The long-awaited extension of the Mon-Fayette Expressway will connect Camp Hollow Road in West Mifflin to the former endpoint in Jefferson Hills.
After years of construction, the first two sections of the southern half of the expressway are set to open to drivers on Nov. 20, just in time for Thanksgiving.
The new sections will bring the Mon-Fayette Expressway to 57 miles, running from Interstate 68 near Morgantown, West Virginia, all the way to West Mifflin.
“I’m excited about it overall, especially when it goes more into Pittsburgh because I do travel for a living. I think it’s going to be a lot easier and not as congested with traffic,” driver Beth Wagner said.
The road only needs some finishing touches.
This Tuesday, state and local leaders will get the first chance to drive it. The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission is hosting a celebration at the project site with elected officials and project partners expected to take part.
This long-awaited update is half a century in the making.
Plans for the expressway date back to the 1970s, with the goal of connecting communities in Southwestern Pennsylvania to northern West Virginia and improving access through a region that has long looked to new development and investment.
“That it was going to be an easier bypass to get you from Morgantown, West Virginia, all the way to Pittsburgh,” Wagner said.
For drivers who have watched construction drag on for years, there’s excitement about finally seeing the stretch open, as well as mixed opinion on the costs.
“I know it’s been taking a while; besides that, I’m excited for it to open,” Jonathan Schaffer of Jefferson Hills said.
“It’s very expensive, and I don’t know who is going to use it,” Rich Borkowski of Little Boston said.
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