Ashley wants 70-acre parcel freed up for those displaced by I-81 project

Ashley Borough Councilman Edward Flynn recently asked Luzerne County officials to unlock a 70-acre parcel tied up in litigation so it could be used to house borough businesses that will be displaced by the Interstate 81 widening and reconfiguration project.

Known as the Ashley Rail Yards, the parcel is owned by the county Redevelopment Authority. The authority is barred from selling real estate due to pending County Council-authorized litigation over the authority’s rail line.

John Halliday, owner of John P. Halliday Trucking Inc., reiterated Monday that he is immediately prepared to purchase the property and assume responsibility for the necessary environmental remediation so he and other businesses and residences being “swallowed up” by the I-81 project can remain in the borough.

“We are all fighting to stay in Ashley,” Halliday said.

Ashley is slated to lose three commercial businesses and 18 residential structures in the I-81 project, which will cause a “big loss in taxes” for the 1-square-mile municipality, Flynn told County Council at its Feb. 24 meeting.

“That is going to affect Ashley greatly,” Flynn said, noting borough officials increased municipal real estate taxes 62% in 2026 because they are “trying to right the ship.”

Describing Halliday as a “very good community partner,” Flynn questioned whether the Ashley Yards property could be carved out of the pending litigation and sold to Halliday.

“If somebody does not act, we will lose a large portion of our tax base,” Flynn said.

County Manager Romilda Crocamo said Monday she is always open to discussion, but stressed that the county litigation should not remain in limbo for years, as it is scheduled for trial in August.

Filed in July, the litigation seeks appointment of an oversight receiver or a declaration that $3.28 million the county loaned to the authority is immediately due.

In response, the authority has argued that there is no breach of contract to litigate, as it has until October 2026 to repay the county.

While the delinquent loan was cited as a reason for the county litigation, it appears to be part of a broader effort to privatize the track, with the hope of adding passenger rail excursions while expanding commercial use.

Reading & Northern Railroad Chairman and CEO Andy M. Muller Jr. made an unsolicited offer to purchase the line for $10 million in October, stating that he would increase freight service and introduce passenger train excursions from Wilkes-Barre to Pittston.

Although initially resistant to non-public rail ownership, authority representatives decided offers should be considered in a public process open to all interested entities. An authority-hired consultant is documenting rail line assets — an inventory needed before the authority can seek proposals, the authority said.

Regarding the Ashley Yards parcel, the authority had marketed the site and entered into a tentative agreement in 2019 to sell it to Ashley Complex LLC, but that sale was never executed, authority representatives have said.

The proposed sale was delayed for years, largely due to a deed issue with one of the parcels and zoning issues, officials had said. Ashley Complex already owns the adjacent parcel where the Huber Breaker once stood.

Prior authority board member Carol Keup, who is affiliated with Ashley Complex, has said a state ethics ruling indicated a sale was allowable if she stepped down from the board, which she did.

Ashley officials are hopeful the authority and the county will find a way to make the Ashley Yards property available to the displaced property owners, because there is no other tract large enough to accommodate that many businesses and residences, Borough Manager Samuel T. Guesto Jr. said Monday.

Halliday said he received his official letter from the state last week informing him that his property will be acquired for the I-81 project. He said the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation indicated it wants to begin the project in 2028.

Construction of replacement structures for displaced businesses and residences could not begin at the Ashley Yards parcel until a new owner secures zoning approval and state clearance to remediate the site, he said.

“Time is running out. With these letters now, it is getting closer and closer,” said Halliday, who has operated the trucking and excavation company on Hazleton Street for 13 years.