With the application deadline for the state’s lone remaining “slots resort” license looming, developers behind a proposed casino in Cumberland Township have released a traffic study, and plan to name an operator by April 7.
“We’ll file the application by Wednesday,” Mason Dixon Resort & Casino spokesman David La Torre said regarding the state-mandated deadline.
“It could be Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday – I’m not sure, but we have to file by April 7,” added La Torre.
Transportation Resource Group of York has determined that “minimal work” will be needed along Emmitsburg Road, Business 15 in Cumberland Township, to accommodate the proposed gaming project at the Eisenhower Inn. Traffic counts were conducted in January-February, although seasonal data was factored into the report.
Mason Dixon, led by Gettysburg businessman David LeVan and former state lawmaker Joseph Lashinger, released the study Thursday, concluding that a traffic light is necessary, as well as a northbound turn-lane into the entrance of the hotel, recreation and development complex.
“We’re not building a new resort so we’re fortunate that much of the traffic design is already in place,” LeVan said in a statement. “But we understand how this issue greatly concerns area residents. The changes we’re going to make will ensure a smooth traffic flow even during our busier times.”
La Torre explained that the developer will underwrite those costs.
The TRG report found that the road has “already been designed to handle resort traffic” for the site. According to the report, while the hotel’s occupancy rate has decreased in recent years, the “minor changes” would be “more than capable of handling the increased traffic.”
The report states that “only minor modifications are necessary, since traffic volumes for a resort complex were anticipated in previous traffic planning for the tract of land.”
La Torre cited TRG’s credentials, noting that the agency is “well known for its expertise” in the field of transportation engineering.
The firm has performed work for the South Hanover Shopping Center in Penn Township, York County, and the new Battlefield Visitor Center in Cumberland Township.
The report studied four intersections along Business 15, south of Gettysburg, and calculated traffic growth patterns.
LeVan’s group is unveiling renderings of the project Monday to the media. Also, La Torre said that once the application is filed, a gaming operator will be announced.
LeVan is expected to face competition from up to four other applicants, including a strong proposal from the Nemacolin Resort in western Pennsylvania.
An economic study released last week found that the Mason Dixon project has the potential to create 900 jobs, $16 million in annual wages, and $3 million in local taxes.
Critics have argued that both the traffic and economic reports are flawed, and have decried the project’s half-mile proximity to the Gettysburg battlefield.
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