- Charleroi-Jefferson Hills Section. North of Interstate 70, the expressway is currently expected to open in Winter 2002, with opening shortly thereafter. In Spring 2001, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission plans to open the southernmost four miles of its 17-mile Mon/Fayette Expressway Project that will extend north from Interstate 70 in Fallowfield Township, Washington County to Pa. Route 51 in Jefferson Hills Borough, Allegheny County. This new alignment closely parallels Pennsylvania State Routes 88 and 837, but it also relieves Pennsylvania State Route 51 between Uniontown and Jefferson. The Southern Beltway project is planned to connect to the Mon-Fay Expressway along this segment. Construction along this route has been controversial. One short section in dispute along the Mon-Fay was resolved in January 1999. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission agreed to pay $9.3 million to Cleveland-based Maple Creek Mining Inc., owner-operator of the underground coal mine that spans the Fallowfield-Carroll boundary. "The settlement, still to be signed by mining company owner Robert Murray and ratified by the State Mining Commission, means the turnpike can go forward with the only "missing link" not programmed for construction for the 17-mile section of expressway from Interstate 70 in Fallowfield to Pennsylvania State Route 51 in Jefferson Hills. The money is to compensate Murray for property needed to build the four-lane, limited-access expressway, plus the underground coal that must be left intact to withstand construction activity and support the finished roadway. [Between 1995 and 1999], Murray had been feuding with the turnpike about his property and mine, and has barred access to turnpike representatives since last year. He brought five lawsuits, one of which was still before the Pennsylvania State Supreme Court as of January 1999. In spite of the legal difficulties, construction continues along this segment. Finally, plans call for construction of nine dual bridges, excluding side road crossings and interchange complexes. Three of these bridges will be among the tallest in the Pennsylvania Turnpike System.
- Pittsburgh Link. The Pittsburgh and Monroeville Links are two planned forks of the Mon-Fay Expressway from its junction with Pennsylvania State Route 51 to Interstate 376 (Penn-Lincoln Parkway East). The Pittsburgh branch is currently under study, with the favored plan running the highway past the Allegheny County Airport and possibly crossing the river at the Glenwood Bridge (Pennsylvania State Route 885). However, the extension to Interstate 376 from that point is under dispute because it infringes on several heavily populated neighborhoods. The favored plan is to build a "Nine Mile Run Expressway" which would loop out from Interstate 376 and serve as a bypass of the congested Squirrel Hill Tunnel section of the Parkway East. That expressway will also be toll and will run along the Monongahela River. This section may or may not be constructed to full Interstate standards. The stretch that branches into Pittsburgh from about the Glenwood Bridge west into town (approximately two to three miles) will probably have to be part at-grade or tunneled parkway. For two of those miles, the highway will pass by several old, empty steel mills along the Monongahela River. It is possible that this land may be used for the expressway. However, the final mile may have to be an at-grade highway due to the Hot Metal Bridge conversion and the Pittsburgh Technology Center along Second Avenue. The highway will parallel Second Avenue from the Glenwood Bridge toward downtown. For more on the Pittsburgh section of the Mon Fay, check out the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Mon-Fay Expressway web page. Also, click here to see a detailed Pittsburgh/Monroeville Link Map.
- Monroeville Link. The other "branch" of the expressway from Jefferson uses the Monroeville Link. Historically this route was supposed to commence at the Monroeville interchange of Interstate 76 and Interstate 376, following Pennsylvania State Route 48 up from McKeesport. This was back in the 1960s and 1970s. Locals referred to it as "The New 48." However, only sections of the road were built, all south of Interstate 70, before the original plan was abandoned in the early 1980s. Older maps of Pittsburgh show the Pennsylvania State Route 48 route as proposed or even "under construction". The project was transferred to the Turnpike Commission around 1987 or so when former Governor Bob Casey came into power promising new roads for Western Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania State Route 48 corridor was considered but was quickly abandoned in favor of a route closer to Pittsburgh. Also, click here to see a detailed Pittsburgh/Monroeville Link Map.
The Mon-Fay Expressway will be built with four lanes in Pennsylvania, while in West Virginia, the highway may be built as a Super Two initially, then upgraded to four lanes. As for the section in Pennsylvania, it is under construction between U.S. 40 and Pennsylvania State Route 51 and proposed between Pennsylvania State Route 51 and Interstate 376 and south from U.S. 40 near Uniontown to Interstate 68 in WV. The 2000 National Geographic Atlas shows the planned routing of much of the Mon-Fay Expressway.
