Curious, concerned property owners weigh in on proposed U.S. 219 paths

Jun. 24—SALISBURY, Pa. — A new four-lane highway between Meyersdale and Grantsville, Maryland, would remove heavy truck traffic from the dangerous curves of two-lane U.S. Route 219, but it would also mean that many people's property between those points would be gobbled up to build it.

Who would be asked to sell acreage for the highway has yet to be determined.

PennDOT is considering six different routes south of Meyersdale and north of the new Interstate 68/U.S. 219 interchange in Grantsville to complete U.S. 219 as a four-lane highway.

The roughly seven-mile piece of new highway, which PennDOT calls the "Meyersdale to Old Salisbury Road" project, would complete "Corridor N" of the Appalachian Development Highway System, from Grantsville to another corridor point at Ebensburg.

The system is a network of 33 highway corridors totaling 3,090 miles and connecting the 13 Appalachian states with the interstate highway system and a wide range of domestic and global markets.

More than 120 people attended a public meeting Thursday hosted by PennDOT at Salisbury Volunteer Fire Department to weigh in on the six possible routes for the new highway segment. Many of them came to see whether the proposed highway options would cut through their farms or forest lands.

PennDOT and Maryland Department of Transportation representatives displayed a map of all six potential routes so that members of the public could offer their ideas and ask questions.

Richard and Marsha McKenzie, of Grantsville, were dismayed to see the map. No matter what option is chosen, the highway would cut through their 60-acre property.

"The beautiful area we've been fortunate to live in will be totally destructed," Marsha McKenzie said.

Some people at the meeting were relieved to see that none of the possible routes pass through their property. Others were upset that "big government" was "sticking it to the little people," as one woman said.

The limited-access highway would cut through the Salisbury area. Locals have doubts the small town would see benefit from it, aside from decreasing the presence of trucks on the area's existing portion of two-lane U.S. 219.

The project would decrease travel time for people north and south of the Maryland-Pennsylvania border, and that's good for businesses in both states, PennDOT project manager and professional engineer Nicki Donahoe said.

"We are balancing the need for this project with people's property concerns by going through the environmental process," Donahoe said.

The Federal Highway Administration and local conservation districts will determine a "least environmentally damaging and practical route," she said, adding that the criteria for determining that route include disturbance of natural resources and socio-economic impact.

"This area has a lot of active farmland," she said. "It's good to get the general public's voice on this because there are things we aren't aware of. ... There may be things we've missed. If there are boundaries that need to be bigger, we like to have that voice."

Overall, the project promotes economic development, Donahoe said, arguing that businesses in Somerset and farther north are likely to open their employee pool and expand their businesses as a result of the new highway.

"It would open more job opportunities because it's not necessarily how many miles people travel to work, but how many minutes it takes to get to work," she said.

PennDOT has conducted a cost-benefit analysis of the project.

"We have a report that interviewed businesses and determined how much more they could grow if they had that employee pool," Donahoe said.

The ballpark construction cost of the project is $240 million, which would be covered by federal funding, she said. She is confident federal funding would be secured.

"There's so much bipartisan pull for this," she said. "Lawmakers in Pennsylvania and Maryland have a lot riding on getting this done."

Around June of next year, PennDOT plans to have another public meeting to show the route that rose to the top of the selection process, Donahoe said.

"It will give everyone a better idea of which alignment is preferred," she said.

Final design and right-of-way acquisition is still years away, slated to occur from 2025 to 2028, PennDOT plans show. After that, construction would take place from 2029 to 2031, PennDOT's schedule shows.

Many people at the meeting were uncertain whether property owners would even be compensated for land taken for the highway. Donahoe said that compensation will be determined when the time comes for right-of-way acquisition.

"We will purchase land from people," Donahoe said. "We have an extensive right of way process. We go through the appraisal process. We meet with property owners and discuss what the takes would be. They would be compensated. There are always people who aren't completely satisfied with their claim, but there is a regimented process."

The project, years in the making, is a joint effort of PennDOT and the Maryland Department of Transportation in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration.

Insurance company owner Andy Hershberger, of Salisbury, owns land along the shortest proposed alignment for the highway. He's certain that's the path PennDOT will take. If so, the project would take 100 forested acres of his 300-acre property.

"Will the money I get from PennDOT for my land make up for the leisure and the quiet I enjoyed hunting at my property?" he said. "But I guess I am for it. Do I wish it didn't go through my property? Yes, but it is what it is."