on two structures over McClure Run and a branch of the Little Neshannock Creek.

This project, expected to cost between $3.5 million and $4.5 million, is to be contracted in late February with the project starting in late May.

The Transportation Improvement Programs (TIP) for Lawrence County involves a $12.7 million investment in roads, including the preservation of Route 19 and Wilmington Road, sections of Route 422 and Interstate 376. Additionally, $9.6 million is being spent on bridges. In addition to the East Washington Street Bridge, those that will get attention will be the River Road Culvert, Frew Mill Road Bridge, Jefferson Street Bridge and Paden Road Bridge over Hickory Run.

Additionally, sidewalks are to be improved in a Union Township neighborhood for pedestrian traffic.

The draft 2025 statewide TIP (STIP) consists of a list of prioritized projects and project phases identified for federal, state, local and private funding over four years for capital improvements, 23 regional TIPs, an independent Wayne County TIP and two statewide-managed programs — the Interstate Management Program and Statewide Initiatives TIPs.

“Infrastructure that serves everyone requires input from everyone,” said PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll. “Planning for the future of transportation infrastructure is a complex process, and I encourage everyone to submit their comments and take part in this process.”

The draft, including an infographic providing an overview of the STIP process, can be viewed at https://talkpatransportation.com/how-it-works/stip. Comments can be submitted online at TalkPATransportation.com, by emailing a fillable form to RA-PennDOTSTC@pa.gov or by calling PennDOT to at (717) 783-2262.

The draft 2025 state TIP will be adopted as part of the 2025 TYP update by the STC during the commission’s August 14 business meeting. The 12-year plan is updated every two years.

View the full article at ncnewsonline.com.

Tribune-Review: Penn Township approves new turnpike maintenance facility; details of interchange still up in air

Penn Township commissioners approved the preliminary development plan for a new Pennsylvania Turnpike maintenance complex featuring nearly 8 acres of solar panels.

The complex — which will contain an office space, truck and maintenance garages and a salt storage building — will be located on a nearly 42-acre property with an entrance along Route 130.

Pending stormwater, sewage and driveway permit requirements, the complex is scheduled to be built by fall 2026, according to the turnpike’s website.

The property is almost directly across the road from the current maintenance area, which has an entrance off Sandy Hill Road, said Bill Roberts, township community development director.

Before they approved the plan, resident Cliff Nabuda, who lives near the site, requested more details.

“I would also like to voice my disappointment that no one has come and spoken to anybody along Four Seasons Lane about this proposed development,” he said. “We’re the ones who are going to be the most severely impacted by it.”

The vote on the new complex comes about 10 months after the turnpike specified the location of an interchange officially announced in October 2021. The interchange will be installed near the intersection of Sandy Hill Road, Nike Site Road and Route 130 between spring of 2032 and fall of 2034, according to the turnpike website.

The turnpike organized an advisory group featuring officials from Penn Township, Westmoreland County and state government to navigate the design process with community input, said turnpike spokesperson Crispin Havener. The first meeting was in March.

“We are currently in the final stages of preliminary engineering and some aspects of the plans that we shared with the advisory group in March may still change,” Havener said. “Once that is completed, we will host a public meeting to show the potential plans to the community as a whole and get their feedback. This should take place in the near future.”

The advisory group’s meetings are not open to the public, but meeting summaries will be posted on its website.

Traffic on surrounding roadways, traffic disruption during the construction period and consistent communication between the turnpike, the state Department of Transportation and the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission were discussed at the March meeting, according to the advisory group website.

With little information available about the interchange, Nabuda said, residents are left to wait and see.

“We know the train is coming,” he said, referring to the interchange. “We don’t know which track it’s coming on.”

Turnpike officials have told the township that moving the maintenance facility is part of the turnpike’s $300 million project to widen the toll highway between the Monroeville and Irwin interchanges.

The widening project includes expanding the highway from four to six lanes in the 10-mile stretch and reconstructing the Irwin interchange. A bridge carrying Harvison Road over the turnpike in the township is set for removal this summer as part of the project, turnpike officials confirmed in February.

View the full story at triblive.com.

