A long and winding road: Southern Beltway to open in October
The long and winding road to build the Southern Beltway is nearing the end of the line.
A project that has been decades in the making, the 13-mile toll road through northern Washington County appeared like it may never get into gear as funding for it stalled over and over again.
Now, after seven years of construction and many more years in the planning stages, the new highway that will take traffic from Interstate 79 near Southpointe to Pittsburgh International Airport is expected to open to traffic in October. The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, which built and will maintain the toll road, plans to announce a grand opening ceremony soon.
The concept for the highway dates back to the 1950s, according to a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers report, and it was originally considered as one section of a proposed beltway around Pittsburgh in the 1970s.
The highway was one of several projects included in Act 61 of 1985 passed by the state Legislature mandating the construction of many toll roads across Pennsylvania. Planning began ramping up in 1988 when the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission included the highway in its Mon/Fayette Expressway Feasibility Study, but the project hit the skids with a lack of funding.
Over the years, politicians and local leaders continued to bring it up, but it seemed like more of a fantasy that would never come to fruition.
“We always knew we would build this,” Turnpike spokeswoman Renee Colborn said. “It just depended on when we had the money.”
That all changed with Act 89 – the transportation law passed in November 2013 that effectively raised the gasoline tax and various motor vehicle fees – which secured enough money to break ground the following May where the toll road connects with Route 22 in Robinson Township. That short, six-mile section known as the Findlay Connector had been completed in 2006, but seemed more like a highway to nowhere.
Over the past seven years, construction crews have changed the landscape and built 28 bridges on the Southern Beltway. Once it opens, motorists with E-ZPass will pay $3.90 to travel the entire length of the highway, while the “Toll-By-Plate” option will cost double that price.
The project has not been without controversy.
The Turnpike purchased numerous homes along the proposed route, including many on Morganza Road in Cecil Township where the interchange is being built to connect the toll road to I-79. One couple even sued the Turnpike, claiming it did not offer fair market value for their home, prompting a Washington County jury to award $1.3 million for their Morganza Road property in 2014.
There were also protests over the route, with some residents placing large signs in their yards announcing “B-1, B-2, B-3, B-Gone” that referenced one of the phases between near McDonald.
Meanwhile, construction near McDonald led to flooding in 2017 and 2018, prompting meetings and hearings with local residents and business owners to ask for mitigation efforts to prevent problems during heavy rain.
But with all of that now in the past, the Turnpike is looking forward to opening the $900 million highway. The Turnpike plans to make an announcement soon about a “community day” to let people see the highway and celebrate its construction before it officially opens to traffic, Colborn said.
“It’s incredible to watch from start to finish,” Colborn said of the construction. “This is a major accomplishment.”