Shell seeks to move Pa. highway for proposed ethane cracker

• Marie Cusick
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  Marie Cusick was the Harrisburg reporter for StateImpact Pennsylvania.

The Associated Press is reporting that Shell Chemical LP is seeking to relocate a state highway in western Pennsylvania as part of its proposal to build a multibillion-dollar ethane cracker.
From the AP:

PennDOT spokesman Dan Cessna says Shell would pay for the changes, which include moving a section of Route 18 in Beaver County about 950 feet farther from the Ohio River, and upgrading an interchange with Interstate 376. Route 18 would be widened to six lanes to accommodate truck traffic during the plant’s construction, then changed back to four lanes afterward.
Shell spokeswoman Kimberly Windon says Shell notified PennDOT in July of its proposal to change the highway.
Shell has not formally committed to building the plant, but has extended an option on the Potter Township site and begun demolition there.

Shell recently abandoned plans for a natural gas-to-liquids plant in Louisiana, an encouraging sign for Pennsylvania has the company makes choices about where to invest capital.
Governor Corbett has tried to attract Shell to Pennsylvania with a $1.65 billion tax break, the largest in state history.

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