The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission agreed Tuesday to add a new cashless interchange between Monroeville and Irwin to its capital plan for construction in the next 10 years.
The new interchange would be built in Penn Township, Westmoreland County, where Route 130 and the turnpike meet near Pleasant Valley Road and an existing turnpike maintenance shed. The township and Westmoreland County have been working with the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission and the turnpike to push for the interchange for more than five years.
Gina Cerilli, chairwoman of the county commissioners, called the turnpike’s action “great news” for the area but she and the turnpike had few details of the project. In recent months, the turnpike has listed the proposed interchange as a project it couldn’t afford because it is required to pay the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation $450 million a year to help pay for mass transit and turnpike spokesman Carl DeFebo said no one was available Tuesday to explain what changed.
A study three years ago by the SPC estimated the cost of the interchange at $29.6 million and the cost for improvements to Route 130 to handle additional traffic at $67.7 million. The facility would be a cashless interchange where motorists would pay tolls either through the electronic E-ZPass system or by the turnpike taking a photo of their license plate and mailing them an invoice.
Township Manager Alex Graziani said Penn is “thrilled” the project is moving forward.
The turnpike is in the midst of designing a project to widen the toll road to three lanes in each direction between the Irwin and Monroeville interchanges. That estimated $300 million project is expected to begin in 2023.
Ed Blazina: eblazina@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1470 or on Twitter @EdBlazina.
First Published: July 16, 2019, 10:53 p.m.
