HERMITAGE City selling land for the widening of state Route 18

PennDOT will pay the city more than $130,000 for two strips of land.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
HERMITAGE, Pa. -- The state's plan to widen a 2.6-mile stretch of state Route 18 past the municipal building has netted the city a tidy sum.
Widening the roadway from two to five lanes means the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has to buy land along both sides of the street.
City commissioners approved two agreements Wednesday, selling the state two parcels of municipal land along the east side of Route 18.
Hermitage will get $50,433 for just less than one-third of an acre in front of the city building and $81,000 for a strip in front of the adjacent annex building that measures just under a half-acre.
What will happen: The road-widening project has an estimated cost of $15 million and will be done in two phases.
The first section, from The Cookery restaurant north to a four-lane section, will start this year.
The second, from The Cookery south to U.S. Route 62, will start next year.
Commissioners, meanwhile, passed an ordinance requiring the nine homeowners on Cambria Street, a private roadway, to share an assessment estimated at $13,500 as their portion of the paving of that 820-foot street. The city will then accept the street for maintenance.
Cost is estimated at $32,000 and the city will pick up the difference. Each owner is faced with a $1,500 bill, which can be paid in one lump sum or spread over five years, with a 6 percent interest charge on the unpaid balance.
Failure to pay will result in the city placing a lien on the property.
A land development plan was approved, clearing the way for Hermitage Vinyl Products to build a warehouse in a light industrial district on Broadway Road. The development plan shows room for three additions.
A preliminary subdivision was approved for developer Dan Leali to add 45 single-family building lots to Eagle Point at Spangler and Sample roads.