Grand opening scheduled for West Virginia section of Mon/Fayette Expressway
The entrance and exit ramp from Interstate 68 onto Route 43 nears completion as vehicle traffic is allowed access for a short distance on the new toll road in West Virginia.
The entrance and exit ramp from Interstate 68 onto Route 43 nears completion as vehicle traffic is allowed access for a short distance on the new toll road in West Virginia.
The entrance and exit ramp from Interstate 68 onto Route 43 nears completion as vehicle traffic is allowed access for a short distance on the new toll road in West Virginia.
Officials from West Virginia will host a grand opening celebration to mark the completion of the West Virginia potion of the Mon/Fayette Expressway next month.
West Virginia Transportation Secretary Paul Mattox will be joined by Federal Highway Deputy Administrator Greg Nadeau as well as other federal, state and local officials from West Virginia and Pennsylvania at a ribbon-cutting celebration beginning at 10:30?a.m. July 11.
The event will take place on the expressway approximately 2 miles north of the Cheat Lake/Fairchance Road exit of I-68 (exit 10). The public is invited to attend.
鈥淲e are extremely excited to be able to celebrate the completion of West Virginia蘑菇视频 3.85 mile segment of the Mon/Fayette Expressway,鈥� Mattox said. 鈥淲orking in partnership with the FHWA, our congressional delegation in Washington, West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin and transportation officials in Pennsylvania, the traveling public will now enjoy a safe and efficient four-lane expressway between Morgantown and Uniontown.鈥�
After the ceremony, dignitaries from both states will be bused along the 3.85 miles of new roadway to the Pennsylvania state line to cut a ribbon marking the opening of the entire 8 miles of the Pennsylvania side of the Mon/Fayette that link I-68 with a new interchange at Route 119 north of Uniontown.
Last year, the West Virginia Turnpike Authority gave final approval to plans for a toll plaza on the West Virginia link of the highway.
A single toll plaza has been placed just north of the Interstate 68 interchange in the Cheat Lake area. The West Virginia toll plaza will handle tolls for that portion of the highway.
Upon completion of the Uniontown-to-Brownsville project next year, approximately 60 continuous miles of the Mon/Fayette Expressway will be open to traffic between I-68 in West Virginia and Route 51 in Jefferson Hills borough in southeastern Allegheny County.
The first phase of the Uniontown-to-Brownsville section included construction of 7.5 miles of highway, construction of four miles of state road.
The section of road in North Union Township near Route 119 that is included in the second phase of contracts opened late last year.
The remaining highway sections of the Uniontown-to-Brownsville link, located in Redstone and Luzerne townships heading toward the Monongahela River, are slated for completion in September and November, although they are all on track to be completed earlier, officials previously said.
The last, and most expansive and expensive section, a bridge over the Monongahela River that will link Fayette and Washington counties isn鈥檛 set for completion until spring 2012.