Company seeks electronic billboard upgrade in Harmar

The billboard blitz has made its way to Harmar.

Kenjoh Outdoor Advertising of Charlotte seeks to alter its sign on the Harmar side of the Hulton Bridge. The three-sided sign has two displays facing Freeport Road and one facing the Hulton Bridge and the Allegheny River.

A hearing for the request is scheduled for 6 p.m. today before Harmar’s zoning hearing board.

“On the previous variance approval, a condition had been placed that we would need prior approval before being able to upgrade the sign to electronic digital on the sign facing the river,” Kenjoh representatives wrote in the application. “Now the sign is up and not visible from the river, hoping to upgrade.”

A Kenjoh representative did not return a call for comment Tuesday.

The property is vacant and owned by Norfolk Southern. It is zoned for industrial use.

Average daily traffic on the Hulton Bridge is close to 22,700, according to PennDOT.

According to township documents, an approximate construction cost is $100,000.

Kenjoh has other billboards in the Pittsburgh area, including displays along the turnpike, Route 28, Interstate 279, I-79 and I-376.

Electronic billboards have been making a surge in part of the Alle-Kiski Valley in the past couple of weeks.

• On July 14, crews raised an Oliver Outdoor electronic billboard in Tarentum next to the Tarentum Bridge, ending a yearslong legal battle between the borough and the company.

• East Deer’s zoning hearing board heard a request from Oliver Outdoor for four electronic displays in the township in late June. Commissioners are looking to update their zoning rules for billboards.