KDKA-FM: The Big K Morning Show: Big Things Ahead For The City Of Pittsburgh

Executive Director of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, Rich Fitzgerald, joins Larry Richert in the KDKA radio studio each Wednesday morning.

On this week’s show, Fayette County Commissioner Vince Vicites was on to talk about the great summer attractions the county has to offer like Ohiopyle State Park, Fallingwater, and Nemacolin.

View the full story at audacy.com.

Indiana Gazette: Coal and power plant communities invited for listening session at KCAC

The Indiana County Center for Economic Operations, in collaboration with the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, is inviting the public to a listening session this afternoon with the Interagency Working Group on Coal & Power Plant Communities & Economic Revitalization.

The session is scheduled from 1 to 3 p.m. today at the Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex at 711 Pratt Drive on the Indiana University of Pennsylvania campus.

The IWG Rapid Response Team will listen to local concerns, provide overviews of resources available and discuss ways of accessing federal funds available to communities.

Indiana County CEO is a partnership of the Indiana County Commissioners, Indiana County Chamber of Commerce, Indiana County Development Corporation, Indiana County Tourist Bureau and Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

RSVPs were requested at https://tinyurl.com/Indiana-County-Registration.

View the full article at indianagazette.com.

Cranberry Eagle: Long-term transit infrastructure plan in the works

Road projects totaling more than $186 million in costs are planned in Butler County over the next four years.

The development is not designed to prepare for an increase in traffic the region is expecting, but to help manage the traffic that is already here.

Mark Gordon, county chief of planning and economic development, is a voting member of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, and said in a public meeting Monday, June 3, that the road projects are vital to Butler County’s growing economy.

Ongoing work expanding Route 228 and access to it, Gordon said, are particularly important for transit management, because billions of dollars worth of traffic travel the road every year.

“This is not a ‘Build it and they will come’ (situation). They are already here,” Gordon said. “This will improve the overall effectiveness of that corridor.”

The Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission reviewed its Butler County Transportation Improvement Program during a virtual meeting Monday. The commission is the federally designated metropolitan planning organization which serves 10 counties in Southwestern Pennsylvania, and the four-year improvement plan is a short-term investment plan of an overall 25-year plan for the county.

The county is two years into its 2023-2026 plan, but members of the commission are already drafting the plan that will carry on through 2028. County officials help prioritize transportation work for the commission leaders, who formulate a plan based off local feedback.

According to Domenic D’Andrea, director of transportation planning for the commission, each short-term plan takes into account information in the ongoing plan, as well as goals in the long-term plan. The 2025-2028 draft of the plan estimates more than $4 billion will be invested toward improving the region’s transportation infrastructure over the next four years, D’Andrea said.

While road improvement projects are usually a priority for county officials and leaders of the commission, D’Andrea said safety improvement is consistently a top concern. Bridges have been one of the biggest targets for improvement by the commission in recent years, because 13% of bridges in Southwestern Pennsylvania are in poor condition D’Andrea said.

“The draft (Transportation Improvement Program) invests over $860 million in the region’s bridge infrastructure on over 280 bridges, 140 of which are in poor condition,” D’Andrea said.

In addition to road projects, the plan includes an investment of a little more than $300 million for new clean diesel and alternative fuel small transit vehicles and buses, and more than $30 million in upgrades and construction for maintenance and administration facilities.

Voting members of the commission — five from each of the region’s 10 counties and five from the City of Pittsburgh — will vote to adopt the 2025-2028 plan on June 24. However, the commission meets regularly with county officials to make updates to the plan that take into account changing economic factors, and new transit needs.

“You are laying out projects and they have factors associated with them to look at and predict what increasing prices may or may not be,” Gordon said. “Every time you go out for bid, more often than not, the responses are a little higher today than if you would have bid it a year ago.”

During the meeting, Butler County Commissioner Leslie Osche said the commission has been proactive in responding to feedback county leaders, no matter the size of the issue.

“The efforts, the advocacy on some of these big project we have has been pretty incredible, but equally on the smaller projects and calls that we make and the responsiveness on the calls,” Osche said.

View the full story at cranberryeagle.com.

Butler Eagle: Long-term transit infrastructure plan in the works