Pennsylvania Turnpike to Celebrate Opening of Three Renovated Travel Plazas Today

HARRISBURG, PA (05/28/2008)(readMedia)-- Officials from the Pennsylvania Turnpike and its partners will mark the opening of three new service plazas today at a 2 p.m. ribbon-cutting event at the new Allentown Service Plaza on the Northeastern Extension (Interstate 476) in Upper Macungie Township, Lehigh County. New facilities at Allentown, Sideling Hill and North Somerset opened earlier this month ahead of the Memorial Day weekend and the start of the summer travel season. The three plazas had closed right after Labor Day last year to allow the work to take place.

“Travelers will love the bigger, brighter facilities which were built without spending one cent of toll earnings or any other public money,” said Turnpike CEO Joe Brimmeier. “Our partnership with HMS Host Corp. and Sunoco Inc. allows us to concentrate Turnpike resources on critical highway safety enhancements while using private funding to greatly improve the customer experience at our travel plazas.”

The Sideling Hill, Allentown and North Somerset facilities are the second, third and fourth plazas to be reconstructed and modernized under a 30-year, public-private redevelopment program involving Bethesda, Md.-based HMS Host Corp. and Sunoco Inc. of Philadelphia. HMS Host Corp. has committed $100 million to rebuild 18 service plazas. Sunoco will invest $70 million to redevelop 18 service stations and convenience stores. Oakmont Service Plaza near Pittsburgh, which reopened May 23, 2007, was the first to be reconstructed under the partnership.

The new, larger plazas feature more spacious layouts and food-court style dining areas with more food choices. They also have larger, brighter restrooms with “touch-free” technology. Other plaza improvements include outdoor dining areas, landscaped grounds with pet walking paths, new fueling stations and a convenience store.

• The Sideling Hill Service Plaza in Taylor Township, Fulton County reopened May 16 for eastbound and westbound traffic at Milepost 172.3 on Interstate 76/70. Travelers can purchase fresh produce sold by local farmers on site or enjoy Starbucks Coffee, Famous Famiglia Pizzeria, Burger King, Popeye’s Chicken and Hershey’s Ice Cream.

• The Allentown Service Plaza reopened on May 19. It features Starbucks Coffee, Philly Steak & Gyro, Roy Rogers, Famous Famiglia Pizzeria, Bassett’s Original Turkey and Hershey’s Ice Cream. The plaza is accessible from the northbound or southbound lanes just south of the Lehigh Valley exit.

• The North Somerset Service Plaza reopened on May 22 to serve westbound traffic on Interstate 76/70 at Milepost 112.3. Located in Somerset Township, Somerset County, the updated service plaza offers new restaurants including Starbucks Coffee, Chili’s Too, Famous Famiglia Pizzeria, The Doggery and Hershey Ice Cream.

Joining Mr. Brimmeier at the Allentown event this afternoon will be Michael Jones, Vice President of Business Development for HMS Host, Mark Davis, General Manager for HMS Host/PA Turnpike, Steven Petrison, Sunoco’s Manager of Business Development and Toll Roads and Tom Golembeski, Sunoco Public Relations Manager.

The next three plazas scheduled to close this September and reopen before Memorial Day 2009 are: the New Stanton Service Plaza (Turnpike mainline westbound), Hempfield Township, Westmoreland County; the Lawn Service Plaza (Turnpike mainline westbound), Conewago Township, Dauphin County; and the Bowmansville Service Plaza (Turnpike mainline eastbound), Brecknock Township, Lancaster County. In addition, the Peter J. Camiel Plaza serving westbound mainline traffic in Wallace Township, Chester County, is scheduled to be closed for 6 months beginning in early 2009 as part of a phased renovation.

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