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Three firms --- one of which would bring as many as 1,000 jobs to the city --- are eying the industrial park on the former U.S. Steel National Works site.

But they won't relocate to McKeesport until a new access ramp into the property is complete.

That's the word from local, state and federal officials who attended a formal groundbreaking ceremony for the ramp on Monday morning.

"Those of us who were born and raised in this area, we remember what these sites once were for our parents and grandparents," said U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle, Forest Hills Democrat. "But now we're thinking about what these sites will be for our children and our grandchildren ... Access is the key to making these sites work."

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The ramp will connect with Lysle Boulevard at the foot of Coursin Street, then cross CSX Railroad's tracks between the Rite Aid and the Eat 'n Park. Construction is expected to be complete in November 2011.

Meanwhile, work continues to install new sewer lines to the vacant portion of the site.

And in the spring, Regional Industrial Development Corp., the non-profit corporation which owns the industrial park, will begin demolishing old concrete support structures in one of the empty buildings to make that structure more marketable.

"We have some $3 million to $4 million worth of site improvement activity going on besides the flyover ramps," said Don Smith Jr., RIDC president.

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While there's been significant interest in the McKeesport property, the railroad crossings represent a figurative and literal obstacle, he said.

"We've seen an upsurge in prospects, but every one of them, literally, asks about access to the site," Smith said. "This flyover ramp we think is one of the keys to unlocking the value on this site."

Of the three active prospects for McKeesport, one is the new solar panel company which is considering a move to the old railroad roundhouse, said Bill Burroughs, RIDC vice president of project development. That facility would employ about 200 people.

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Burroughs declined to name the other prospects, though city Administrator Dennis Pittman said they include a utility and what he described as a "regional transfer company." He also declined to be more specific.

Access to the industrial park has been a problem since the park was first created. Though several businesses are located in the park, its largest tenant, a Dish Network call center employing 600 people, closed in March. Company executives cited the railroad crossings as an impediment.

"For those of us in McKeesport, the trains don't seem to be a problem," Mayor Jim Brewster said, "but when you're in a service business, you can't afford to have your employees waiting for trains."

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RIDC recently completed a flyover ramp into its industrial park in Duquesne, which like McKeesport was separated from surface roads by railroad tracks. While the ramps have been on the drawing board for more than a decade, they were delayed by a lack of funding.

"But no one ever lost sight of the goal, which was to provide safe access to these sites," said Dan Cessna, district executive for the state Department of Transportation.

A $6 million grant from the federal stimulus program closed the gap and made the ramp possible. The ramp's cost is currently estimated at $10.9 million.

Allegheny County public works officials are overseeing construction with assistance from the city, RIDC and PennDOT.

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City officials have tried to court retail stores or restaurants to the property, but were hampered because of the crossings. "If we can convince RIDC that retail can be a possibility on this site, we certainly don't want people crossing railroad tracks," Brewster said.

Convincing RIDC to allow retail development on the site might be easier said than done. RIDC's Burroughs said the corporation prefers to market the site for industrial and manufacturing uses.

But he added RIDC has "had discussions with retailers over the years" and the flyover ramp "really makes it possible" to develop a shopping area on the site.

"If the right opportunity comes to put a major retailer here, we would welcome it," Burroughs said.

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The new sewer lines are being installed by the Municipal Authority of the City of McKeesport, Pittman said. Though sewer lines were connected to the buildings when U.S. Steel owned the property, many of them emptied into the Monongahela River and can no longer be used, he said.

The lines will serve some existing customers and also open the site to future development, Pittman said.

RIDC's demolition work will take place in the large, empty structure next to the former Dish Network building. Contractors will remove old concrete support beams that once held pipe-making machinery and other equipment, Burroughs said.

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