It is too early to tell whether plans to upgrade or rebuild several travel plazas along the Pennsylvania Turnpike would include changes to the Plainfield service plaza in West Pennsboro Township.
But it probably would affect the Blue Mountain service plaza west of Newburg.
The turnpike commission has said it wants to make all the travel plazas accessible to motorists traveling both east and west, and to provide more amenities for truckers.
That should mean that fewer truckers park along the highway to sleep -- something investigators recommended after a 1998 accident that killed seven people.
The Associated Press last week reported the commission wants to ease crowds at service plazas such as the 60-year-old New Stanton, Midway and Blue Mountain plazas.
Carl DeFebo, spokesman for turnpike commission, said plans are to upgrade or rebuild nine of the pike's 22 travel plazas to join the three already-existing full-service plazas, which are at Sideling Hill in the western part of the state, at Allentown in the eastern part of the state and at Hickory Run on the Northeast Extension.
DeFebo said he cannot say what might happen to the Plainfield plaza under the new proposals.
"We haven't made any concrete plans," he said. "We're in the process of finalizing a study which is not even complete yet."
The Plainfield Plaza includes a Roy Rogers restaurant, TCBY yogurt, a Hot Dog City, restrooms and gasoline pumps.
A group of seven Plainfield residents who live near the turnpike have been battling the commission for years over the 1995 expansion of the service plaza. They complain of diesel fumes, bright lights and noise from idling tractor-trailer engines since the parking lot was extended toward their homes.
John Broujos, Carlisle attorney for the residents, said Friday he had not heard news of the turnpike's plans. He said none of his Plainfield clients has contacted him recently regarding future of the service plaza there.
"We haven't heard anything," he said.
DeFebo said the turnpike commission is looking at either renovating existing plazas or building new ones.
"They could be totally torn down and built from scratch, or they could be renovated," he said, adding no property has been acquired or designs developed for either option. "It's likely we're talking as long as a decade before you see anything.
"I doubt we're talking about nine new locations."
DeFebo said the study plan recommends full-service dual-access plazas be put in place.
The dual-access plazas could be used by both east- and westbound motorists via a ramp with a bridge to connect traffic on the opposite side of the turnpike to the plazas, and would have "multiple amenities" including various restaurants, gasoline and restroom facilities.
The Associated Press last week reported Bill Capone, the turnpike's marketing director, said officials are considering building 10 plazas and then dedicating the old plazas to truckers. He said the idea would be to renovate the old ones with showers, fax machines and spots where the drivers can park rigs for a few hours to sleep.
"We want to be able to accommodate more trucks overnight -- that's one potential use for existing service plazas," DeFebo said. "Certainly we have to accommodate an increased number of trucks."