Pa. Turnpike within 18 miles of rebuilding toll road from Ohio to Bedford County

With last week’s opening of 7 miles of rebuilt toll road in Somerset County and two other projects under construction, the Pennsylvania Turnpike is within about 18 miles of rebuilding the highway from the Ohio border to the Bedford County line.

For more than 25 years, the turnpike has been on a multibillion-dollar mission to rebuild more than 450 miles of the roadway, some of which dates back to the 1940s.

So far, 155 miles have been rebuilt, including the 7 miles that opened last week in Somerset. About 96 miles of that are between the Ohio line and Bedford, and two other projects are under construction now — 2 miles in Beaver County near the Beaver River Bridge scheduled for completion in 2027 and 7 miles straddling the Somerset-Bedford border that should be done in 2026.

Somerset and the two projects under construction include expanding the highway to three lanes in each direction, a statewide goal of the agency.

The remaining 18 miles, between Oakmont and Irwin, either is still in design, waiting for construction funding or waiting for design funding. The work to expand to three lanes each way is estimated to cost $1.1 billion with the projected most expensive work the reconstruction of the area around the Monroeville interchange for $297 million.

The turnpike’s commitment to move forward with these projects is clear because of the preparation work already done. For example, the agency has replaced bridges that cross over the turnpike on Unity Trestle and Saltsburg roads in Plum and Center Road in Monroeville to make them longer and provide more room under them for the wider toll road.

The turnpike work will be done when toll revenue is available to pay for it.

The $135 million Somerset project by New Enterprise Stone and Lime Co. Inc. involved moving 2.7 million cubic yards of dirt, installing basins and rain gardens to control stormwater runoff, and building three retaining walls.

The widening and updating projects are part of what turnpike CEO Mark Compton regularly refers to as “protecting our assets.” 

“We are pleased to be done with this project, which provides a safer and more efficient travel experience for Turnpike customers,” Brad Heigel, the turnpike’s chief engineer, said in a news release. “We are proud to continue modernizing America’s first superhighway to meet the needs of the half a million passengers who drive our roadway every day.”