Mon/Fayette Expressway Projects

Completion of the Mon/Fayette Expressway would provide faster and safer travel options for the through traffic, particularly commercial vehicles, that now use existing arteries such as PA Routes 51, 88, 48, 148, 885, and 857; as well as U.S. Routes 119 and 40 (National Road).

The PTC identified four independent but interconnected projects to complete the Mon/Fayette Expressway between I-376 in Pittsburgh and Monroeville and I-68 near Morgantown, WV. These projects are PA Route 51 to I-376 in Allegheny County, I-70 to PA Route 51 in Washington and Allegheny Counties, Uniontown to Brownsville Area in Fayette and Washingotn Counties, and I-68 to PA Route 43 "Mason-Dixon Link" in Fayette County and Monongalia County, WV. The 6.2-mile PA side of the Mason-Dixon Link opened in March 2000. The southern 1.6 miles in Pennsylvania and the 4.2 miles in West Virginia will open when West Virginia completes it construction south of the PA line in 2010. The 17-mile I-70 to Pa Route 51 Project opened in in its entirety in April 2002. Phase I of the Uniontown to Brownsville Project opened in October 2008. Phase II is under construction with an anticipating opening in 2012. Two other parts of the Mon/Fayette Expressway system, built by PenDOT, have been open to traffic for sometime. The six miles of Turnpike 43 south from I-70 to U.S. Route 40 opened in October 1990. The four-mile, non-tolled PA Route 43 Chadville Demonstration Project south of Uniontown opened in November 1992.

Southern Beltway Projects

The Southern Beltway would form an arc about 30 miles long, with a radius reaching approximately 15 miles out from Pittsburgh's Golden Triangle. It would improve access and east-west mobility between the Mon Valley and the Pittsburgh International Airport. The three Southern Beltway projects are as follows: Pa Route 60 to U.S. Route 22, U.S. Route 22 to Interstate 79, and Interstate 79 to the Mon/Fayette Expressway. The PA Route 60 to U.S. Route 22 Project (Findlay Connector) was the first to open to traffic on October 11, 2006.