Repurposed Mon-Fay money must go to other turnpike work, state law says

Any attempt to repurpose the $2 billion set aside to build the MonFayette Expressway would face a daunting hurdle because the Legislature was very specific in its earmarks.

The Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission this week asked the Turnpike Commission whether the money earmarked for the 30-year-old project — connecting the Mon Valley to Pittsburgh — could be spent on other transportation needs in the region.

The Turnpike Commission responded by putting a halt to all engineering-design work on the 14mile project in Allegheny County.

The commission also reiterated its legislative mandate.

“This is a regional project, and the decision as to whether it is of value to the region should be made by those who live there,” said PA Turnpike CEO Mark Compton. “If the region does not want to move forward with the expressway, we will certainly respect their decision.”

But if the money doesn’t go to build the expressway, Mr. Compton said, the Turnpike Commission is committed to reallocating it to other projects spelled out in Act 61, the Legislature’s original bill establishing the funds.

Turnpike Commission spokesman Carl DeFebo said that “under current law,” if the Mon-Fayette Expressway project is discontinued, the money must go to:

• The turnpike from U.S. Route 22 to Interstate 79;

• The turnpike from I-79 to the Mon-Fayette Expressway;

• The turnpike/I-95 interchange in Bucks County;

• Or other turnpike ramps and interchanges as the commission may determine.

Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, who is secretary-treasurer of the 10county SPC and has reservations about the project, said he and others already have reached out to legislators.

“We have had those discussions with representatives,” Mr. Fitzgerald said. “The intention, of course, is to make sure that money stays in the Mon Valley and benefits the people there. And they were receptive to it. They want to take a look at what options are available. Frankly, I’m not sure how many of them were in the Legislature back when this started in 1985.

“The question is whether this is an all-or-nothing choice. Would they rather do a bad project that we designed more than 20 years ago or see if there’s something that might be better to benefit the Mon Valley?”

Mr. Fitzgerald said the SPC is simply exploring alternatives.

“We tried to buy some time to see if there are other options, that’s all we’re doing,” he said. “There are SPC members who were uncomfortable, feeling that they were forced into a project that was designed decades ago and things have changed. But the people of the Mon Valley deserve investment and economic growth and opportunities.”

But Fayette County Commissioner Vincent A. Vicites, a member of the SPC who is fighting for the expressway, said any other use of the money would amount to “a broken promise.”

“This was agreed upon in the mid-’90s when they built the stadiums in Pittsburgh,” he said. “Part of the agreement was that they were going to build the expressway.

“To bring industry to your area, you have to have a four-lane divided highway to bring your goods and services in. If you have bad roads and poor access, your chances of economic development are next to nothing. The Mon Valley needs good road access.”

Mr. Vicites said he doesn’t believe the Turnpike Commission’s halt to engineering-design activities means the expressway is doomed.

“It can be restarted,” he said. “The leaders of these counties have to step up and do the right thing.”

The current design would extend the roadway from Jefferson Hills to the Parkway East and Business Route 22 in Monroeville. Portions in Fayette County have been completed but are not connected to Pittsburgh.

“We’ve had development built through the county from the West Virginia line to I-70,” Mr. Vicites said. “To realize the full impact, we need that missing link to Pittsburgh. If we don’t do it, we have a road to nowhere.”