Gribblenation

This abrupt end to US 40 east of Brownsville was the norm for nearly forty years. (Brian Reynolds) For nearly four decades, the four lane US 40 just east of Brownsville came to an abrupt end - shown in the photo above - at Grindstone Road in Redstone Township.   In the late 1960s, what was then the Pennsylvania Division of Highways (PennDOH) extended a new four lane alignment of US 40 eastwards from Broadway Street slightly over one mile to Grindstone Road where an incomplete diamond interchange was built.  Earlier in the decade, PennDOH had built a four lane US 40 in Washington County into Brownsville complete with a new crossing over the Monongahela River known as the Lane Bane Bridge.  This new highway and bridge allowed US 40 to bypass the older Intercounty Bridge and downtown Brownsville. Brownsville in September 1967.  US 40 crosses over the new Lane Bane Bridge and a trumpet interchange with PA 88 sits in Washington County.  The Intercounty ...

The Washington (PA) Herald-Standard has some new reports on the progress of the Mon-Fayette Expressway in both Pennsylvania and West Virginia. First, West Virginia has approved the plans on the toll plaza for WV 43 and construction is underway.  WVDOH plans to open the highway in the Spring of 2011.  As a result, PA 43 will now have a straight shot from Uniontown to Interstate 68. On the Pennsylvania side, construction on the highway sections of the remainder of the Uniontown-to-Brownsville Link are well underway and ahead of schedule.  The Mon-Fayette highway bridge over the Monongahela River near Brownsville is schedule to be completed in 2012. If the fast pace of the highway work continues, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission may consider opening parts of the highway prior to the Mon River bridge completion in the Spring of 2012.  This would most likely include: the opening of the high speed interchange with US 119 in Uniontown - creating a continuous free...

The West Virgina Division of Highways has decided to impose tolls on their portion of the Mon-Fayette Expressway.  The reason?  They were unable to reach a toll fund transfer deal with the Pennsylvania Turnpike Authority.  As a result, the opening of the highway has been pushed back to the Spring of 2011. The toll booth will be located on the West Virginia side of the border and will be operated by the West Virginia Parkways Authority (WV Turnpike).  The toll booth will be manned, although sparsely, and will also take E-Z Pass.  The toll schedule has not been announced. Story Links: Tolls to be taken on W. Va section of Mon-Fayette ---The Daily Athenaeum

A recent story in the Uniontown Herald-Standard reports that the completion of WV 43 to Bower's Lane is scheduled for August 20th.  Wow, that's fast! A reminder that this will not tie the freeway directly to Interstate 68 as motorists will need to make about a 1/2 mile detour on local roads to get to I-68.  However, when this phase is completed and open sometime after August, it will eliminate nearly seven miles of travel on a narrow and sometimes twisty Highway 857. WVDOH will build a direct high-speed connection between WV 43 and I-68 when traffic volumes warrant it. That could be years if not decades away.

With West Virginia nearing completion of their portion of the Mon-Fayette Expressway, PennDot is looking to moving US 119 onto it, once the Mon-Fayette is completed, to Interstate 68.  According to the minutes of the August 20, 2009 meeting of the Morgantown Metropolitan Planning Organization, PennDot "...wishes to [ask] AASHTO to resign that section of the Mon-Fayette Expressway as U.S. 119. Pennsylvania wishes to immediately place U.S. 119 signage on the interstate and overlap from Exit 1 on I-68, across Cheat Lake." Under the Pennsylvania proposal, US 119 would no longer leave the freeway at Morgantown Road (un-numbered exit; mile 12), but it would now continue on the toll road south into West Virginia and then west on Interstate 68 until Exit 1.  However, West Virginia prefers that US 119 leave I-68 at Exit 7 and continue to run through downtown Morgantown. Above: A scan from a 2009 PennDot State Map showing the under construction Mon-Fayette Expwy (in Green) US 1...

A WVDOH official indicated that the WV portion of the Mon-Fayette Expressway could be open by the end of the year. The I-68/Bower's Lane interchange project should be completed by November. The northern half of the interchange which connects to Bower's Lane is 40 percent complete. The southern half of the interchange - a direct tie in to Interstate 68 - is 25 percent finished. Story Links: W. Va. portion of expressway could open this year ---The Charleston Gazette Mon-Fayette Expressway --- WDTV w/video Commentary: I just can't see how the direct connection with I-68 will be finished by the end of the year. I expect that West Virginia will open the highway to Bower's Lane - forcing traffic to take a less than one mile detour on WV 857 to get to I-68 - then open the direct connection to I-68 sometime next year.