The entire road from Morgantown to Pittsburgh is planned as West Virginia 43 and Pennsylvania 43. Concerning Interstate designation, Pennsylvania State Route 43 probably will eventually receive a designation as an Interstate highway once it is completed. Given the fact that it is too long for a 3di and the fact that Pittsburgh is served by only two 2-digit interstates (Interstate 79 and Interstate 76), I would not doubt if local leaders are praying for a 2di designation -- though none seem to be left within the basic grid pattern. However, that has not stopped local officials. The USA Today reported on June 9, 1998, that Fayette County (PA) Commissioner Harry Albert is pushing for the highway from Morgantown, West Virginia, to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to be built as Interstate 97. Another article explains this request in more detail. The article is entitled "Expressway link in Fayette gets year delay," by S.K. Musisko, and it comes to us from the Tribune-Review dated March 2, 1998, and here's an excerpt:
"I'm just absolutely sick and tired of (delays)," Alliance Chairman Commissioner Harry Albert said. "We had no inkling" it would take another year for construction to begin. Joe Pfohl, with Commercial Stone Co. in Connellsville, noted that turnpike officials should have let local transportation organizations know the schedule was behind last fall. "We want to be proactive instead of reactive," Pfohl said.
""We're down to just a handful of problems for these alignments," Scheiner replied. "There's still a lot of engineering to do. I'm optimistic."
"Albert has lobbied for the expressway to be named Interstate 97, but his plan may cost "tens of millions of dollars," and further delay the project, Scheiner said. There must be two through lanes on Interstate highways. Plans for some interchanges currently call for one through lane. The federal government could grant an exception to that requirement, Scheiner said, agreeing the Interstate 97 moniker would further encourage development. "What do we do to get it back on track?" asked Susan Montgomery, director of the Central Fayette Chamber.
Since October 1994, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission has awarded 14 Mon-Fayette Expressway construction contracts totaling some $244 million. Included are eight contracts totaling $159.6 million for the 17-mile Mon/Fayette project between Interstate 70 and Pennsylvania 51 (targeted for completion in late 2001) and six contracts totaling $85 million for the Pennsylvania section of the Mon/Fayette's Mason Dixon Link (targeted for completion in late 1999).
Money for this project has been allocated from the national transportation legislation also. According to the Pennsylvania Turnpike Traveler, here's a breakdown of $56 million in federal funding.
- ISTEA (1991): $23.8 million
- TEA-21 (1998): $25.0 million
- FHWA (1999): $7.0 million in general high-priority corridor funds; $3.0 million of which has been earmarked for West Virginia's section of the Mon-Fay Expressway
Note that all high priority corridors are eligible to compete with each other for federal funds made available by the FHWA on an annual basis, hence the funding availability in 1999.
For good detail on the Southern Beltway, check out Jeff Kitsko's Toll 43 (Mon-Fay Expwy) page and the 1999 Road to Ruin Report on the Mon-Fay Expressway and Southern Beltway.
The Southern Beltway: Pennsylvania 576
Also related to the Mon-Fay project is the plan to build a semi-circle beltway, planned as Pennsylvania 576, around Pittsburgh from Pennsylvania 60 (Beaver Valley Expressway/Airport Expressway) near the Pittsburgh International Airport southeast to the Mon-Fay Expressway near Finleyville. The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission will also be in charge of this project. As planned, the road will start from the Mon-Fay at the Allegheny County border and follow the border to Interstate 79. At Interstate 79, it will follow the route of Pennsylvania 978 and head up to Pennsylvania 60 near the airport. the official name of this road is "The Southern Beltway". It is felt that the combination of this route with the Mon-Fay, Interstate 76, and Interstate 79, will form a loop around Pittsburgh via the Southern Beltway, the Pennsylvania Turnpike, and Pennsylvania 60 (Future Interstate 376? - see below). The project is in the planning stages but it has already run into opposition because it passes by some upper-class suburbs.
For good detail on the Southern Beltway, check out Jeff Kitsko's Southern Beltway/Pennsylvania 576 page and the 1999 Road to Ruin Report on the Mon-Fay Expressway and Southern Beltway.
Proposed Interstate 376 Extension
Another interesting proposal to come from the Pittsburgh area is that of PennDOT to add U.S. 22-30 and Pennsylvania 60 (Beaver Valley Expressway, including Toll 60) to the Interstate Highway System. Preliminary plans call for U.S. 22-30 and Pennsylvania State Route 60 to be designated as a northwestern extension to Interstate 376, north to Sharon and Interstate 80.
Below is the article from the Tribune-Review, "Interstate 376 redesignation would create Interstate 80 to Monroeville link" by Christopher Davis from September 1, 1999.
Imagine a continuous highway linking Monroeville, Pittsburgh International Airport, Beaver and Interstate 80 in Mercer County. Now imagine it being connected into the nation's Interstate system with almost no new construction. The transportation trickery could be pulled off by simply designating the Parkway West - [U.S. 22-30], State Route 60, and Toll Route 60 as part of Interstate 376. The Allegheny County commissioners will consider a resolution this week to back the renaming of the highways.
