W.Va. to begin highway work
Work on part of the unfinished West Virginia link of the Mon/Fayette Expressway could commence in a few months, although exactly when the entire section will be completed depends on how much federal highway money becomes available. To date, 2.5 miles of highway and one bridge have been completed for the West Virginia link. All that needs completed is construction of Morgan’s Run Bridge and 2.4 miles of highway, but the project has been stalled due to a lack of funds.
Passage of a new federal highway transportation bill, officially called The Safe, Accountable, Flexible and Efficient Transportation Equity Act of 2003 (SAFETEA), has been on hold since 2003. The bill is expected to gain passage this year.
How much money is allocated will likely determine how soon the highway is built. Randy Epperly, deputy state highway engineer for the West Virginia Department of Transportation, said that the next project, consisting of connecting a 1-mile section south of Morgan’s Run to Route 857, will probably begin in the spring.
Epperly said there is enough money available for the project, which is expected to take a year for completion, but additional money will be needed to complete the other projects, all of which include completed design work and right of way acquisition. He said once the new transportation bill is passed, the state will match whatever federal money is received.
Figures ranging from $256 billion to $318 billion have been proposed for the new federal funding level. Officials have said that the allocation needs to be $300 billion to ensure completion of the link.
Hearing that work will begin in West Virginia was welcome news to officials familiar with the neighboring Uniontown to Brownsville link of the project.
Joe Agnello, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, said since the section on the Pennsylvania side of the Mason-Dixon line opened in March 2000, the highway is averaging 2,000 trips a day. Agnello said he thinks the volume will quadruple when the West Virginia side opens. “It’s certainly welcome news,” he said of hearing that work will once again begin on the West Virginia link.
Fayette County Commissioner Vincent A. Vicites, a longtime proponent of the Uniontown to Brownsville and West Virginia links of the highway, said he is making plans to fly to Charleston, W.Va., with fellow Commissioner Joe Hardy to meet with the new governor of West Virginia, Joe Manchin III, to discuss the importance of the link to both states. “We need somebody to champion this for West Virginia and I’m hoping Manchin will do that,” Vicites said.
Vicites said he is also looking into finding other funding sources to see if there are any possibilities for West Virginia. He has discovered that the Appalachian Regional Commission makes available an additional $400 million per year, but it must be for a designed road in the ARC system or an act of Congress can add a road to the system. Vicites said since Interstate 68 is an ARC designated road, he is hoping that the Mon/Fayette Expressway can be considered an extension of I-68.
When the entire Mon/Fayette Expressway if finished, it will begin near Interstate 68 in West Virginia and continue north to Pittsburgh.
Meanwhile, construction of the first section of the Uniontown to Brownsville link could begin in early 2006. Agnello said late this year bids will be advertised for the first section and the contracts will be awarded roughly a year from now.
The first section that will be ready to go to construction of the 15-mile link is the interchange at Searights/Herbert Road and Pleasantville/Smock Road between Kiesterville and Searights. The next section that is slated for bid opening is the part toward Uniontown to Fan Hollow Road. “The first construction will begin at the Uniontown end starting at Searights toward Uniontown,” he said.
The property acquisition for the Brownsville to Uniontown link is ongoing. To date, 100 percent of the 65 “total takes” are completed and about 50 percent of the 211 “partial takes” have been finalized for the link.
When all the funding is secured, the construction phase is expected to take three to five years to complete. To date, $250 million of the $490 million needed for the construction and construction management costs of the project has been secured.
Agnello said the bid openings are tentatively scheduled to begin in December and continue through April 2007. He said the opening of the new bridge across the Monongahela River is set for August 2006. He said it took six years to building the link stretching from Interstate 70 to Route 51 and the Uniontown to Brownsville link is similar in length. However, he said generally the terrain isn’t quite as challenging because there are not as many hills and valleys that have to be spanned.