Get on with Mon-Fayette Expressway extension
Plans to extend the Mon-Fayette Expressway have been on the drawing board since, oh, the Peloponnesian War.
OK, maybe not that far back. Plans were drawn up probably just after the Jamestown Colony was founded in Virginia in the early 1600s.
No matter when the idea first germinated to lengthen the Mon-Fayette Expressway from Jefferson Hills to Monroeville, it’s been around for a long, long time. It may yet be a long, long time before it’s completed, but it took a step in that direction Monday when the Southwestern Pennsylvania Regional Commission voted overwhelmingly to go ahead with the $2 billion, 14-mile project. With 20 miles of the existing, 60-mile expressway stretching through the eastern part of Washington County, its completion has long been seen as a potential adrenaline shot to the economic doldrums of the Mon Valley. It has the backing of Washington County officials and other leaders in the region, but getting to Monday’s 48-4 vote was not easy.
In March, Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald and Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto urged it be tabled and the commission weigh its options on using the money for other projects. Eleven state lawmakers, including Reps. John Maher, Brandon Neuman and Rick Saccone, also voiced their opposition, saying either it was a waste of money, the Mon Valley could be helped in other ways or the Southern Beltway, which will provide a straight connection from Pittsburgh International Airport to I-79 and Southpointe in Cecil Township, should remain a top priority.
However, the commission decided to finally act when it was given the ultimatum from the Turnpike Commission that if it did not use the funding allocated for the Mon-Fayette Expressway extension, it would not be available for other projects in the region and would be bound for the eastern part of the commonwealth.
“The money is available now,” Washington County Commissioner Larry Maggi said. “If it’s not used here, it’s going to Philadelphia.”
When will shovels dig into the ground? Hard to say, but it’s past time for this to finally get off the drawing board.