On Oct. 26, 1948, the western Pennsylvania town of Donora became notorious for a thick, acrid smog that blanketed the area, causing 20 deaths and lingering health problems for many residents. The “Donora Death Fog” resulted from a stationary inversion of air that kept smokestack emissions from the city’s steel and zinc plants from dissipating; it ultimately served as a catalyst for the passage of federal clean air legislation.

Clean air awareness has taken many major steps in Donora in the more than 60 years since then. Last month, the Mid Mon Valley Transit Authority (MMVTA) held ribbon-cutting ceremonies for the John P. Murtha Transportation Center—located on a brownfield site where the American Wire Works Zinc Plant, likely a contributor to the event locals now refer to as the Donora Smog, once stood.

“No other place is more fitting for a public transit agency to be erecting such a facility. We will perform maintenance on our vehicles here, park-and-ride facilities are already being used by passengers, and we have revitalized a once brownfield location,” said MMVTA Chairman of the Board Dr. Harry Miale. “Our buses offer an immediate alternative for reducing energy use and carbon footprints. Plus, no other facility in the world can claim to have such history.”

MMVTA named the facility in memory of Murtha, the region’s longtime member of Congress and a champion of the community. Murtha’s successor, Rep. Mark S. Critz (D-PA), participated in the dedication ceremony.

The $4.7 million transportation center received more than $1.5 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding, along with $1.68 million in Pennsylvania DOT discretionary funds. It provides 13,000 square feet dedicated strictly for the maintenance of the MMVTA bus fleet, including vehicle lifts, an automated bus wash, computerized fueling station, HVAC for exhaust, and preliminary park-and-ride facilities for passengers.

The opening of the facility center completes the first phase of a two-part project. The unfunded, shovel-ready second phase will include the refurbishment of an existing 42,000-square-foot building, original to the site, to better accommodate bus storage and office space, along with improved passenger amenities such as bike racks, bus shelters, and passenger waiting areas.

Donora, PA, in the days when air pollution was a threat to public health, left, and today, right, when the former American Wire Works Zinc Plant site has been reclaimed as the John P. Murtha Transportation Center.

 

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