Mon-Fayette Expressway

[The Ghostbuster]

I still think Highway 43 will never go any further north than it already does. I could be wrong, however.

[CanesFan27]

I still think Highway 43 will never go any further north than it already does. I could be wrong, however.

That's where the smart money is

[Henry]

I still think Highway 43 will never go any further north than it already does. I could be wrong, however.

What you're saying is that it won't matter if the rest of the highway into Pittsburgh is completed? They'd be better off continuing it all the way to I-376, if and when the road actually makes it there.

[The Ghostbuster]

I never said I didn't want the highway to go to 376. I merely believe that opposition will prevent PA 43 from going beyond where it ends now.

[rickmastfan67]

I never said I didn't want the highway to go to 376. I merely believe that opposition will prevent PA 43 from going beyond where it ends now.

I think they still might get it to Kennywood, but after that, it will be very hard.

[noelbotevera]

They could simply truncate it to I-70 and call it a day. PA 43 looks like a good connector from I-68 to I-70 rather than I-79 farther west.

[CanesFan27]

They could simply truncate it to I-70 and call it a day. PA 43 looks like a good connector from I-68 to I-70 rather than I-79 farther west.

Huh?  How can you truncate a road already built?

[noelbotevera]

They could simply truncate it to I-70 and call it a day. PA 43 looks like a good connector from I-68 to I-70 rather than I-79 farther west.

Huh?  How can you truncate a road already built?

Remove all of the signs of PA 43 north of I-70, then either leave it as a long stub of it, or call it PA 43 Spur.

[Mr_Northside]

Remove all of the signs of PA 43 north of I-70, then either leave it as a long stub of it, or call it PA 43 Spur.

Just my opinion, but that seems to serve no useful purpose, and would just be more confusing.

[Alps]

I never said I didn't want the highway to go to 376. I merely believe that opposition will prevent PA 43 from going beyond where it ends now.

I think they still might get it to Kennywood, but after that, it will be very hard.

Still has a chance to finish before I-95/I-276 interchange is complete.

[freddyb590]

http://www.post-gazette.com/news/transportation/2016/01/25/Turpike-commision-chief-promotes-Mon-Fay-plan-as-boost-for-economy/stories/201601250007

"Construction on the expressway began in 1973 in northern West Virginia and 60 miles have been completed. . ."

This would put the Mon-Fayette at a 43-years-and-counting project.  Wonder how many other highways can claim a longer timeline?

[The Ghostbuster]

How about ones that have spanned decades from first conception until actual construction.

[Mr_Northside]

What the hell was built in 1973 in northern West Virginia?  The interchange (non freeway-freeway) with I-68?  I can't think of anything else that was built that early in WV.

"It's in our sights,"  Mr. Logan said last week. "This is the first time we've had the money in place. Absolutely we will be able to do this."

Maybe.... but as always, I'll believe it when I see it.

[ARMOURERERIC]

I wish they could study taking the money they save and extending the southern beltway due east from the MFE to the PA Turnpike Irwin exit.

[The Ghostbuster]

What route would it take? Answer the question in Fictional Highways.

[Bitmapped]

What the hell was built in 1973 in northern West Virginia?  The interchange (non freeway-freeway) with I-68?  I can't think of anything else that was built that early in WV.

That would be it. That was about the time I-68 (then US 48) was built. All of WV 43 north of the interchange is new alignment built since about 2000.

[wphiii]

Turnpike Commission presented revised plans for the MFE 51 --> Monroeville segment.

http://www.post-gazette.com/news/transportation/2016/08/10/South-Hills-residents-shown-updated-Mon-Fayette-Expressway-plans/stories/201608100122

A long ways off yet but looks like it might actually happen. Still not sure this will provide nearly enough benefit to justify the expenditure, though Kennywood ought to be thrilled.

[Henry]

I see that it would be narrower, and no spur into downtown Pittsburgh will be built. Which makes sense, because isn't that what I-376 is for anyway?

[briantroutman]

Despite my many visits to and longtime affection for the City of Pittsburgh, I've never lived there–so please excuse me if my comments are underinformed.

If the Mon-Fayette doesn't go to Pittsburgh, I don't really get the point of it existing. Sure, there's some benefit in allowing residents to get from one Mon Valley town to another more quickly, and connections to I-70 (and eventually the Turnpike via Monroeville) may make the area a little more attractive to industry. But I thought the underlying purpose of the expressway was to help alleviate the isolation and stagnation the Mon Valley suffers by connecting it more directly with Pittsburgh.

