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How will proposed improvements affect the value of my property?
At this time, there is no indication that a major roadway improvement within the U.S. 30 corridor will itself increase or decrease property values. While proximity of an improved transportation facility can affect the value of individual properties, market conditions and other extraneous factors can have a more profound affect on local property values.
U.S. 30 experiences traffic congestion on a regular basis, particularly on weekends. Typically, businesses that largely depend on drive-by traffic (for spontaneous shoppers) suffer from increasing congestion. The reason for this is that drivers are reluctant to leave the traffic stream during peak periods due to concern about encountering further delays. So too, other potential customers travel other routes to avoid the congestion. Small businesses that cater to tourists are particularly harmed.
On the other hand, many larger businesses are destinations themselves. They can often continue to do well under congested roadway conditions because of the attractiveness of the service they offer or the products they sell. They are enough of a draw that they can offset the delays drivers encounter in getting there.
Similarly, transportation is only one of many factors that influences whether a business will continue to succeed in the future once roadway improvements are made. A bypass could divert traffic (and customers) away from a business district, or the decrease in congestion and improvement in safety may encourage potential customers to use the existing road to visit a business establishment. Widening an existing roadway can also decrease congestion and improve safety but its effect on local businesses is also hard to predict. The improved highway can carry more traffic (and customers). However, the acquisition of needed right-of-way can require the displacement of businesses, change the traveling patterns of potential customers, and change the overall market in the area.
It is PENNDOT’s and The Federal Highway Administration’s goal to establish the most direct and useable highway facility at the least possible cost to the public. To accomplish this, we are undertaking intensive studies on several alternatives in order to find the one that will result in the least possible inconvenience or injury to the public and private landowner.