Lawmakers updated on local Expressway project

By JEFF STITT

jstitt@yourmvi.com

The Mon/Fayette Expressway has been a hot topic in the Mon Valley for at least 30 years, state Sen. Jim Brewster, D-McKeesport, said at a hearing involving lawmakers Tuesday in Monroeville.

The chief engineer for the Pennsylvania Turnpike said construction for the southern section in the Mon Valley is slated to begin in 2022.

At the request of Brewster, the state Senate Democratic Policy Committee — chaired by Sen. Katie Muth, a Monroeville area native — held a hybrid in-person and virtual public hearing at the Monroeville municipal complex to discuss the Mon/Fayette Expressway and what continuing the project means to the southwest region of Pennsylvania.

The two senators were joined on the dais by Sen. Jay Costa, the state Senate minority leader, and Sen. Lindsey Williams, D-Allegheny. Several other state lawmakers joined via Zoom.

The Route 51 to I-376 project is the final and the largest of the Mon/Fayette Expressway (Turnpike 43) project. The first of the projects have been built already and stretch 54 miles, connecting I-68 in West Virginia to state Route 51 in Jefferson Hills, according to the turnpike’s patconstruction.com website. 

The funding availability for the PA Route 51 to I-376 project required it to be divided into two smaller sections: north of the Monongahela River and south of the Monongahela River, according to the Turnpike. The first to be constructed — the southern section — is south of the Monongahela River.

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