One of the first tasks of the study was to conduct an assessment of the corridor's transportation needs, some of which were identified from previouse studies are listed below. With input from the public, additional needs may be added as the Airport Multimodal Corridor Study progresses.

• Current travel times between downtown Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh International Airport are unfavorable and will most likely continue to increase in the future. In fact, without major improvements and increased transportation options in the Airport/Parkway West corridor, area transportation professionals forecast that peak period travel times will dramatically increase by 45%.
  
  
• Increasingly significant delays and congestion for travel between northeast and southwest portions of the region ultimately will hinder efficient accessibility to jobs in the vicinity of the Pittsburgh International Airport and in nearby Washington and Beaver Counties, as well as adversely impact freight movement and economic development opportunities.

Related Studies and Potential Alternatives

The last major study of the Airport corridor, the Parkway West Multimodal Corridor Study, was undertaken by the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission and completed in 1989. Recommendations from the study produced many improvements, such as the Airport Expressway, West Busway, West End Improvements and Liberty Tunnel Interchange.

The Airport Multimodal Corridor Study will provide the opportunity to identify, develop and select transportation alternatives for the Airport corridor. Previous planning studies for the corridor have identified the following public transportation and highway alternatives:

• Potential Public Transportation Alternatives
  
  • Light Rail Transit or Bus Rapid Transit to the Airport
  • Use of common right-of-way with highways
  • Direct connections to growing employment centers
  • Connection to the Light Rail Transit System, the T
  • Connection to the proposed North Shore Connector
  • Connection to the Busway system
  • Expand park and ride facilities
  • Connection to Maglev MAGport™ Stations at the Airport and in Pittsburgh
    
    
• Potential Highway Alternatives
  • Parkway Widening
  • New four lane (ultimately six) limited access highway
  • Connections to Routes 60, I-79, Route 51 and Route 65
  • River crossing at Brunots Island
  • Local interchanges to provide development opportunities
  • Toll opportunity to offset operating costs and part of capital costs
    
    
• Other Options
  
  • High-Speed Maglev - currently undergoing an Environmental Impact Statement study
  • Wheeling and Lake Eire Corridor/ Banksville Connector for transit or highway improvements