Lawmakers push for funding for expressway link
During dedication ceremonies for the new transit facility at the Connellsville Airport on Friday, state Sen. Richard Kasunic, (D-Dunbar) took an opportunity to push for additional funding for the Uniontown to Brownsville link of the Mon/Fayette Expressway. Kasunic said he wanted to “put a bug in the ear” of Gov. Ed Rendell about the link. Kasunic was throwing the hint to Joseph G. Brimmeier, CEO of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, who attended the dedication ceremony on behalf of Rendell.
Brimmeier said although most of the $3 million needed for construction of the Fayette Area Coordinated Transportation building was federal money, the state helped with $633,000 to bring the total package together.
“This is what Ed Rendell is all about, economic stimulus packages,” Brimmeier said. He said right now, $37 million is being spent on 54 state projects in Fayette County, “And we will see another tremendous benefit when we finish Uniontown to Brownsville for Rich.”
Turnpike officials have said that construction on the 15-mile Uniontown-to-Brownsville link of the Mon/Fayette Expressway is slated to begin next year.
Although the design has been finalized and right-of-way acquisition is nearly complete, additional funding is needed to complete construction of the link, which will include a new bridge over the Monongahela River near the new State Correctional Institution at Fayette in Luzerne Township.
To date, approximately $250 million of the $490 million needed for the project has been secured, which will enable crews to construct approximately half the length of the 15-mile section.
Plans are to begin construction on the Uniontown end of the project first.
U.S. Rep. John Murtha, (D-Johnstown), who also spoke at the FACT dedication, said during a Friday morning meeting with local officials that the recently adopted federal highway bill was much smaller than he would like to have seen.
The legislation, “The Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users,” or TEALU, is a six-year, $286.5 billion funding package that replaces one that expired in September 2003. The bill includes $4 million for the Uniontown-to-Brownsville section.
Murtha said he would like to see $50 billion to $60 billion more allocated nationwide, adding that he would like the government to use the whole trust fund to finance highway improvements. The money is derived from the federal highway trust fund, which is funded via federal tax on gasoline sales.
Murtha said that with the war in Iraq, it’s hard to get money for domestic projects. He said he has spoken with Rendell about the importance of the Mon/Fayette Expressway.
Recently, U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster (D-Hollidaysburg) said he was concerned that Rendell was looking into diverting state transportation money to use to fund the transit authorities in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
“The long-term stuff is so important to economic development,” Murtha said. “We’re pressing for this (the Mon/Fayette Expressway) because we know how important it is for economic development.”
When the entire highway is finished, the expressway will begin at Interstate 68 near Morgantown and continue north into and beyond Pittsburgh.