By Scott Beveridge

Staff writer

sbeveridge@observer-reporter.com

BROWNSVILLE - Construction is under way on a section of the Mon-Fayette Expressway that, when finished in four years, will expand the toll road to nearly 60 continuous miles of open highway.

"What an accomplishment that has been," Turnpike Commission Chief Executive Officer Joseph Brimmeier said Thursday during groundbreaking ceremonies.

The eight-mile, $455 million corridor will connect Brownsville, Fayette County, with Centerville, Washington County, and finish the toll road between Morgantown, W.Va., and Route 51 south of Pittsburgh. Brimmeier said the commission is investigating financing packages to complete the highway into Pittsburgh, as the final Brownsville link will deplete the money it has available for the project.

State Sen. J. Barry Stout, D-Bentleyville, who has been the lead supporter of the expressway, called on the federal government to end the war in Iraq and earmark money for highway and bridge construction.

"We're living on yesterday's infrastructure. We need to start investing in America," said Stout, appearing at the event weakened after breaking his hip about two months ago. "We need that money."

Stout provided the leadership in 1991 and 1998 to raise $2.2 billion for the toll road through a gasoline tax and vehicle registration fee increase.

Facing a drained budget, the commission last year took money it had set aside to begin building the Pittsburgh link and remaining Southern Beltway sections and dedicated it to finishing the Brownsville corridor.

The remaining funds will be used to build a 3,000-foot, 160-foot-high bridge over the Monongahela River just north of Vestaburg to connect the highway in Fayette and Washington counties.

"It's a huge undertaking that I know will be done well," Brimmeier said.

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