County officials are banking on the plan, complete with new signs along the current roads, as a way to "create a perception of unified, continuous access throughout southwestern Pennsylvania," Allegheny County Economic Development spokesman John Dowling said Monday. Officials had no time frame or cost estimate. The perceived unified highway system would make the region more attractive to businesses wanting to locate along the airport corridor and would make driving to the airport less confusing for people unfamiliar with the area, Dowling said.
Having to take several different roadways to get from the eastern end of the county to the airport turns investors away and frustrates visitors, he said. "Perception is reality, really" Dowling said. "When you have that unified road system, it eliminates the confusion in people's minds and makes it more marketable."
County Aviation Director Kent George agreed. He said economic development around Pittsburgh International Airport could be boosted simply by melding the roads into one. "It's one of the few major airports in the country that does not have Interstate highway access," George said. "I don't see any down side to (the plan). It's nothing but upside."
To enact the new designation, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation would have to first conduct a study of the U.S. 22-30/Route 60 interchange in Robinson Township, Dowling said. That link likely would be the only area that would need improvement to allow for the renaming. Engineers would have to make the tricky section near Robinson Town Centre easier to navigate, Dowling said.
The project would have to be added to the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission's 1999-2002 Transportation Improvement Program, and PennDOT would have to convince the Federal Highway Administration to go along.
Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission officials did not return several phone calls for comment. PennDOT spokesman Dick Skrinjar was unavailable late yesterday. The affected counties also would have to agree to the name change. Dowling said neighboring Lawrence and Beaver counties already have passed resolutions backing the plan. "There's kind of a groundswell of support," he said.
If the roadways were made part of the federal highway system, they could be eligible for future state and federal highway grants, officials said. Karen Hochberg, county Commission Chairman Mike Dawida's chief of staff, said the commissioner likely would support the resolution to rename the highways. "This is a creative move," Hochberg said. "I think he would be very receptive of it. If the roads can be renamed to make it easier to get around, that's an attractive thing to do."
Penn-Lincoln Parkway Reconstruction
Another interesting project from the Pittsburgh area is the often-planned replacement of the current Interstate 279/US 22/30 southwest of Pittsburgh. The current road is a narrow, two-lane (each way), windy road planned in the 1950s. The current roadway (named the Penn-Lincoln Parkway after the William Penn (U.S. 22) and Lincoln (U.S. 30) Highways which it carries) is a four-lane divided road that is definitely not up to Interstate standards. There is one single concrete barrier running between the west and east bound lanes and it is separated from the roadway by only a few feet (there are quite a few scuff marks on it from trucks getting too close). The exit and on-ramps
have no acceleration or deceleration lanes (except for the interchange at Interstate 79 which was built in the early 1970s). Also, there are various dangerous curves along the road and one major steep hill (which has led to a few disastrous truck accidents in the past).
The entire Penn-Lincoln Parkway was designed and built in the 1950s and 1960s and it looks the part. Unlike other cities where old roads have been widened, Pittsburgh's hills and urban landscape have prevented the Parkway from being modified to interstate standards (especially since two tunnels are along the route). Nevertheless, it was formerly part of Interstate 70 and is currently signed as Interstate 279 and Interstate 376. The Parkway is just one of Pennsylvania's many pre-Interstate expressways which probably were even substandard when they opened in the 1950s (the other "death traps" include Interstate 70 from the Ohio line to Interstate 76 (the Pennsylvania Turnpike), the Schuylkill Expressway (Interstate 76) in Philly, and the Pennsylvania State Route 28 Expressway in Pittsburgh (which actually narrows to one lane in each direction in some points).
The proposal includes construction of a new bridge over the Monongahela river and to build an expressway along the Monongahela and Ohio Rivers to a point toward the west end of Pittsburgh. The highway (possibly eight lanes) would then follow abandoned railroad tracks to connect up with the current Interstate 279. The portion of Interstate 279 and U.S. 22/30 leading up to the airport would then be upgraded to eight lanes. Running in the median would be two special bus/car pool lanes.
Another plan considered will be the rehabilitation of the Fort Pitt Tunnels between the Truck U.S. 19 junction and the Fort Pitt Bridge. It is possible that one or both of these tunnels would be closed for this effort.
This project was under serious consideration by PennDot in the late 1980s and early 1990s but I haven't heard about it since. Nevertheless, the public transit guys went ahead and are building the bus lanes (if you're familiar with Pittsburgh you'll know that there are already two limited access Super Two highways provided for buses only. The one under construction will be the third). I do not know what the current status of this project is.
Page Updated June 9, 2002.
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