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Corbett marks start of Southern Beltway project

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BULGER – The future of the unfinished Southern Beltway seemed about as dark as the rain clouds that hovered Monday over groundbreaking ceremonies for the next toll road corridor some believe is vital to the booming Marcellus Shale natural gas industry in Washington County, a state Turnpike Commission leader said.

The 13-mile highway to connect Interstate 79 to Route 22 and give the county a direct route to Pittsburgh International Airport gained financing, however, after state lawmakers approved a late transportation bill in November.

“(They) put us back into the new-capacity projects,” state Turnpike Commission Chief Executive Officer Mark Compton said Monday during a ceremonial groundbreaking event held where an existing beltway section known as the Findlay Connector comes to an end at Route 22 in Robinson Township.

The first contracts were awarded in January for the nearly $550 million road, one of which involves the construction of $14 million, 784-foot-long dual spans over Route 22. They will be built between and higher than two existing bridges over Route 22 that will be used as exit and entrance ramps to the beltway.

“This is a great example of what the future can look like,” said Gov. Tom Corbett, who attended the event.

Corbett recognized retired Democratic state senator J. Barry Stout in the audience for his tireless support of the beltway and the newer Mon-Fayette Expressway toll road, which now stretches for 60 miles from Morgantown, W.Va., to Large in Allegheny County.

“Senator Stout, this is your vision,” Corbett said.

The governor said the beltway will connect well with Southpointe in Cecil Township, home to many corporations involved in the gas industry. The industry is something no one expected in the years Stout lobbied for the highways.

Corbett said the county is “a hub of energy” that will lead to many new jobs being created along the beltway corridor.

“This is the start of a new transportation history in Southwestern Pennsylvania,” he said.

State Sen. Tim Solobay said there are designated zones with tax incentives for new businesses at both ends of the beltway.

“People beg and dream for these things,” said Solobay, D-Canonsburg. “Let’s get ready to turn some ground.”

The Turnpike Commission expects the new beltway corridor to open by 2019. Solobay, however, said he believes it will be completed sooner. A third beltway corridor is planned that, if built, would connect I-79 near Southpointe to the expressway in Union Township.

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