Mon-Fayette, phase II, set to open July 16 at noon (Pittsburgh: construction, airport)

[jimsmith022968]

This will mark the end of construction on the Mon-Fayette Expressway south of Jefferson Hills. Starting Monday, there will be a 60-mile continuous stretch of expressway from I-68 in West Virginia to PA 51 in Allegheny County. Fayette County, PA will have a four-lane interstate-style highway for the first time. On the section that's opening, the most notable feature is, by far, the new bridge spanning the Monongahela River.

However, I think the tolls are rediculously high, thanks to transportation funding legislation enacted in 2007. As a result, the highway will most likely get limited usage. Also, effective Monday, the toll at the Redstone Township plaza will increase from $1.25 to $1.60 for cash customers and from $1.00 to $1.33 for E-ZPass customers. The ramp plazas, including the new ones that will open on Monday, will remain $0.90 for cash customers and $0.67 for E-ZPass customers. No other rates are scheduled to change.

http://www.paturnpike.com/press/2012/20120712104023.htm

[PeterRabbit]

Is it good news that those of you formerly deprived of driving on a 4-lane highway now have the privilege to pay to drive on one?

[JoeP]

Unfortunately the most highly needed portion will likely never get done.

[airwave09]

Originally Posted by JoeP

Unfortunately the most highly needed portion will likely never get done.

Yep, thus the project will be doomed to be a boondoggle. An epic waste of taxpayer funds once again on another poorly-planned highway, while public transit gets cut everywhere else due to lack of funds.

[JoeP]

Cutting transit is a big issue.

However, the Mon Vallery has poor access to anywhere and a quality limited access rd is necessary not just for commuting, but also commerce.

The longer portion completed wasn't that necessary though.

[jimsmith022968]

If any additional funding is identified, the next section to be built would probably be the US 22 to I-79 portion of the Southern Beltway, which was added to the MFE project in the early 1990s. 22 to 79 would create a bypass to the Parkway West for anyone south of Pittsburgh (Washington, Uniontown, Morgantown, Fairmont, etc.) heading to the airport or the Weirton/Steubenville area.

[JoeP]

I definitely think that section will get built, given the airport connection and the fact that its route is rural, making construction much less complicated.

[jimsmith022968]

Originally Posted by JoeP

I definitely think that section will get built, given the airport connection and the fact that its route is rural, making construction much less complicated.

It would also open a rural area of Washington County to economic development. Look at what is taking place off of the Westport Road interchange on the Findlay Connector. When the Findlay Connector opened in 2006, the Westport Road interchange was essentially an exit to nowhere.

Lastly, the PTC is acquiring the land for the project. If any funding is identified, it would make sense for them to proceed with 22 to 79 before the remaining sections of the MFE, which are expensive and complicated.

[JoeP]

It's possible, but Findley is adjacent to the airport, while it wouldn't take long to get from any point east of 22 on a new road to the airport, given the lack of traffic, I would think the land near the airport would get developed first.