Just build it!
THIS JUST IN: Construction of the Woodhaven Road Extension will start tomorrow.
April Fools!
Gentle readers, only a fool would believe that that extremely worthy project will come to fruition anytime soon, and that is a shame. A darned shame.
Thanks to guerrilla warfare courtesy of folks opposed to the project, don’t be terribly surprised if PennDOT pulls the plug on the proposal.
The public meeting at George Washington High School last week was a disgusting display of uncivilized behavior, with one goon even suggesting that the project’s leading proponent, Somerton Civic Association president Mary Jane Hazell, be shot. It was an ugly example of the mentality of the opposition.
One man who could have gotten the ball rolling on the project many years ago is former state Sen. Hank Salvatore. He was very popular in and out of Harrisburg during his 16 years in the Senate, but the fact that Hazell is his longtime nemesis may have something to do with his failure to push the project through state red tape during his tenure.
It looks grim, but justice in civil engineering can still prevail. We all know the project is worthy. Anybody with half of a brain — and opponents of the project, too — knows in his heart that a full extension from Evans Street to Philmont Avenue — ON PENNDOT’S EXISTING RIGHT-OF-WAY — is the way to go. Traffic volume on Byberry Road has been unbearable for far too long.
To bend over backward to appease folks in Westwood, PennDOT should ban trucks from the extension. Force all trucks to exit Woodhaven Road at Roosevelt Boulevard, so traffic on the new highway to Philmont Avenue would be limited to cars. That compromise is more fair and just than Westwood deserves, but perhaps it can seal the deal.
Come on, PennDOT, start building the extension. Tomorrow. ••