A new stretch of the Mon/Fayette Expressway will open to drivers next month

A new stretch of the Mon/Fayette Expressway will be opening to drivers next month ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday travel weekend.

Officials said that the new stretch of Pennsylvania Turnpike 43, which will connect where the existing expressway ends near Route 51 in Jefferson Hills Borough, will connect to Camp Hollow Road in West Mifflin Borough, and will open to drivers on Nov. 20.

The long-term scope of the project will connect Route 51 to the Parkway East in Monroeville, but the Pennsylvania Turnpike will be opening shorter stretches of the expressway, as those smaller sections are completed.

The goal of the project is to ultimately have a way to quickly travel from the West Virginia state line to the east side of Pittsburgh.  

Steady progress has been made in recent years as crews have worked to clear the path and build the expressway through the Mon Valley.

"It should make travel getting into the city a lot quicker," said Matt Burd, Assistant Chief Engineer for Construction with the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, during an open house last year. "Obviously there is a toll component to it, but it should ease a lot of congestion on local roads as well."

The next stretch of expressway to be completed will connect from the Camp Hollow Road interchange to Dravosburg Borough, near the Richland Cemetery. Turnpike officials said this stretch of expressway could open by 2029. 

Additional stretches of the expressway will be added in the coming years, connecting to Duquesne, and eventually Monroeville.