SPI Insights

Pennsylvania – Advertising for bids is expected to begin in 2022 for an 8-mile segment of the southern section of the Mon-Fayette Expressway project.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) divided the project into multiple sections. The Mon/Fayette PA Route 51 to I-376 Project is the final of four projects that would provide a four-lane, limited access expressway from Interstate 68 in West Virginia to I-376 in the Pittsburgh area for an estimated $1.6 billion.

It is anticipated that construction on the southern segment could begin in 2022. Construction costs for the entire southern section are estimated to be approximately $900 million.

Design work on the project began with federal approval in December 2004. But, the project was put on hold in 2009 because of a lack of funding. In 2013, Act 89 provided funding which allowed the project to restart.

In 2015, the PTC performed studies to identify how the originally designed project could be modified and completed with the funding available through the act.

The studies showed a substantial reduction in the project cost would be to eliminate the west leg of the original project that led into Pittsburgh. This also reduced residential and business displacements. The updated Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was approved in 2019 with the changes that were recommended to reduce the scope of the original project.