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Major Highway Project Could Kick Hundreds Out Of Their Homes

MONROEVILLE (KDKA) -- The Pennsylvania Turnpike may soon acquire hundreds of houses. The plan is to knock them all down and build a new highway that connects the South Hills to Monroeville.

No matter where you build a highway, someone's home is going to be taken, but when it's your own, it's shocking.

"It's kind of a bombshell when you get there and you find out they are taking your house," said Pat Carey, a Monroeville resident. "This is the first I heard about it."

Carey has lived at the end of Holt Lane in Monroeville since the Penguins won their first Stanley Cup. He knew his neighbor's home across the street was going to be taken, but just found out last night that his is in the road's path, too.

"I don't want to leave," Carey says. "We've been here for 25 years."

From Jefferson Hills, through Dravosburg, West Mifflin, Duquesne, North Versailles, East Pittsburgh, Turtle Creek, Penn Hills, Monroeville and Wilkins Township, people are coming out to eyeball the maps and learning their homes or businesses are in the expressway's path.

"I don't want to leave," said Dane Ladrew, of Monroeville. "That's my reaction. I've been here, I'm happy."

"What we're doing is looking at about 600 to 650 properties that would be affected by this project," said Pennsylvania Turnpike spokeswoman Renee Vid Colborn.

Not everyone is upset about the coming change.

"We have a lot of people coming in who can't wait for this project to get started, who say take my property, take it now," said Colborn.

But there are plenty who aren't so happy.

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The Turnpike promises to pay full market value, plus moving expenses.

"I don't care about the money," says Carey. "I'd rather live here. It's a nice place. It's a nice area, a nice street. I don't want to move no matter what they give me."

None of this will happen quickly.

"The acquisition process wouldn't start until 2018," says Colborn.

And for this 14-mile project, buying and moving everyone will take years.

"Construction would probably start around 2022 is the estimate," Colborn said.

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