There's another major benefit to Pittsburgh itself that's being lost in the cancellation of the Pittsburgh segment. All of the Mon-Fayette plans I've ever seen include a Y split near Duquesne to allow traffic to head either to Pittsburgh or Monroeville, and through I-376 traffic could have used the upper two arms of this Y as a toll bypass of the perpetually congested Squirrel Hill Tunnel. I don't have hard data, but my instinct is that this one segment used as a bypass by locals might be the most profitable (or least money-losing) of the entire Mon-Fayette–even accounting for its much higher construction cost.

[alecscradle]

If they end up building this, and they just split it to make a Y interchange to bypass Squirrel Hill Tunnel, I don't understand why they don't just bypass the tunnel and put I 376 EB lanes on the Bypass.  Making a big highway that connects both sides of the tunnel to PA 43 doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

[Henry]

Does anyone know what number would've been given to the Pittsburgh spur, if any? Perhaps PA 43 Spur?

[briantroutman]

Does anyone know what number would've been given to the Pittsburgh spur, if any? Perhaps PA 43 Spur?

I thought I remember reading (although I can't remember where) that the two legs of the Y that form the Squirrel Hill bypass would have been given an even x76–it would have to be I-876–to more clearly designate it as an alternate to I-376.

[ARMOURERERIC]

My recollection was that the 576 designation from the southern beltway was going to cosign up the MFE to the split in turtle creek.  576 went on to Monroeville, 43 went into Pittsburgh

[compdude787]

Despite my many visits to and longtime affection for the City of Pittsburgh, I've never lived there–so please excuse me if my comments are underinformed.

If the Mon-Fayette doesn't go to Pittsburgh, I don't really get the point of it existing. Sure, there's some benefit in allowing residents to get from one Mon Valley town to another more quickly, and connections to I-70 (and eventually the Turnpike via Monroeville) may make the area a little more attractive to industry. But I thought the underlying purpose of the expressway was to help alleviate the isolation and stagnation the Mon Valley suffers by connecting it more directly with Pittsburgh.

There's another major benefit to Pittsburgh itself that's being lost in the cancellation of the Pittsburgh segment. All of the Mon-Fayette plans I've ever seen include a Y split near Duquesne to allow traffic to head either to Pittsburgh or Monroeville, and through I-376 traffic could have used the upper two arms of this Y as a toll bypass of the perpetually congested Squirrel Hill Tunnel. I don't have hard data, but my instinct is that this one segment used as a bypass by locals might be the most profitable (or least money-losing) of the entire Mon-Fayette–even accounting for its much higher construction cost.

Completely agree with this. Routing this freeway in the opposite direction of downtown Pittsburgh really makes little sense.

[Gnutella]

It would have been nice if the Mon-Fayette Expressway had a spur into the city of Pittsburgh, but not having one doesn't make the highway completely useless. The Mon-Fayette Expressway and South Beltway will give the brownfields in the Mon Valley direct highway access. The existing road network in southern Allegheny County is a total clusterfuck, comprised mostly of curvy, narrow, two-lane arterial roads that can barely handle any truck traffic, which doesn't help when it comes to industrial site selection these days. Industry likes to be near highways, because it produces a lot of truck traffic. As it is right now, U.S. 30 and PA 51 are only useful for eastbound trucks. Any trucks that want to go west without having to go through the city of Pittsburgh have to go far out of their ways to do so. And there's literally no way to get from the Mon Valley to Pittsburgh International Airport without going through the city. The South Beltway will provide a direct shot from the Mon Valley to the airport, as well as the emerging cluster of employment at Southpointe.

General east/west mobility is also an issue. In a county of 1,230,459 people, I-376 and PA 910 are the only true east/west routes, and the former is the only one with more than two lanes. And there's literally nothing in the southern suburbs. Lebanon Church Road doesn't count either, because it's not nearly long enough. On a good day, it'll still take an hour to get from North Versailles to Canonsburg. A completed Mon-Fayette Expressway and South Beltway will cut that time in half. It'll also give people in the eastern and western suburbs an option to access critical transportation infrastructure without going through the city. People in the eastern suburbs will have another way to get to Pittsburgh International Airport, and people in the western suburbs will have another way to get to the Pennsylvania Turnpike eastbound.