Last week, Southbound PA Turnpike 43 from Brownsville to Uniontown was closed for the filming of a new movie, "The Next Three Days." The toll road was closed for nearly 24 hours from about 11 pm Sunday, October 4 th to about 11 pm Monday, October 5 th . The scene being shot featured Russell Crowe and Elizabeth Banks. The directors were looking for a highway with a toll booth - and the lightly traveled PA 43 in Fayette County was the perfect spot. There was also a chase scene filmed on the freeway. Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. who is producing the movie paid $25,000 to the PA Turnpike Commission to use the facility. The $25,000 covers a days worth of toll revenue, maintenance and safety costs, as well as police and emergency services. Story Link: Mon-Fayette Expressway closed for taping of Russell Crowe movie --- Greensburg Tribune-Review.

In Elementary School or in a college American History class, you may have had an assignment to write a report on the history of highways and transportation of the United States. Or more specifically, you had to write a report or learn about the National Road and its importance to the westward growth of our country. And in that report, you wanted to show how the National Road evolved over time from graded and compacted soil, to crushed limestone, and finally concrete and asphalt. You could explain the different styles of construction and even possibly draw a cross section of road showing the various 'eras' of the highway. But what if you could see a real sample of that cross section, over 200 years of national transportation history all in one piece. That would really tell the story wouldn't it? Well thanks to the construction of the Mon-Fayette Expressway, a real cross-section has been found, and now is on its way to being preserved for various historical groups and even...

The long-awaited final piece of the puzzle for the Mason-Dixon stretch of the Mon-Fayette Expressway is falling into place with awarding and start of construction of the final contract of the West Virginia portion of the Mon-Fayette Expressway. When finished, the entire West Virginia portion of the Interstate 68-to-Pittsburgh highway will be complete and opened to traffic. The contract which will include the freeway's tie in to Interstate 68 along with a total rebuild of Exit 10 on I-68 - was won by Kokosing Construction of Fredericktown, OH. The contract is funded by the 2009 American recovery and Reinvestment Act. The contract's value? Just over $11.6 million. The contract was awarded on June 24th - construction began on July 6th. A temporary four month closure of Bowers Lane marked the start of new construction. Kokosing is also building another piece of WV 43 just north of Interstate 68 - a nearly $23 million contract (won in December 2008) for roadwork that is just nor...

So you have an unused four lane highway just sitting there empty and in some cases for nearly eight years. You know, it's just waiting for a few bridges and a big interchange to be built. So what can you do with it. Use it for movies! And that's exactly what the WV Film Office wants to do. The WV Film Office is actively pursuing various video production outfits to use the empty freeway in their films, television shows, or music videos. The WVDOH has no issue with the freeway being used for video shoots as long as the proper permits were acquired and the filming would not interfere with the ongoing construction of the highway. So it is quite possible that you will actually see the West Virginia portion of the Mon-Fayette Expressway on TV or the big screen before anyone will be able to drive it. Story & Video: WBOY-TV

Mosites Construction, located in Pittsburgh, appears to be the low bidder in the latest project aimed to complete West Virginia's four mile "missing link" of the Mon-Fayette Expressway. Mosites has bid $19.87 million to construct a bridge over Morgan's Run Road. The contract should be awarded within 30 days with construction to start in the Spring of 2007. The bridge should be completed in 2009. No word on when the next bids for the highway will be let, some of which include the construction of the I-68/WV 43 interchange. Article: Contractor picked for Mon-Fayette Expressway bridges ---AP Commentary: Another step towards the eventual completion of WV 43. The state still plans on a 2011 overall completion date. See: WV awards MFE contract WV eyes 2011 for completion of Mon-Fayette Expressway

WVDOH has recently awarded an $11 million contract to realign CR 857 near Cheat Lake. The contract awarded to Mountaineer Contractors of Kingwood. Construction should begin on the 28th and wrap up in May 2008. One note the existing BFS was purchased by the state. It's going to be torn down but the local landmark is gonna be rebuilt across the street. ( WTRF ) Commentary: This is another solid step towards the WVDOH's goal of having their segment of the Mon-Fayette Expressway completed by 2011. This realignment is near the current WV 857/I-68 interchange which will see an overhaul for the southern terminus of the two state freeway. See: WV eyes 2011 completion for Mon-Fayette Expressway

Forward momentum is starting to gain on the West Virginia segment of the Mon-Fayette Expressway. Last month, a wetlands mitigation project was let and soon(within a month) a local road project relating to the expressway will be let. The Morgan's Run Bridge, costing between $16 and $18 million, should be let for bidding in the next six to eight months. Currently, two miles of highway - that includes one bridge - has been finished by WVDOT. The state currently sees 2011 as a target completion date with the interchange with I-68 being the largest and most expensive part of the project. Bids have yet to be awarded for that part of the highway. The WV portion of the highway will be toll free. Article: Uniontown Herald-Standard Commentary: Some forward momentum on this project is good news overall. Although 2011 seems like forever from now, it was just six years ago when PA/WV 43 consisted of two segments totaling just over 10 miles. (Thanks to a recently opened segmen...