State Sen. Frank A. Salvatore's seat wasn't even cold yet, but that didn't prevent the Somerton Civic Association from mapping out its strategy on two local issues that could be affected greatly by Salvatore's defeat to Mike Stack III in the Nov. 7 general election.

For more than a decade, the civic association has tried to work with state legislators and administration officials on a viable, mutually acceptable proposal for the redevelopment of the former site of Philadelphia State Hospital (Byberry).

Meanwhile, a state project to extend the Woodhaven Road expressway from its present terminus at Evans Street into Montgomery County has been supported by many Somerton residents and studied by the state for more than four decades.

Those two issues again took center stage at the civic group's monthly meeting on Nov. 14 at Walker Lodge 306.

Stack, the Democratic senator-elect, was not in attendance. He was out of town, according to civic association president Mary Jane Hazell.

Salvatore (R-5th dist.), who lasted 16 years in the Senate following 12 in the state House of Representatives, wasn't there, either. But the recent election results sparked hope among many residents for renewed progress on the Woodhaven Road and Byberry issues.

The Somerton area is also represented by incumbent state Rep. George Kenney (R-170th dist.) who held back a challenge from Democrat Jacques Lurie in the general election.

NOT-SO-GREAT EXPECTATIONS

Hazell cautioned residents not to raise their expectations too high, with a freshman minority-party senator replacing a high-ranking member of the Republican majority party. But any progress on Woodhaven Road would be an improvement, Hazell believes.

"We've got to get our heads together with our legislators," she said.

The existing section of Woodhaven Road, from Interstate 95 to Evans Street, was completed in 1966. But the extension proposal is still under review.

According to Vito Genua, assistant district engineer for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, the current environmental-impact study began in 1993 and will take at least two or three more years to complete.

Currently, Genua said, there are three major options being studied -- a "no build" option, a Byberry Road upgrade option and the Woodhaven extension option.

Hazell supports the highway extension because of traffic tie-ups on the east-west thoroughfares through Somerton, specifically Byberry and Southampton roads.

There is not enough room for traffic trying to access Somerton, eastern Montgomery County and parts of Bucks County from Interstate 95 and Roosevelt Boulevard, she says.

Quoting a 1976 Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission study, Hazell announced at the meeting that Byberry Road handles 50,000 cars a day.

A CAR HERE, A CAR THERE

PennDOT officials say that, according to a 1995 DVRPC survey, Byberry Road handles between 12,000 and 33,000 cars a day, depending on the specific section of roadway.

The proposed Woodhaven extension would have an exit on Bustleton Avenue and would end at Philmont Avenue in Lower Moreland. It would be less than two miles long.

Terminating the highway at Bustleton Avenue has also been discussed.

In the past, Hazell explained, many Montgomery County residents have opposed the project at public meetings, fearing increased traffic in their communities. Salvatore's senatorial district also includes Lower Moreland.

But Hazell contends: "Most of the traffic on Byberry Road is not from Philadelphia. It's from Huntingdon Valley (Montgomery County) and Bucks County."

Genua said that PennDOT has no specific data on the origin and destination of traffic in the area.

He acknowledged the existence of public opposition to the project, opposition that could resurface.

"I'm sure if there's some movement (on the project), people would continue to raise the issues they have in the past," he said.

Hazell, who moved into Somerton 35 years ago, complained that PennDOT officials have orchestrated a series of lengthy studies that have delayed construction.

"There were studies done from when I got here in 1965 until four years ago," she said. "Every four years, it's another study."

Genua blames funding issues, new government regulations and the local public controversy for derailing the project.

In fact, he said, the idea was dropped completely by the state for several years in the 1970s, along with many other major projects, due to funding problems. The Woodhaven extension idea was revived in the 1980s.

FUNDING BY THE FEDS

The project is being funded mostly by federal money, about 80 percent, Genua said. The state pays the remaining costs.

During the civic meeting, Hazell commended U.S. Rep. Robert A. Borski (D-3rd dist.) for securing federal money for the project on an annual basis.

That's not exactly accurate, according to Karen Peck, Borski's press secretary.

Borski, who was elected to a 10th two-year term on Nov. 7, is a member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. Most transportation funding handed out to states by the federal government is not earmarked for specific projects, Peck said.

Instead, federal dollars are awarded to the state, which awards money to individual regional planning commissions -- in this case, the DVRPC. The planning commission teams with PennDOT to identify preferred projects and decide how to spend the money.

"We certainly work to get money to the state," Peck said. "Then it's pretty much up to the state."

In some instances, the federal government will allocate funds for a specific major project, whether through the president's budget or a congressional budget, but Woodhaven Road does not fall into that category.

Still, Borski is in favor of the Woodhaven Road extension.

"(He) would want to work with the public to make sure what that extension should be," Peck said on Monday.

HOMES FOR BYBERRY?

On the Byberry issue, Hazell reported that she has arranged for an unnamed developer to draft plans for single-story homes for senior citizens on a portion of the 153-acre tract closest to existing homes.

The plans will be reviewed by the civic group's ad-hoc committee on Byberry redevelopment before they are presented to the general membership at the Dec. 12 meeting. For the time being, Hazell said, the developer did not want to reveal his identity.

By offering state and city officials an alternative to the existing proposal for commercial office development, the residents hope to gain a foothold in the negotiating process.

"We have to make sure over the next couple months that nothing goes in there that we don't want," Hazell said. "This is a backup plan. We can't keep saying, 'This is what we don't want.' We have to say, 'This is what we do want.' "

The rancher-style homes would be available to those age 55 and older, Hazell said. They would have two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a garage and a small yard. The projected price is in the $120,000 to $130,000 range.

"(The developer) said it could be done," Hazell said.

Commercial development would be permitted along Roosevelt Boulevard under the civic association plan. The senior homes and office buildings would be separated by a "parklike" strip featuring a community center.

The Byberry ground is currently state-owned, but the city has an agreement of sale to purchase the land through the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation, a quasi-city agency. As part of the deal, PIDC would have to hand more than 60 acres of the ground to two separate private developers for $1 each.

Sam Katz, the former GOP gubernatorial and mayoral candidate and current chairman of Greater Philadelphia First, and prominent Philadelphia developer Mark Mendelson are the two other principals.