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October 18, 2000

FOUR MILES OF TURNPIKE'S NEWEST MON/FAYETTE EXPRESSWAY
PROJECT TO OPEN IN SPRING

In Spring 2001, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission will open the southernmost four miles of its 17-mile Mon/Fayette Expressway Project that will extend north from Interstate 70 in Fallowfield Township, Washington County to Pa. Route 51 in Jefferson Hills Borough, Allegheny County.

The northern terminus of the four-mile stretch to open next spring is the interchange with Coyle Curtin Road (State Route 2025). Coyle Curtin Road is a popular east-west connector between Pa. Route 481 and Pa. Route 88 near the City of Monongahela, known locally as Mon City.

"This is a relatively short stretch of expressway but should serve the public well as a Charleroi bypass and an alternative to circuitous Route 88," said Turnpike Executive Director John T. Durbin. "It will provide a quick link to Mon City and key destinations such as Monongahela Valley Hospital and the Charleroi High School/Middle School campus."

One of the Turnpike’s construction contracts for the I-70-to-Route 51 Mon/Fayette Project included widening of a three-quarter-mile segment of Coyle Curtin Road from the expressway interchange to Route 88. An additional 11-foot travel lane will allow cars and small trucks to pass larger vehicles traveling uphill (northeast) from the expressway interchange to Route 88.

By early 2002, when the balance of the I-70-to-Route 51 Mon/Fayette Project should be ready for traffic, approximately 35 miles of the Mon/Fayette Expressway system will be operational. Ultimately, the system is to extend north to Interstate 376 in Pittsburgh and south to Interstate 68 near Morgantown, W.Va.

The West Virginia Department of Transportation’s Division of Highways is building the four miles of the Mon/Fayette system south of the Pennsylvania border. Target date for completion in West Virginia is Spring 2003.

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