The Mon-Fayette Expressway is the foundation of the Mon Valley’s future. Combining it with an extension of the East Busway would make the project even better.
As a lifelong resident and elected official representing most of the Mon Valley economically distressed communities, I cannot disagree more with the decision of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission to place the Mon-Fayette Expressway project on hold. It is also important to point out that funding for the expressway project is under the jurisdiction of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission and, as such, cannot be allocated to any non-Turnpike Commission project.
I join with many others from the Mon Valley who strongly believe that the expressway project is the foundation for our economic future. Rather than placing bureaucratic roadblocks in their way, we should be thanking the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission for their perseverance and leadership to make such a crucial investment in the Mon Valley.
The expressway would open the Mon Valley to business and employment opportunities from West Elizabeth through West Homestead along the Monongahela River with over 1,000 acres of developable property for business and industry. It could co-mingle with river and rail traffic in the region to create many job opportunities. With touchdown points in West Mifflin and Dravosburg, the expressway would open the Allegheny County Airport to more opportunities for air traffic and the possibilities of air cargo.
The continuation of the Mon-Fayette Expressway from Jefferson Hills to the Parkway East would create a transportation link for businesses in the Mon Valley and Turtle Creek Valley region to get their product to the marketplace and put places like Kennywood and American Textile on a national stage.
A report on the expressway project issued last August by the national transportation organization TRIP cited the creation of 20,780 permanent jobs as well as more than 5,000 annual construction jobs. These jobs would hopefully deter crime and create growth in Mon Valley depressed communities.
The Mon-Fayette Expressway would be even more valuable to our region when combined with an idea of an extension of the Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway from Swissvale to a proposed expressway interchange in East Pittsburgh. This concept was first proposed by the Mon Valley Progress Council in 2013.
The value of the busway extension and the expressway were also cited in the TRIP report as well as a regional transportation report issued last fall by the Construction Legislative Council of Western Pennsylvania. Both noted how the expressway combined with the East Busway would vastly improve regional transit access and reduce traffic congestion on the Parkway East by providing direct transit access into the city of Pittsburgh.
Planning for the expressway should continue as the viability of the busway extension is more fully studied by the Port Authority and the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission.
There are many opportunities that will be created through the completion of the Mon-Fayette Expressway that we may not see in our lifetime but will be a life-saver for many of our grandchildren and great-grandchildren. It would give them hope and a reason to stay here and make a comfortable life for their families and for families to come.
The first step is that SPC changes course and authorizes the expressway to proceed. Then, we as a region should work together with the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission to ensure that the Mon-Fayette Expressway is under construction in a timely manner.
Bob Macey is a member of Allegheny Council Council, District 9 (Bob.Macey@alleghenycounty.us).
First Published: March 28, 2017, 10:18 a.m.