FINDLAY CONNECTOR – FAST FACTS

• Gov. Edward G. Rendell was the keynote speaker for a groundbreaking ceremony held Nov. 12, 2003 near Pittsburgh International Airport. Informally named for Findlay Township, Allegheny County, this new six-mile toll road technically is the Southern Beltway Project from Pa. Route 60 to U.S. Route 22. It extends south from the Route 60 Expressway at Pittsburgh International Airport to U.S. Route 22 in Robinson Township, Washington County.
  
• Construction began in November 2003. The limited-access, interstate-grade toll road opened for traffic on October 11, 2006. Among the dignitaries on hand for the ribbon-cutting were Gov. Rendell, state Senator J. Barry Stout and Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato.
  
• Direct access in and out of Pittsburgh International Airport and a full choice of movements onto and off of Route 60 is provided at the northern terminus of the project. Other interchanges are at U.S. Route 30, at Burgettstown/Bald Knob Road and at U.S. Route 22.
  
• Travel time to the airport is reduced substantially for traffic originating near the stretch of Route 22 in Robinson Township, Washington County and for traffic coming from the west, including the Weirton, W.Va. and Steubenville, Ohio areas.
  
• Opening year traffic is averaging 2,000 to 3,000 trips per day. Traffic volumes are expected to exceed 30,000 trips per day by 2025 assuming the rest of the Southern Beltway is open.
  
• The Findlay Connector, which carried a total cost of approximately $240 million, is the one of three Southern Beltway projects being developed by the Turnpike Commission under directive from the Pennsylvania General Assembly.
  
• Ultimately, the 32-mile beltway will connect with Interstate 79 (after swinging around McDonald) at the Allegheny/Washington County line between Bridgeville and Southpointe, and with the existing Mon/Fayette Expressway (Turnpike Route 43) near Finleyville in eastern Washington County.
  
• The Southern Beltway and Mon/Fayette Projects are designed to improve mobility and access, relieve overburdened highways carrying more traffic than they were designed for, and complement other infrastructure investments to make southwestern Pennsylvania more attractive to prospective residents, investors and job providers.