Allegheny County lawmakers seek federal funding to complete Mon-Fayette Expressway

A bipartisan group of state senators wants to use federal funding to complete the long-delayed and controversial Mon-Fayette Expressway extension project.

The Mon-Fayette toll road currently stretches 54 miles from Jefferson Hills to Morgantown, W.Va. Construction work has begun to extend the expressway 6 miles north from Jefferson Hills to Duquesne, but that still leaves several miles of the highway planned but unfinished.

State Sen. Jim Brewster, D-McKeesport, is leading a coalition of lawmakers asking Gov. Josh Shapiro to consider using federal funds from the $1.2 trillion infrastructure law to speed up construction on the final section of the Mon-Fayette Expressway.

In a letter, Brewster wrote that the final piece of the road would cross the Monongahela River in Duquesne, traverse the Turtle Creek Valley and connect to Interstate 376 in Monroeville. The work has been “plagued by delays due to funding gaps which still have not been fully addressed,” Brewster wrote.

The Mon-Fayette extension project has come under scrutiny over the years as it has faced several delays and criticism that it won’t carry enough vehicles to justify its high cost. The expansion project is estimated to cost $1.3 billion. The Turnpike Commission recently awarded a $214 million contract to construct a 3.1-mile section of highway from Clairton through Jefferson Hills to West Mifflin.

Supporters of the project have said it will provide a needed economic boost to hard-hit communities in the Mon Valley.

Brewster said in the letter that the Mon-Fayette Expressway has been successful in attracting manufacturing, tourism and other businesses. He said leaving the final northern section unfinished would stymie future growth.

“Unfortunately, commerce and tourism using the existing roadway run into a wall of traffic lights and reduced speed as they approach Pittsburgh and its burgeoning suburbs,” Brewster wrote.

The letter asks state lawmakers to allow federal funds to be used to cover funding gaps for the project. State Sens. Jay Costa of Forest Hills, Wayne Fontana of Brookline, Devlin Robinson of Bridgeville, Pat Stefano of Fayette County and Lindsey Williams of West View also signed onto Brewster’s letter. Robinson and Stefano are Republicans, while the rest are Democrats.

The Turnpike Commission, which has struggled with large debt issues for years, is in charge of the Mon-Fayette Expressway and funding must come from the state’s oil franchise tax, in accordance with state law. Brewster said this funding stream also requires a “pay-as-you-go method” when funding streams must be allocated before any construction can start.

The future of the franchise tax for infrastructure funding has become a hotly debated topic in Harrisburg over the years. Officials predict tax revenues will shrink as people are increasingly working remotely and driving more fuel efficient and electric cars. A more sustainable source of funding for roads, bridges and public transit has yet to be negotiated.